Pudalangai Poriyal (without coconut) | Padavalanga Upperi | Snake Gourd Stir Fry

Snake Gourd boiled with onion & sauteed with Roasted Gram

Friends & fellow mates, I am back from THE long vacation. Food, food & food everywhere. Savoring the chakkas & maangas & payasams (Jackfruit, Mango, & Kheer), I had a really good foodie vacation. And yes, you could say that it was this so called writer's block that took me a week after I am back, to post something new !! Or is it my lethargy or the need to clean & set up my home as it was before ;) Anyways, the reasons could be plenty, but the point is that it's been a long long time since I took a serious peep into my blog & so I am back with a vegetarian side dish :)

This is a very simple easy to make recipe with a slight twist in the climax. Who doesn't like a twist, isn't it !! Usually we add grated coconut or roughly ground peanuts at the end of a veggie stir fry. For a change, it is roasted gram this time.. Or as u may call it, pottu kadalai or udacha kadalai (chutney dal or fried gram). Taste is high & also the crunchiness. A very taste effective way to substitute your daily share of coconut, right? So shall we dive into the recipe??

I Took: 30 minutes

Serves: 2-3 portion

Recipe Source: Ma

I Used:

Snake Gourd (Pudalangai)	-	½ cup
Onion	-	1 no (medium sized - chopped)
Roasted Gram (Udacha Kadalai)	-	1 tbsp
Red Chilly Powder	-	1 tsp
Turmeric Powder	-	½ tsp
Mustard	-	½ tsp
Curry leaves	-	A sprig
Salt	-	As Needed

The Way:

1. Clean (discard the middle soft portion) & cut snake gourd into small cubes
2. Grind the udacha kadalai coarsely in a mixer/blender
3. In a pressure cooker add the diced snake gourd, chopped onion, red chilly powder, turmeric powder & salt. Add a little water & mix
4. Pressure cook the gourd for a whistle and release the full pressure immediately. This is to allow the gourd to cook & at the same time to prevent it from getting mashed
5. In a kadai, heat up 2 tsp oil. Splutter mustard & curry leaves
6. Add the cooked snake gourd to it & saute for it to become dry leaving off the excess water
7. Add the coarsely ground udacha kadalai & mix well & remove from fire 

Serve hot with rice & Sambar

Cheers,

Chitz

Bittergourd Pitla | Pavakkai Pitla

Bitter Gourd & chickpeas cooked in mashed lentils and ground masala

I am not a big fan of bitter gourd unlike Deeps. But I do feel the need to eat it coz of its benefits to health viz good for the stomach and skin, reduces diabetes etc etc .. Yea, I am sounding boring. So does the sight of bitter gourd to me. So I make all efforts to look and taste as interesting as possible. That was when I remembered that my mom used to make this 'Pavakkai Pitla' and how I used to lick my fingers after eating that without any complaints of the bitterness of 'bitter gourd'. So here is the recipe for the gravy 'Pitla' to all those who would wanna enjoy the benefits of bitter gourd without much credit for its bitterness part :D Some other recipes with bitter gourd that are there in the blog are Pavakka Puli Kuzhambu, Pavakya Pulin Curry, Bitter Gourd Fry & Khatta Meeta Karela..

Recipe Source: Ma's Cookbook

I Took:

Preparation Time: 45 minutes

Cooking Time : 25 minutes

I Used:

Tur Dal	-	½ cup
Channa	-	½ cup - boiled
Bitter Gourd	-	1 no - medium sized
Tamarind	-	20 gm or small lemon sized
Turmeric powder	-	½ tsp
Salt	-	As needed
Oil	-	As needed
Mustard seeds	-	To temper

Roast & Grind:

Red Chilly                             - 6 nos Coriander seeds                    - 4 tsp Urd Dal                                 - 2 tsp Roasted gram/Pottu Kadalai/Udacha Kadalai - 2 tsp  Coconut                               - ¼ cup Asafoetida                            - ½ tsp Curry leaves                         - A sprig

The Way:

1. Heat 2 tsp oil in a kadai and fry the bitter gourd in it for a few minutes and keep aside
2. In the same kadai roast all the ingredients under the Roast & Grind section. Grind them with a little water and keep aside
3. Soak the tamarind in water for about 15-20 minutes and extract the juice
4. Heat tamarind juice in a pan and add the bitter gourd pieces to it
5. Add salt, turmeric and allow it to come to a boil
6. Now add the boiled and smashed tur dal and boiled channa 
7. Add the ground paste and cook in slow fire for another 10 minutes
8. Temper mustard seeds and add it to the gravy

Serve it with boiled rice and raita.

Note: 

The actual recipe doesn't call for garlic. But I added 2 pods while boiling tur dal for gastronomical reasons 

Cheers,

Chitz