Pagarkai kootu (Bitter gourd gravy)

Pagarkai kootu (Bitter gourd gravy) - Prepartion time 15 to 20 mins

Pagarkai is very good for health and contains more vitamins and minerals. Make bitter gourd your families favourite vegetable. We used to make bitter gourd kootu and take along with white rice. Usually people who are under siddha or ayurvedha medication should avoid this vegetable.

Ingredients:-
Pagarkkai - 1 cup (chopped and remove the seeds if it is hard)
Toor dal - 1 cup (pressure cooked)
Sambar powder - 2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt - required amount
Coconut - 1 tbsp
Cumin seed - 1 tbsp
Sesame oil - 1 tbsp
Milk or coconut milk - 2 tbsp
Water - required amount
Thallikum vadagam (or) -1
Mustard seed - 1/4 tsp, Urad dal- 1 tsp

Preparation method:-
In a vessel heat water with sambar powder, salt, turmeric. When it is boiling add the pagarkkai and cook till it is tender.
Mash cooked toor dal with milk and add to pagarkai. Cook for few mins and switch of the flame.
Grind grated coconut with cumin seed to coarse paste. Add this to pagarkai kootu and mix well.
Heat oil, add mustard to splutter, urad dal to brown and garnish the kootu (or) fry the thalikkum vadagam or you can use mustard, urad dhal and garnish.
This goes well with rice and ghee. It will be slightly bitter.

Note:-
One method to bring down the bitter taste is to cut the bitter gourd to half and stick the cut portions to the floor of kitchen slab for half an hour.
Another method is to put the chopped pagarkai in a bowl which contains the rice washed water(Usually they say kazhani thanni).