Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Pavakka Kondattam / Sun Dried Bitter Gourd fries

The first time we went to US, my MIL had packed some sun dried bitter gourd to take along. I knew just a hand full of dishes to make, back then, so it was of such a relief to fry it when I ran short of ideas for sides to go with rice. We used to love it.



Both me and Jacob are not a fan of this veggie. But if its fried or stir fried with lots of coconut in it, then we love it. When we moved to Phoenix, the hot sunny days helped us get these dried up faster in the sun, to enjoy it as a side for rice. Yes, that's right. This post had been ready when we were in Phoenix but never got to post it :). Lazy me. But today when I took the fresh batch of Kondattam that my MIL made and packed for us to take along to Pune, I thought about this post. So here you go.



If you live in a place with ample amount of sunlight like we did, this is such a great thing to try. Well otherwise, if you have an oven then you need not bother about the sunlight to make this.





Ingredients

  1. 4-5 bitter gourd, sliced into disc shape
  2. 4-5 green chilly, slit into half
  3. Salt to taste
  4. Water to boil the sliced bitter gourd
  5. Oil for frying 
Method
  • In a pan, take all the ingredients 1-4. Bring it to a boil. Simmer the heat to medium and let it cook until the bitter gourd turns tender.
  • Once cooked , drain off the water and spread the cooked bitter gourd on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper/ kitchen towel. 
  • Sun dry it for 3-4 days till it completely dries up. 
  • Once it cools down, store it in an air tight container.
  • In a pan , heat up the oil. Once hot, turn down the heat to medium high. Add the dried bitter gourd and let it puff up. Remove it onto a plate lined with paper towel to drain off excess oil. Serve it with rice or have it as a snack.
Tips
  1. Cut the bitter gourd slightly thick. They would shrink once dried.
  2. The bitter gourd shrinks a lot once they get dried up. So try making it with more number of bitter gourd if you would want to stock it for future use.
  3. Make sure to sun dry the bitter gourd completely and also cool it before storing for later use. Else they would get fungus.
  4. You could store the fried bitter gourd in an airtight container for a week or so. Make sure that they cool down completely before you store it else they would turn soggy and loose crispness.




18 comments:

  1. So Anupa, did you move back to Pune? How are you now? Hope you guys have settled down by now.

    I love pavackka varathathu, even my kids love it. They like it with Kanji and Payar. I made some couple of years ago when I had lots of pavacka from my garden and the summer was hot enough to make a batch.

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    Replies
    1. Ya Shibi...we moved to Pune...I have lived in pune before and used to love it... pakshe...pune pandathe pune alla...but still I love it.. We r settling down I must say :)

      U r so lucky to have organic Pavakka kondattam :)

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  2. love this kondattam, mom prepares this often.. nice click..

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  3. Wau..... feeling nostalgic dear......... Love this... :)

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  4. it's been so long... hope you are enjoying your time... when I see pavakka, I run in the opposite direction! hehe...

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    Replies
    1. Then Rafee...u should try it... I too don't like pavakka...but this fry ... I shall die for

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  5. nostalgic post,Anupa..my mom makes this too,I always have a pack of these ready at hand..I make pachadi too sometimes,its yumm :)

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    Replies
    1. Ohh ya pachadi... I too love it...because it has coconut in it to mellow down the bitterness of bitter gourd :)

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  6. Hey Anupa! Long time, no see :) I am just back from India and still recovering from the "hangover".

    I have had these fries very recently at a friend's place at her daughter's bdy party. At first I was appalled at the thought of keeping bitter guard chips for the kids. But when I tasted them, they were reallyy good! I am so looking forward to prepare my first batch, now that I have the perfect recipe too :D :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey Nupur...Ya long time na... U r back from India and I am back in India :D

      Go ahead and make it...now that summer is coming up , u can easily dry them... I am sure u would like it..

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  7. not a fan of bitter gourd but you give me in the chips form and i'll enjoy..hope you doing good...long time no see

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Gloria :)...ya its been long...we were busy moving and settling down ..

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  8. This is interesting! I never knew that I can make fries with bitter ground :D

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  9. Pavakka kondattam adipoli, where you are moving.

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  10. Oh u carried kondattam I remember carrying some chips and unniappam only. I was told that ellam ivide kittum. I guess nobody noticed everything is expired :))
    Looks yummm Anupa.

    ReplyDelete

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