From Vegetable Delicacies. Recipe by Thankam.
Bitter Gourd – Yogurt Pachadi brings together dark-fried bitter gourd, coconut oil, a smooth grated coconut and cumin paste, thick yogurt that is not sour, shallots, green chili, ginger, curry leaves, mustard seeds, and dried red chili. The result is a cooling yogurt pachadi with a pleasantly bitter edge and a fragrant coconut-oil tempering.
Main vegetable: Bitter gourd, quartered lengthwise and very thinly sliced – one cup
Yogurt base: Thick yogurt, not sour – 2 cups
Tempering: Coconut oil, mustard seeds, dried red chili, chopped shallots, green chili, ginger, and curry leaves
Key step: Fry the bitter gourd until dark, cool the mixture, then add yogurt and mix well
- 🟢 Coconut oil – 4 small spoons
- 🟢 Bitter gourd, quartered lengthwise and very thinly sliced – one cup
- 🟢 Grated coconut – 2 big spoons, Cumin seeds – one pinch
- 🟢 Mustard seeds – half a small spoon, Crushed mustard seeds – a quarter of a small spoon
- 🟢 Dried red chili – 2, broken into pieces
- 🟢 Chopped shallots – 4 small spoons, Chopped green chili – 2 small spoons, Ginger thinly sliced lengthwise – one small spoon, Curry leaves – 2 sprigs
- 🟢 Thick yogurt (not sour) – 2 cups
- 🟢 Salt – to taste
- 1Heat two small spoons of coconut oil, add the bitter gourd, and fry until dark. Remove from the pan and set aside to drain the oil.
- 2Grind the third ingredient into a smooth paste and set it aside.
- 3Heat the remaining oil, add the mustard seeds and let them splutter. Add the dried red chili and sauté.
- 4To this, add the chopped ingredients and sauté. Add the paste mixed with a quarter cup of water, stir, bring it to a boil once, and remove from heat.
- 5When it cools down, add the yogurt and mix well.
- 6Also, add the bitter gourd and mix. Sprinkle the fried ingredients on top and serve.
For the yogurt pachadi texture, the cooked coconut paste mixture is removed from heat and cooled before the thick yogurt is added.
