A rainy day afternoon deserves, no, demands a light and crispy pakora like this simple, comes-togethe- in-15-minutes snack. With a hot cup of coffee or masala chai. Accompanied by a great book. Or just the sound of thunder, wind, and the pitter patter of rain on the rooftop. Chores, work, worries…all can wait for another sunny day. Make yourself these, and just enjoy the storm while it lasts.
This recipe was taught to me by my husband’s cousin, Indu, who is a fabulous cook. The title “pagarkai gojju” means Bittergourd Gravy. Bitter gourd, or as its sometimes called, bitter melon, is a green vegetable that is very bitter and is used extensively in Indian cuisine. Gojju is a Kannada term for a spiced gravy that typically incorporates sour, pungent, heat, and sweet tastes. Add to it the bitter taste of the gourd, and this dish truly tickles every inch of the palate. The sourness comes from the tamarind, the heat from the red chilies, and the sweet comes from jaggery/gud/vellam/brown sugar or raw, unrefined sugar. This dish is my husband’s favorite and is a real adventure in your mouth. On to the recipe now.
Does anyone not like or know about dosa? There is not much introduction needed for this much loved universally known delicious fermented “pancake” from the Indian peninsula. Without much ado, I’ll share my recipe that I’ve tweaked over 25 years with several insights from my own experiments, and advice from family members.
Print Recipe Stuffed Eggplant (Ennai Kathirikkai) South Indian, specifically Tambrahm version of the ubiquitous stuffed eggplant. Every region in India …
Paruppusili is a side dish that combines dal that’s been soaked, ground into a batter, steamed, and then scrambled with a vegetable.
Paruppu means dal, and to usili means to scramble.
This version is a Tamil version, a star in many south Indian Brahmin weddings and functions, along with more kozhambu (yogurt based gravy). I have used green peppers for the vegetable in this recipe. Traditional vegetables used are green beans, long beans, cluster beans. Broccoli is popular with my son. You can make it with cauliflower too.
The process is a bit involved, but it’s absolutely worth it. This dish packs a protein and vitamin punch with the dal and the vegetable. The process involves soaking the dal for a couple of hours, blending into a batter, steaming, and then crumbling it with sautéed vegetable.
But not to worry, this recipe will teach you a hack that would cut down the time to a mere 30 minutes, from start to finish, with a little bit of prep work done ahead.
