Bitter Gourd Pitlai

Since most South-Indian meals involve cooked rice, we have a host of gravy-like side-dishes that are ladled over warm rice to be mixed and consumed. Rasam, Sambar, and Kuzhambu are the most common tamarind based gravies. While rasam is usually made with tomatoes and are slightly runnier in consistency, sambar and kuzhambu are of thicker consistency and are cooked with a wide range of vegetables. Another distinction between sambar and kuzhambu is that the former contains cooked lentils/dhal, while the latter does not.

Pitlai is a dish from the Sambar family. It has slight variations in consistency, spice mix, and the vegetables that are usually added. Pitlais are most often made with bitter-gourd (paavakai). As we are all aware today, bitter-gourd has several medicinal properties such as curing stomach ailments and controlling diabetes. But there are very few people who eagerly look forward to eating bitter-gourd. So, my assumption is that our great-great-great grandmas cleverly sneaked in this bitter vegetable in spicy, delicious gravies like Pitali that almost entirely mask the inherent bitterness of the vegetable. The focus is drawn towards the plentiful flavors of the spices that go into Pitlai, and not towards the bitter vegetable, which arguably becomes limp and overcooked. But the subtle bitterness complements the rest of the flavors beautifully.

My mom is well known for her paavakai pitlai. And her secret ingredient (borrowed from my great-grandmother) is jaggery. 
 

Ingredients

1. Bitter-gourd - 2
2. A small lime-sized ball of tamarind (half a lime sized, if the lime is big)
3. 1 inch piece of jaggery
4. 1.25 cups of raw toor dhal (lentils)
5. 4 - 5 teaspoons of coriander seeds (these are the main flavor contributors, and I personally like to go a bit heavy; but this will not be overpowering)
6. Bengal gram dhal - 3 teaspoons
7. Split urad dhal - 2 teaspoons + 1 teaspoon
8. 4 dry red chillies (or according to spice intake)
9. 2 tablespoons of coconut gratings
10. 2 tablespoons of oil (vegetable oil or olive oil)
11. 1 teaspoon of black mustard seeds
12. ½ teaspoon of hing
13. 1 teaspoon of turmeric
14. 2 teaspoons of sambar powder (home made or store bought; the recipe will hopefully appear in a future post)
15. a few curry leaves
16. some coriander leaves
17. Salt - 1.5 teaspoons (or to taste)

Preparation

Stage 1

1. Cook the toor dhal till it becomes soft and mushy.
2. Soak the tamarind in a bowl of hot water for 10 minutes.
3. Cut the bitter gourd lengthwise and scoop out all the seeds (the thick fleshy part), as they are known to cause the most bitterness. Ideally, keep them intact for nutritional value. Cut the gourd into ½ inch half-moon slices. My grandmother used to soak the cut gourd in salted water or tamarind water to further remove the bitterness. I personally haven’t found much of a change in the bitterness even if such steps are taken. But you could give it a try. Soak for just 15 minutes or so.

Stage 2

1. Heat a tablespoon of oil in a skillet. When hot, add the coriander seeds, bengal gram dhal, urad dhal (2 teaspoons), red chillies, curry leaves, and a pinch of hing. Saute on medium heat till the pulses start turning brown. Remove from heat, add coconut grating and stir. Allow the spices to cool.
2. Once cool, grind them to a smooth paste by adding about ¼ - ½ cup of water (or as needed). I personally like this spice ground to be smooth, but some like a coarser texture.

Stage 3

1. In a medium-sized pan, add the cut gourd pieces. Extract the juice of the soaked tamarind, and add it to the pan. Add a second round of room-temperature water to the tamarind pulp and squeeze out more juice. Add the juice to the pan. Repeat with a third round of water to the remaining tamarind pulp.
2. Add jaggery, salt, turmeric, and sambar powder, and cook the gourd on medium heat till it becomes tender and the tamarind solution doesn’t have a raw smell.
3. At this point, add the cooked toor dhal and mix well. Pitali is supposed to be thicker than sambar, but if the consistency is too thick, dilute with a bit of water. Also, we personally like to add a bit more dhal, so reduce the dhal to ¾ -1 cup if you don’t prefer much dhal (although, you should prefer it ;)). Let it cook (uncovered) for 10 minutes.
4. Finally, add the ground spice paste and mix well. Let the pitali simmer for 5-7 minutes. Taste and check for seasoning.
5. In a separate pan, heat 1 teaspoon of oil. When hot, splutter mustard seeds, 1 teaspoon of split urad dhal, and ½ teaspoon of hing. Pour the garnish over the pitlai and remove it from heat. For further garnishing, sprinkle some chopped coriander leaves. Mix the garnishes before serving.

As I mentioned, the sweetness of the jaggery makes all the difference (according to me). It cuts through the tartness of the tamarind and the bitterness of the gourd and balances all the flavors. 

 
Since Pitalis have a bit more dhal and are thicker in consistency than Sambar, they also make good side-dishes for idli, dosa, and adai.