Midhi Pavakkai Poriyal recipe with stepwise photos. A healthy and simple stir fry that can be made in a jiffy. This dry curry makes for an excellent accompaniment to serve with sambar or rasam rice.
You can also try this Pavakkai Theeyal and Pavakkai Puli Kulambu in your everyday diet as it has excellent medicinal benefits and is used to handle the fluctuating insulin levels in Diabetic people.
Baby Bitter gourd is known as “Midhi Pavakkai” in Tamil. It is less bitter than when compared to the usual bitter gourd. Because of this even children who hate bitter gourd because of the bitter taste can be coaxed into eating this poriyal.
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I have a love-hate relationship with bitter gourds and eating it is a chore during childhood and I think it continues to be so even now but I love eating baby bitter gourds.
I made this simple poriyal after a long time to check if my children have overcome their dislike for this vegetable and it seems they have done so and it was cleaned up without any complaints.
About Midhi Pavakkai
Midhi Pavakkai is Baby Bitter Gourds that are almost like Nellikkai (Amla or Gooseberries) in size. Even the seeds in the midhi pavakkai are used without being discarded while making this poriyal.
The nutty taste and chewier texture of the seeds make this poriyal an excellent side dish that even children finish off without any complaints.
As it is mostly seasonal available the most during the Summer season, make sure to include them in your diet often during the season to avail yourself of its health benefits.
Ingredients
Vegetables: Midhi Pavakkai or baby bitter gourds, onion, and tomatoes.
Seasoning: Mustard seeds and Urad dal in oil.
Spice powders: Sambar powder, Garam masala powder, and turmeric powder.
Instructions
To make midhi pavakkai poriyal, let's begin by
Heat a pan with oil and when hot season with mustard seeds and urad dal. Add onions, curry leaves, and saute till they become pink.
Add tomatoes, a pinch of salt, and cook till mushy.
Rinse, trim the ends of pavakkai, cut them into ¼ inch roundels, and add them to the pan.
Add spice powders - sambar powder, garam masala powder, turmeric powder, and salt.
Add ¼ cup water, mix well and cook covered over medium flame.
When the pavakkai is cooked and soft, the curry is ready.
Expert Tips
If you are worried about the baby bitter gourds being bitter, then you can add one more tomato as it balances the bitterness.
You can also add a teaspoon of jaggery at the end before switching off.
FAQ
Can I make this with regular Bittergourds?
Yes of course. You can follow the same steps to prepare the curry. But make sure to slice the bitter gourds into thin slices to help cook them faster.
To get rid of the bitterness, you can immerse the slices in salted water for 10 to 15 mins, drain, squeeze the excess water and then add it to the pan to cook.
Substitutions
If you do not have sambar powder, then you can also use red chili powder.
Variations
If you prefer an even more tangy taste, then replace a few tablespoon of water with thin tamarind extract.
You can also squeeze in a dash of lemon juice after switching off the stove. Do not add lemon juice while cooking as it will give a bitter taste.
Adding 1 to 2 teaspoon of jaggery at the end will give the dish a sweet, spicy & tangy taste giving it a gojju kind of feel while eating.
Storage
You can store the leftovers in the refrigerator and use them within the next 2 or 3 days after reheating.
Related Recipes
See more Side Dish Recipes for Rice
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Recipe
Midhi Pavakkai Poriyal Recipe
Ingredients
- 200 gms Midhi Pavakkai or Baby Bittergourd
- 1 Onion medium
- 2 Tomato small
- 2 teaspoon Sambar powder
- ¼ teaspoon Turmeric powder
- ½ teaspoon Garam masala powder optional
- ½ teaspoon Mustard seeds
- 1 teaspoon Urad dal
- 1 Curry leaf sprig
- 1 tablespoon Oil
- Salt to taste
Instructions
Preparation:
- Wash pavakkai well. Trim the pointed tips on both ends. Slice each bitter gourd across into ¼ inch roundels.
- Chop both onion and tomatoes finely.
Make Midhi Pavakkai Poriyal:
- Heat a pan with oil. When hot add mustard seeds and let them crackle.
- Add urad dal and fry till turns golden brown.
- Add onions, curry leaf, and saute till onions turn pink.
- Add tomatoes, a pinch of salt, and cook till tomatoes turn mushy.
- Add pavakkai roundels, sambar powder, turmeric powder, garam masala powder (if using), and salt.
- Mix well till the pavakkai is coated with the masala. Add ¼ cup water and mix well.
- Close with lid and cook for 5 to 7 mins over medium flame.
- Open and check if the pavakkai is cooked and soft. If it has not and appears dry, then sprinkle little water and cook covered for few more mins.
- Cook till all the water has evaporated and the poriyal is dry.
- Serve this midhi pavakkai poriyal with sambar or rasam rice as an accompaniment.
veena krishnakumar
Curry looks very inviting. May be i should eat pavakkai after all:-)
sangee vijay
my mom make bitter gourd this way...midhi pavakkai,i haven't tasted this but looks too tempting
SavithaRaj's Spice Land
Looking delicious !!
Sreevalli
What a melody of veggies.. Yummy curry..
The Yogi Vegetarian
This looks totally amazing!Great pics. Bitter gourd is one of my favourites, and so healthy too.
Pranjali
Very delicious and flavourful dish.Loved it.
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schmetterlingwords
Wow!! The paavakkai poriyal looks delicious... I used to hate bitter gourd too as a child, but now I like it.. Will see if I get baby ones here 🙂
maha
looks really yumm.loved the colour.tempting n mouthwatering......
Maha
Shobha
I eat a lot of this when I go to mom's place...I have never come across baby karelas in Mumbai.
Deeps @ Naughty Curry
lovely pic.. bittergourd is one of my fav's!
Hema
I love this pavakkai, my mom does a nice fry with it, looks superb, I think it wud go with rotis too..
faseela
awesome poriyal dear....yummy
Priti
Looks so perfect n delish ..nice pics
Sravs
Delicious one !!
Maayeka
Delicious stir fry with sooo cute baby bitter gourds..love the recipe and the clicks so much.and yeah I never tried adding sambhar masala in bittergourds..will try this soon..
Anjana
Kaveri
Have been wanting to try these for a long time...I tasted them once when my friend got it for her lunch at office..they were not bitter at all...Your preparation looks very yum Radhika.
jeyashrisuresh
my fav one, miss this one. nice addition of onion and tomato
Jayasri Ravi
Nice one, i love pavakkai so mich .., lovely clicks i have never used sambhar powder to poriyal
Women World
Simply Superb. Adding lemon juice is a new idea to get rid of bitterness.
Prathibha
This is a fav veggie at my place..especially those tiny bitter gourd variety..yumm
anusha praveen
hey radhi porial looks very tempting and i loved the lemon juice idea. I add jaggery though
Achu's Amma's Kitchen
nice and awesome poriyal...clicks droolling me..
Ms.Chitchat
Very nice recipe,loved the color of the poriyal, a sure try soon. I do add onions to pavakkai poriyal but not tomato.
Anu
WoW!! Nice clicks radhika. Lovely bittery poriyal...
spiceupthecurry.com
this curry looks awesome. looks so masaledar. 🙂