Bittergourd or pavakka in Malayalam kichadi, South Indian style…
There are a couple of ways of making kichadi, with ground coconut or without coconut. In this recipe, I skipped ground coconut & just added yogurt. Instead of deep frying the bitter gourd, I air-fried them with very less oil & they turned out super crispy.
Air-fried bitter gourd combined with yogurt & added tempering to it. This is a very refreshing dish, with the tempering tastes delish. This is served as a side dish with rice.
- Bitter gourd, cut into round slices- 25 slices
- Chili powder- 1 tsp
- Turmeric powder- ⅛ tsp
- Salt- 1 tsp
- Rice flour- 1 tbsp
- Gram flour or besan- 1 tbsp
- Yogurt- 1½ cups
- Coconut oil- 1 tbsp
- Mustard seeds- 1 tsp
- Dried red chilies, halved- 2
- Curry leaves- 10 leaves
- Cut the bitter gourd to round slices, you can either keep the seeds or discard them.
- Add chili powder, turmeric powder, salt, rice flour & gram flour, combine well.
- Th flours added will make the bitter gourd very crispy.
- Let marinate for 15 minutes.
- If you prefer you can deep fry the marinated bitter gourd.
- I've air-fried them, add the marinated bitter gourd to the air fryer basket.
- Add 1 tbsp oil & give them a stir.
- Set the temperature to 400 F or 200 C & air fry for 20 minutes till they turn crispy & golden brown in color.
- In a bowl, combine the yogurt well using a fork or whisk.
- Add the air-fried crispy bitter gourd to the yogurt & combine well.
- Place a small frying pan over medium heat, add coconut oil, let turn hot.
- Add mustard seeds, let splutter.
- Add dried red chilies & curry leaves, saute for a few seconds.
- Pour the tempering over the bitter gourd & yogurt mixture,
- Enjoy this as a side dish along with rice.
- Air fried crispy bitter gourd can be enjoyed as it is along with rice.