Prakash K. Sivanathan, Niranjala M. Ellawala

Pavakkai Kari

Name: Pavakkai Kari
Yield: Serves 4, as a side dish
Cuisine: Sri Lankan
Ingredients: 2 tbsp oil; ½ tsp chilli powder; 1 tsp ground coriander; ½ tsp sugar (white or brown); 2 medium tomatoes, medium diced; 6 garlic cloves, chopped; 1 medium onion, sliced; 6 fresh curry leaves; 1 tsp ground cumin; ½ tsp mustard seeds; 2 green chillies, slit lengthways with seeds in; 1 tsp ground turmeric; 300 ml (10½ fl oz/1¼ cups) water; 400 g (14 oz) bitter gourd; 1 tsp salt; ½ tsp cumin seeds; 100 ml (3½ fl oz/7 tbsp) coconut milk (medium thick)

Preparation info

Serves
4
, as a side dish

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Sri Lanka

By Prakash K. Sivanathan and Niranjala M. Ellawala

Published 2017

About

Ingredients

400 g (14 oz) bitter gourd
1 tsp salt

Asia
Sri Lanka
Side dish
Vegan
Gluten-free

Method

Wash the bitter gourd, top and tail it and slit it down the middle lengthwise. Scoop out the fibres and seeds from the centre using a teaspoon. Cut into lengths about 4cm (1½ inches) by 1cm (½ inch).

Fill a medium saucepan with water and add the salt and the turmeric. Soak the bitter gourd in this water for about 10 minutes. This helps reduce the bitterness of the vegetable. Throw away