Haagalkaai Gojju | Pavakkai Gojju | Bitter gourd curry - Video Post

Presenting to you another speciality from Karnataka, Haagalkaai Gojju. Bitter gourd is known as Haagal kaai in Kannada.

Gojju is a sweet and sour gravy made from  tamarind base and some jaggery along with various other spices  bringing about an aromatic and a flavorful gravy. 

This delicacy is also called a Menaskkai in some parts of Karnataka . The bittergourd can be replaced with Pineapple or Lady's finger as well with the preparation process remaining the same.

This bitter gourd gojju is like a palate cleanser and leaves a fresh feeling in the mouth. Hot rice with a little ghee and this gojju tastes heavenly.

Diabetics who are bored of having normal stir fries or boiled bitter gourd can definitely prepare this gojju and have. Goes well with rotis or puris as well.

Preparation Time : 10 mins

Cooking Time : 20-30 mins

Serves : 2-3

Video Method

(Play to watch the video) 

Ingredients
1 medium sized bitter gourd / pavakkai / karela
1/2 cup tamarind pulp
1 tablespoon sambar powder (recipe click here)
1 tablespoon rasam powder (recipe click here)
2-3 teaspoons grated coconut
few curry leaves
asafoetida - a pinch
salt as needed
1/2 tsp turmeric
2 tsp  powdered jaggery - optional ( diabetics can omit this)
1 tsp mustard seeds
1-2 tablespoon cooking oil. ( I used til oil , you can also use regular oil)

Method
Cut the head and tail end of the bitter gourd. De -seed it and cut into small pieces and keep aside.

Grind the coconut , sambar powder and rasam powder in a mixie jar with little water to a smooth paste.

Heat oil in a wok/kadai, crackle the mustard seeds and curry leaves.

Saute the bitter gourd pieces with haldi, some salt and asafoetida and cook it in tamarind pulp until the raw flavor of the tamarind is lost. Add some jaggery while the tamarind pulp is boiling.

Slowly add the ground paste and mix it thoroughly so that no lumps are formed. You can adjust salt and some spice powder is you need at this stage.

Let the mixture simmer well on a medium flame until it reaches a thick sauce like consistency . Keep stirring at intervals to avoid burning or sticking to the underside of the pan. You can drizzle some til oil in the end for an extra added flavor.

Serve it with piping hot rice with a dash of ghee and some roasted papads .

Karela Chips (pakoda) | Bittergourd Fritters | Pavakkai Varuval

Bittergourd / Karela / Pavakkai is a vegetable very popular among those suffering from diabetes.  It is also known as Bitter melon in many countries. As far as the popularity of bittergourd in various cuisines ,it is widely used in Asian and Indian recipes. 

Indian recipes use bittergourd in various ways and every region has a unique recipe with Karela . 

Bittergourd has a natural tendency to reduce the sugar spikes by way of natural insulin control.  

Additionally , bittergourd is an antifungal ,boosts immunity, rich in Vit A and C and also acts as a blood purifier .

Due to its bitter taste , it is disliked by most, especially children . I was introduced to bittergourd by way of these crunchy  chips or pakoda and later I got used to the bitterness and  now I literally relish Haagalkai Gojju and Pavakkai Pitla .

If you have air fryer ,you may even air fry the chips after marination .These chips when fried on medium flame until crunchy, stays fresh for 3 or 4 days and you can take while traveling.  I love these pavakkai chips with sambar rice and rasam rice. It tastes super heavenly. 

A very old post from 2018 , which saw the light of the day  (March 2025) .I have added a small video snippet on how to fry the chips to get the perfect crunch. 

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Preparation Time : 10 mins
Cooking Time : 10-15 mins
Complexity : Medium

Ingredients
2 medium bittergourds
1 tablespoon gram flour /besan / kadala maav
1 tsp rice flour
1-2 tsp of red chilli powder
1 tsp haldi powder

Pinch of asafoetida/hing
salt to taste
oil to deep fry

Method

• Cut the head and tail end of the bitter gourd .Roughly scrape the skin using a peeler .This will reduce the bitterness.
• Cut the bittergourd into thin round slices.  Remove the seeds from the center of the roundels 
• In a mixing bowl, add the slices, the gram flour, rice flour, salt, red chilli powder, salt,hing and a few drops of water and mix it well such that the slices are coated nicely with flour mixture.
• Let it sit in the refrigerator for 20 to 25 mins. This enables the flavors to steep in well.
• Heat the oil for frying and drop the slices one by one into the hot oil and fry.
• Fry until the slices turn crispy and golden brown . Drain it and serve it along with rice , sambar or you can even munch it as a snack.

Seppankizhangu Varuval | Arbi Chips | Colocasia fry

Root vegetables are generally full of starch and taste really good ,be it potatoes , sweet potatoes or colocassia / Arbi . In addition to potatoes I love this vegetable a lot , especially when it is deep fried in the form of chips . A very good accompaniment to the infamous South Indian curd rice or even regular sambar and rasam rice . Taro root is boiled and cut into slices and deep fried and then tossed in some flavorful spices and salt.
This is my childhood favorite and have very very fond memories of my mom and paati making this for me.

Preparation time :20 mins
Cooking time :45 mins
Complexity :medium

Khara Boondi - video post

Khara boondi is an integral part of any Indian savory snack. They can be called as  spicy pearls made using gram flour / besan. Boondis can be used in various preparations , garnish for jal jeera, spread over the serving of Bisi Bele baath, or even had as a plain tea time snack. Boondis are prepared in large numbers to be added to chiwdas/ mixture during Diwali.
Today we shall see how we can make this tasty snack at the comfort of our home. I am also including a video to demonstrate how to make boondis.

Preparation Time : 10 mins
Frying Time : 30-40 mins
Complexity : Difficult.

Poha Chiwda | Beaten Rice Crispies

Thick Poha chiwda is a very popular snack in India, it is quick to make and has a longer shelf life ,hence can be stored for a couple of days. This can be taken as a picnic snack on your short trips or tours to satisfy the 4pm hunger pangs. Poha chiwda is normally a must during the Diwali season alomg with the other snacks that are prepared. I have already told in my blog how to make Cornflakes chiwda, this is also more or less similar to that . You can adjust the spice level as per your family tastes and likings.
This is the traditional deep fried version I am presenting . There are other ways like roasting the poha in microwave / oven and then adding the seasoning to it which I shall present sometime soon; a diet version of this same snack.

Preparation Time : 5  mins
Cooking Time : 10 mins
Serves : 3-4
Complexity : medium

Set Dosa | Set Dose - Karnataka Special

Set Dosa / Set Dose is a popular breakfast item from Southern state of India ,Karnataka .
These dosas are very spongy and fluffy and made with the basic ingredients available in the pantry.
Set Dosas are served in sets of 2/3 along with vegetable sagoo  and coconut chutney , hence the name SET DOSA.

The usage of Poha / Avalakki / beaten rice and curd during the soaking and grinding process ,gives a mild sweet and sour taste to the dosas.

Preparation Time : 8-10 hours
Cooking Time : 30 mins
Serves : 2-3
Complexity : Medium