Pavakkai Pakoda is a deep fried snack made with Pavakkai (Bitter Gourd), Gram flour and other spices. Many people do not like Bitter gourd due to its bitter taste, but it taste awesome when it gets deep fried. It has a very distinctive taste, hence it’s quite popular. For making this Pakoda, we cut the Bitter gourd to the thin slices, mix them with gram flour spice mix and deep fry them. This bite sized crispy pakoda are sure to make even the bitter gourd hatters fall in love with its taste & crunchiness.
In this recipe,I have only used basic ingredients and made it simple. But, you can enhance the taste and flavor by adding ginger garlic paste, small amount of garam masala, crushed coriander seeds, amchur powder, chat masala powder etc.,
Serve Pavakkai Pakoda with hot Masala Tea or Coffee. You can also serve it with restaurant style green chutney.
How to get best tasting Pavakkai Pakoda (Bitter Gourd Crispy Rings) ?
- Slicing : Slice the Bitter gourd evenly so that it get cooked uniformly. Make sure that you don’t cut into bigger pieces, as it might take longer to cook and won’t yield crispier pakoras. Also ensure that you remove the seeds from the bitter gourd rings, otherwise while frying it will surface on top of the oil.
- Flour : We usually use Gram Flour to make Pakoras. In this recipe, in addition to gram flour, I have added rice flour as well to get the crunchy pakoras. You can also add a teaspoon of corn flour.
- Variations : Adjust the flavor based on your taste buds – You can add powdered fennel seeds, cumin powder and coriander powder to enhance the taste.
- Oil: I have used coconut oil, however you can use any cooking oil. Make sure that you fry the Pakoras in a same temperature. I would recommend to use Medium-High temperature for crispier and completely cooked pakoras.
- We want Pakoras and not Bajji – For pakora we need to first dry coat the flours and then sprinkle water to coat the flours properly to each vegetable piece. We will not make a batter out of the flours as we do for bajji
Other Pakoda Recipes to try:
- Onion Pakoda
- Palak Pakora
- Semiya Pakoda
- Paneer Pakora
- Oats Pakoda
- Kambu Pakoda | Pearl Millet Pakoda
Recipe Card for Pavakkai Pakoda | Bitter Gourd Crispy Rings
Pavakkai Pakoda | Bitter Gourd Crispy Rings
Pavakkai Pakoda | Bitter Gourd Crispy Rings, a crispy, crunchy and yummy evening snack made using Bitter grourd, gram flours and spices. Like the onion rings, this Biggergourd Pakoda is also a crispy but spicy rings which tastes awesome. This is one of the easiest snack recipes that you can prepare anytime for your loved ones
- 2 Bitter Gourd (Chop into rings and discard the seeds)
- ½ Cup Gram Flour (Besan / Chickpea Flour)
- 2 tbsp Rice Flour
- 1 tsp Salt (Adjust As Needed)
- 1 tsp Red Chili Powder
- a Pinch Asafoetida (Asafetida / Hing)
- 2 Cups Oil
Chopping Bitter Gourd
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Wash and cut the Bitter Gourd into thin circles. Take out the seed. Take this chopped in a wide plate or a mixing bowl
Working with flours
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To the chopped Bitter Gourd, add gram flour, rice flour, salt, hing and red chili powder
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Mix the flours with bitter gourd. Sprinkle water little by little and coat the flours on each and every Bitter Gourd Ring
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We should not add lots of water and make it like a bajji mix. The water should be just enough to coat the flours and spices to each bitter gourd ring
Frying Process
-
Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan. When the oil is hot enough, take each coated bitter gourd piece and drop in hot oil. Add 7-10 pieces per batch. Do not overpopulate the oil.
-
Keep the flame in medium and deep fry the bitter gourd pakoda till it is golden brown and crispy
-
Take each fried batch and place it in paper towel or strainer to drain excess oil
Serving Time
-
Serve the crispy and yummy Bitter Gourd Pakoda with hot tea/coffee
- Add 1/2 tsp powdered Fennel seeds, pinch of cumin powder, 1/2 tsp coriander powder to get much more flavorful pakoda (Pakora)
- For pakora we need to first dry coat the flours and then use water to coat the flours properly to each vegetable piece. We will not make a batter out of the flours as we do for bajji
- We can also use ladysfinger, snake gourd instead of bitter gourd
- We can add hot oil or ghee to the coated bitter gourd which helps to get much more crispier pakoda
Method with Step by Step Pictures
CHOPPING BITTER GOURD
-
Wash and cut the Bitter Gourd into thin circles. Take out the seed. Take this chopped in a wide plate or a mixing bowl
WORKING WITH FLOURS
-
To the chopped Bitter Gourd, add gram flour, rice flour, salt, hing and red chili powder
-
Mix the flours with bitter gourd. Sprinkle water little by little and coat the flours on each and every Bitter Gourd Ring
-
We should not add lots of water and make it like a bajji mix. The water should be just enough to coat the flours and spices to each bitter gourd ring
FRYING PROCESS
-
Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan. When the oil is hot enough, take each coated bitter gourd piece and drop in hot oil. Add 7-10 pieces per batch. Do not overpopulate the oil.
-
Keep the flame in medium and deep fry the bitter gourd pakoda till it is golden brown and crispy
-
Take each fried batch and place it in paper towel or strainer to drain excess oil
SERVING TIME
-
Serve the crispy and yummy Bitter Gourd Pakoda with hot tea/coffee
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