During Travel, many of us feel home sick mainly due to the outside food. When we are travelling or going for a vacation the first thing that comes to our mind is food. Especially, with little children travelling with us, we will be more cautious. Because of the Home food, Nowadays, many of us prefer to stay in self-catering cottages and try to carry all homemade mix like Paruppu Podi, Pulikachal mix etc. So homemade thokku will be very helpful for us and we can easily make white rice and mix with this thokku and eat happily. Bitter gourd thokku is one such travel friendly recipe. It has a shelf life of 1 week to 10 days if preserved properly. Lets see how to make this yummy thokku.
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| Bittergourd Thokku Recipe | Pagarkai Thokku Recipe |
Preparation and Yield:
| Preparation time | 10 mins |
| Cooking Time | 30 mins |
| Yield | 100gms |
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| Bittergourd Thokku Recipe | Pagarkai Thokku Recipe |
Ingredients:
| Bitter Gourd | 2 |
| Sambar Powder | 1 tablespoon |
| Tamarind | 1 lemon size |
| Salt | To taste |
| Grated Jaggery | 1 tablespoon |
| Hing | a Pinch |
| Turmeric Powder | a Pinch |
* 1 Cup = 250ml
For Seasoning: | Oil | 2 tablespoon+2 teaspoon |
| Mustard Seeds | 1 teaspoon |
| Fenugreek Seeds | 1/2 teaspoon |
| Omam / Ajwain Seeds | 1/2 teaspoon |
| Curry Leaves | 1 few |
Method:
- Saok the tamarind in water and extract the juice
- Finely chop the bittergourd and keep it aside. Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds. When the mustard seeds starts to sputter, add fenugreek seeds and ajwain and fry for 10 seconds. Then add curry leaves and saute it for 10 seconds. Now, add sambar powder and fry in the oil for 10 seconds
- Then add the chopped bitter gourd and stir well to coat the sambar powder and then fry in the oil keeping the flame in medium.
- When the bittergourd are stir-fried in the oil nicely, then add tamarind extract. Add turmeric powder and salt and allow the tamarind extract to boil till the raw smell of the tamarind extract goes off. Keep the flame low and allow the whole mixture to get thicken and becomes like a thokku. When the whole bittergourd mixture becomes only 1/4th of the quantity, then add grated jaggery and mix well. Switch off the flame. Allow the thokku to cool off and then store it in a air tight container. On top of the thokku add 2 teaspoon of oil and then close the container with the lid. The Top oil layer of the thokku is the preservative and it helps in preserving the thokku and extends its shelf life. When you are using, take the thokku from the bottom without using the oil. The Oil is mandatory for the shelf life of the thokku.
- The delicious bittergourd thokku is now ready to serve!
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| Bittergourd Thokku Recipe | Pagarkai Thokku Recipe |