Mitkisangi teeki sukki - Spicy Cluster Beans

Mitkisangi Sukki is a side dish made of Cluster beans. Cluster beans are very popular in North Karnataka. My Mother makes two different side dishes with it. One is typical Konkani style. The one I am sharing with you here is a bit different in a way that grated fresh coconut is not used :) We moved to North Karnataka a long time ago. So, there is a lot of North Karnataka influence on this side dish.


Ingredients :

½ lb Cluster beans
2 teaspoons red chili powder
1 teaspoon coriander powder
½ teaspoon turmeric powder
½ teaspoon cumin powder
½ teaspoon mustard seeds
1 tablespoon Oil
Curry leaves
Salt to taste


Method :

Cut the cluster beans into one inch pieces.

In a shallow pan, heat one tablespoon oil. Add mustard seeds. When mustard seeds start splattering add curry leaves and cluster beans. Stir well and cook covered for about 2 mins till the cluster beans are half cooked. Do not add water.

Now, add all the dry powders and salt and mix well. Keep stirring so that the dry powders won’t get burnt. Cook covered for about another 2 mins before turning off the stove.

Keep it covered for some more time so that cluster beans will become soft in the remaining steam and absorb the heat and flavor from the dry powders.

Serve it with roti and cucumber salad or yogurt.

Gosale Gojju - Ridge gourd side dish

Gosale is one of the popularly used vegetables. Gosale translates to ridge gourd. My Mother makes too many and very different dishes with it, from curries to snacks. Gojju is everyone’s favorite at home.

Ridge gourd has a sweet taste, mixed with oiliness of coconut and a bit of heat from green chilies makes it simple and easy feast to the taste buds :) Kids love it too.




Ingredients :

1 Ridge gourd
2 tablespoons grated fresh coconut
2-3 green chilies depending on your liking for heat :)
Salt to taste
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 tablespoon oil Curry leaves
A pinch of Asafetida (optional)


Method :

Remove only the hard ridges of the ridge gourd with a peeler. Cut it into one inch cubes. Pressure cook ridge gourd pieces with little water. Allow it to cool. Save the water used for cooking to use while grinding.

Grind cooked ridge gourd pieces together with grated fresh coconut, green chilies and salt to a smooth paste.

For seasoning, heat one tablespoon oil add mustard seeds. When mustard seeds start splattering add curry leaves and asafetida (optional). Add it to the ridge gourd paste. Mix well before serving.

Serve fresh with hot white rice or roti.

Hesale – A Konkani Dessert

Hesale is a sweet dish made of phovu (beaten rice or poha), jaggery and fruits. It is also prepared as ‘prasada’ on some festivals. It is a very good dessert for summer. One of my fovorites as it has fresh fruits and it is very easy to prepare :)


Beaten rice absorbs the cocnut milk and the sweetness of jaggery. The startchy taste of rice mixed with sweet and a bit of oil from coconut milk, and the fresh fruity and light taste of cantaloupe makes this dessert very tasty and interesting !!

Ingredients :

1 cup of thin beaten (flattened) rice

½ cup of coconut milk

3 tablespoons powdered jaggery (brown sugar is a good substitute)

¼ portion of cantaloupe 2 pods of cardamom

Method :

Wash the beaten rice with water and drain the water thoroughly.

Peel, de-seed and cut the cantaloupe into very small thin pieces.

Powder the jaggery and the cardamoms.

Add washed beaten rice, cantaloupe pieces, coconut milk, powdered jaggery and cardamom powder together and mix well. You can add more cocnut milk or some water if it is too thick.

Serve fresh garnished with little jaggery powder on the top.

This can be made with ripe mango or banana. Usually on festivals the 'prasada' is made of banana.

ChaNe Dali Kosambari and Limbe Panak – Shelled Chickpea Salad and Lemonade

Ramanavami is birthday of Hindu God Rama, so is a Hindu festival. As usual, Hindu festivals are always known for deliciaous food, and singing Bhajans (devotional songs). And what is special for this festival ? It is Dali Kosambari (Lentil Salad) and Limbe Panak (Indian style Lemonade). This kosambari is my Father's favorites :)

Ingredients for Dali Kosambari :

½ cup ChaNe Dali (shelled chickpeas)
½ raw Mango grated
1 small Cucumber grated
2 green chilies – finely chopped
Few twigs of fresh coriander leaves – finely chopped
1 tablespoon fresh grated coconut
Salt to taste
½ teaspoon mustard seeds
2 teaspoons oil
Curry leaves

Method :

Soak ChaNe Dali in water for 4-5 hrs until they are soft. Drain the water. Add the grated raw mango, grated cucumber, finely chopped green chilies and coriander leaves, fresh grated coconut, salt and mix well. Use mixer-grinder (just one round) just to crush the chickpeas and to get a better mixture. It should not become like a paste.

For seasoning, heat two teaspoons of oil in a small pan, add mustard seeds and curry leaves. When mustard seeds start splattering, remove from heat and add it to the chickpea mixture.

Ingredients for Limbe Panak :

4 Glasses of water
2 Lemons
4 teaspoons of sugar
½ teaspoon Salt
1-2 cardamoms – powdered

Method :

Squeeze the juice out of two lemons into a glass jar with 4 cups of water. Add sugar, salt and cardamom powder. Mix well until the sugar is dissolved completely. You can add more sugar or salt according to your taste.

Serve both kosambari and Panak together.

Moolangi Sukki – Radish side dish

Not sure, Moolangi (radish) was one of the Konkani favorite vegetable. But, as we lived in Northern Karnataka my Mom might have tried this vegetable in her style. This is one of my and my Father’s favorites. Nobody else at home likes it. Earlier my Brother used to clip his nose when my Mom cooked this side dish. Now this style of clipping the nose is inherited by my Nephew :)


Ingredients :

1 Moolangi with fresh green leaves
1 tablespoon green gram (moong) daal
1 medium onion
1 table spoon grated fresh coconut
1 teaspoon red chili powder
1 teaspoon roasted coriander powder
½ teaspoon turmeric powder
½ teaspoon cumin powder
Salt to taste

Method :

Soak the green gram daal in half cup water for 15-20 mins. Finely chop the radish leaves and grate the radish root. Finely chop the onion.

In a shallow pan boil ½ cup water and add soaked green gram daal. Mix chopped radish, chopped onion, grated fresh coconut, all the dry powders and salt together thoroughly. Add it to the green gram daal and mix well again. Cook covered, occasionally stirring, till done.


Serve hot with rice/tomato saru (spicy soup). It goes very well with roti (Indian thin bread).

MoogamoLe Randai – Sprouted Green Gram curry

MoogamoLe in Konkani are sprouted green gram. It is one of the popular and very traditional curries. It is a must in the festival and wedding lunches. One of my favorites and every Konkani’s favorite :)


Ingredients :

1 cup sprouted green gram
1 tablespoons grated fresh coconut
1 tablespoon roasted coriander powder
2 tablespoons red chili powder
½ teaspoon fenugreek powder
½ teaspoon turmeric powder
1 medium size onion – finely chopped
2 green chilies – slit
Curry leaves
Small piece of tamarind
Salt to taste

Method :

Pressure cook sprouted green gram (not too much, the spouts should not get mushy). When you pressure cook the green gram the shells or peels separate and float. Remove these and discard. My Mom removed the peels before she boiled. But, I find boiling first is easy option :)

Grind the grated fresh coconut, coriander powder, red chili powder, fenugreek powder, turmeric powder together to a smooth paste.

Take the cooked green gram sprouts in a deep saucepan, add the ground coconut paste, salt, tamarind, chopped onion, curry leaves and slit green chilies. Bring it to boil. Simmer for 5 mins, until you get aroma of curry leaves.


My sister found a variation, she adds a clove of garlic while grinding the coconut. And adds few pieces of capsicum while boiling. It gives more aromatic flavor to the curry.

Serve hot with rice or idli or dosa. I love to eat it with idlis.

Kele Sukki - Green Plantain side dish

Kele are green plantain. They are only used for preparing side dishes or chips. These plantains are not used as fruits.




Ingredients :

2 Green Plantain
1 small onion – finely chopped
2 tablespoons grated fresh coconut
1 table spoon red chili powder
1 tablespoon roasted coriander
½ teaspoon fenugreek powder
½ teaspoon turmeric powder
Salt to taste Curry leaves
Small piece of tamarind

Method :

Peel the green outer skin of the plantain with a peeler, and cut into 1 inch cubes.


Grind the grated coconut, red chili powder, roasted coriander, fenugreek powder, turmeric powder together to a very coarse paste.

Pour the coconut mixture into a shallow pan, add plantain pieces, salt, chopped onions, curry leaves and tamarind, mix well. Add some water. Bring it to boil. Simmer until the plantain pieces are cooked and most of the water is evaporated.

Serve hot with roti or rice/sambar.

Vaali-Dali Randai - Malabar Spinach Lentil Curry

Vaali in Konkani is Malabar Spinach. It is of two varieties, red stem with smaller leaves and green stem with larger leaves. Both leaves and the stem are used to make the curry. The stems when cooked are soft, fleshy and juicy. I have used the Malabar spinach with green stem. Daali in Konkani is lentil. Vaali-Dali is a very popular curry. This is another favorite of my Mom.




Ingredients :

One long twig of Malabar spinach
½ cup toordaal (lentil)
2 tablespoons of grated fresh coconut
1 tablespoon red chili powder
1 tablespoon roasted coriander powder
½ teaspoon fenugreek powder
½ teaspoon turmeric powder
4-5 cloves of garlic
1 small piece of tamarind
Salt to taste
Oil for seasoning


Method :

Separate the Malabar spinach leaves from the stem. Chop the leaves, and cut the stem into two inch long pieces. Pressure cook along with lentil.

Grind the grated fresh coconut, chili powder, coriander powder, fenugreek powder, turmeric powder together to a smooth paste. At the end put one clove of garlic and grind for a minute.

In a deep saucepan mix the boiled lentil-spinach and the ground coconut paste. Add salt and tamarind. Bring it to boil. Let it simmer for 5 minutes.

For seasoning, heat 1 tablespoon oil in a pan, add crushed garlic. Fry the garlic until brown. Pour the seasoning into the spinach curry and close the lid of the sauce pan.

Serve hot with rice and papad. Serve a dollop of curds on the side. I like the taste of the curry when mixed with curds.