Konkani Café

Very Homey Daal

2011-07-06T10:21:00.000-07:00

Well, daal is one of the simple, yet delicious and healthy lentil soup in Indian cuisine. Every Indian has his/her own recipe for this, imo. Whichever recipe it is, daal is delicious and satisfying.

When I visited my sister in Gujarat, she prepared this for me. It is definitely not Gujarati daal. Thick lentil soup with South Indian spice and flavors.

Ingredients :

1/2 cup Toor daal
1/2 teaspoon Coriander powder
1/4 teaspoon Cumin powder
1/4 teaspoon Turmeric powder
1 sprig Curry leaves
Fresh Coriander leaves
2 Teaspoons Oil
1/4 teaspoon Mustard seeds
Pinch of Asafoetida

Method :

Wash daal and cook in the pressure cooker till soft with coriander leaves and curry leaves

Remove from cooker and put the daal with all the water into a pot. Add more water if needed.

Add all the powders and bring it to boil. Remove from heat.

For seasoning, heat oil, add mustard seeds and asafoetida. When the asafoetida aroma comes up remove from heat and pour on the daal mixture in the pot. Keep the pot covered until you are ready to serve. This way daal absorbs the flavors of seasoning well.
Serve hot with rice or roti.

Rawa Pongal

2011-04-18T06:31:00.000-07:00

Pongal is one of my favorite breakfast. It is so filling and healthy. I ate pongal when I started living in Bangalore. ie, when I stared working. My company provided us with full breakfast and lunch. In fact, I started putting on weight here. I used to wait for Thursday to eat pongal.

In traditional pongal rice is used, I am trying to reduce rice in the diet and substitute it with wheat. I found an excellent pongal recipe from my sister where soji is used in the place of rice. Why wait? I tried it. And it was so delicious.

Ingredients :

1 cup Soji (samolina)
1/2 cup Green gram (Moong) daal
3-4 green chilies
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/2 teaspoon Cumin seeds
1/4 teaspoon Turmeric powder
A sprig of Curry Leaves
2 tablespoons Oil
1 tablespoon Ghee-clarified Butter (optional - do not use it in Vegan preparation)
Pinch of asafoetida (hing)
Salt to taste.

Method :

Roast the rawa using 1 tablespoon oil. Keep aside.

Soak moong daal in enough water for 1/2 hour. Cook in enough water until mushy. Keep aside.

In a wide an heat 1 table spoon oil. Add mustard seeds and cumin seeds. When mustard splutters add curry leaves, chopped green chilies, turmeric powder and asfoetida. Saute for half a minute.

Add 2 cups of water and salt to the mixture and bring it to boil. Add roasted rawa and stir well so that there are no lumps. When the mixture thickens add cooked moong daal and mix well.

Add ghee and remove from heat. Keep covered for few mins.

Serve hot. It tastes good as it is also with coconut chutney. It tastes like upma with a twist. The creamy moong daal is fantastic.

Masaledaar Baingan Bhartha

2011-02-15T18:52:00.000-08:00

When I visited my sister in Guj, she made this bharta which is much different than what I cook. My sister's recipe is very spicy and chatpatta. Her recipes are always finger-licking tasty! This one was my instant favorite.

Ingredients:

1 purple Brinjal large (aubergine)
2 onions medium
2 tomato medium
1/2 inch piece of ginger
3-4 cloves of garlic
3-4 Green chilies based on their heat
1/2 teaspoon Red chili powder (you can increase this if you want it much spicier)
1/2 teaspoon Coriander powder
1/4 teaspoon Turmeric powder
1/2 teaspoon Cumin powder
Oil for tadka
Salt to taste
Garam Masala (Optional)

Fresh coriander leaves

Method:

Roast brinjal in oven or on stove top. Peel off the charred skin and mash the pulp.
Finely chop onions, tomato, green chilies, coriander leaves, ginger and garlic.
Heat oil in a pan, add chopped ginger, garlic, green chilies and fry till nice aroma come up. Add onions and fry till golden. Add tomato fry for another min.
Add all powder ingredients. Mix well and fry the mixture for another min. If it is too dry ad little water and fry till the water evaporates.
Add brinjal pulp and coriander leaves, fry for another few mins until the mixture is well infused with spices.
Serve hot with roti or rice-daal

Biscuit Ambade

2011-02-04T03:58:00.000-08:00

Biscuit ambade is one of the snacks which brings back the childhood memories. It is one of the snacks my grandpa used to pack for us from the famous Raya Hotel in Coondapura. He used to spoil us with all delicious goodies. Then on my Mother made these at home.

Ingredients :

1 cup urad dal (black gram)
1 teaspoon chopped geen chilies
1 teaspoon thin slices of coconut
1 teaspoon finely chopped ginger
1 teaspoon chopped curry leaves
salt to taste
oil for deep frying

Method:

Soak urad dal 3-4 hours. Grind the dal to a thick paste adding no water.
Add salt and other chopped ingredients. Mix well.
Heat oil for deep frying. Take one teaspoonful of batter each time and deep fry the abode till golden brown.
Serve hot with coconut chutney or coriander chutney. Yum yum!

Tasty Purple Potatoes

2011-01-12T08:46:00.001-08:00

This is not a recipe. Just my blabbering over the excitement. I had never tasted purple potatoes and so didn't expect these not so good looking purple potatoes to taste so good and creamy. In India, my Mom used to get Purple Yam called Kon in Konkani. She boiled kon adding little salt. Me and my sister used to go bonkers and eat all of it. I got the same taste when I ate these purple potatoes plus the creamy texture.

These potatoes are more healthier than the regular potatoes because they contain more antioxidants. Can't wait to find some recipes ... there should be some purple potato salad :) Love these ... yum yum!!

KaNanga Upkari : Sweet Potato snack

2011-01-10T05:14:00.000-08:00

La Opala is one of my favorite dinnerware. I used to collect La Opala coffee mugs before I left to USA. Now, I am back to use them :) I just love the white color with simple yet beautiful designs. I wish I had a big kitchen and much bigger cabinets to keep these :)

Now, coming to sweet potatoes. Aren't they as good as potatoes huh? One of the million recipes that my Mom cooked using sweet potatoes is upkari. It is actually an interesting breakfast or evening snack ... sweet and spicy ... Youngsters, my niece and nephew in my home do not like it. They want modern snacks. They call it 18th century-style food. But, I like it. This time my Mom specifically prepared it for me and my brother.

Ingredients :

4 large sweet potatoes
1 large onion
3-4 green chilies
Curry leaves
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 tablespoon oil

Method :

Wash and peel sweet potatoes. Cut them into small cubes. This is hard part. Chop onion and green chilies.
In a pan heat oil. Add mustard seeds. When mustard seeds splutter add cumin seeds, curry leaves, chopped green chilies and onion. Saute well until the onion is translucent. Add cut sweet potatoes and salt. Add little water and cook until soft.

Serve hot for breakfast or as an evening snack.

Mushroom Biriyani

2011-01-08T23:11:00.000-08:00

I am still trying to adjust to the life in Bangalore. It is already one month I have been visiting family and friends. Eating and stuffing myself with food my Mom cooks. Earlier I did only shopping to take things to USA. Now, I am doing everyday groceries and getting a feel how expensive the living in India is. Couple of days ago I was looking for mushrooms ...

Mushrooms are plenty n USA. One can have so many choices ... portabella, crimini, shitake chanterelle, button, enoki, oyster, morel and so on ... Here in Inida, I have seen only button or oyster mushrooms in the market till now. And they are not available all days. I still have to explore some of the bigger vegetable markets yet. I always used crimini or baby-bella for making mushroom biriyani because they add that smokey flavor to the rice. Now in Bangalore, I used button mushrooms, they taste fine too.

Am trying to photograph food with Indian style serving dishes. Still have to get used to. Had a tough time avoiding my reflection on the shiny stainless steel.

Ingredients :

1 cup rice
1 large onion
2 tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon ginger-garlic paste
10-12 button mushrooms (white or crimini)
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
1 teaspoon red chili powder
4-5 twigs coriander leaves
1 tablespoon oil
Salt to taste

Method :

I make pulao/biriyani in a very unorthodox way. I do not find much of a difference in taste. Even if there is a bit of difference I overlook it because my way is the easy way!
Wash rice and pressure cook in 2 cups of water.
Meanwhile, chop onion, tomatoes, coriander leaves separately. Slice mushrooms.
Heat oil in a wide non-stick pan. Add chopped onion and ginger-garlic paste. Fry until the onion is translucent. Add finely chopped tomato. Fry until tomato is done. Add salt, chili powder, coriander powder, garam masala. Mix well. Add mushrooms and little water and bring the mixture to boil.
Add cooked rice and mix well so that the rice gets coated with tomato mixture. Keep covered on low heat for a minute more so that the rice absorbs the masala flavor. Remove from heat.
Serve hot with raita.

Badanekai Ennegayi: Eggplant Side dish

2011-01-07T01:10:00.000-08:00

Eggplant ... in India it is called brinjal. It seems British call it brinjal and Americans call it eggplant. Just like capsicum and groundnuts are referred to as bell pepper and peanuts respectively in America. Whatever, Badanekayi ...

I always felt ennegayi was a big process with a lot of ingredients. I had to find some way that I could prepare it without getting exhausted. This is my own easy recipe for ennegayi that i use the chutney powder.

Ingredients :

10 small brinjals, about size of eggs

1 large onion

2 ripe tomatoes

3 tablespoons groundnut chutney powder

1 teaspoon red chili powder

1 teaspoon coriander powder

1/2 teaspoon cumin powder

1/2 teaspoon amchur powder

2 tablespoons oil

Salt to taste

Method :

Wash brinjals, do not remove the caps. Slit the brinjals lengthwise up to the caps. Do not cut through the caps. Stuff brinjals with groundnut chutney powder. Keep aside.

Finely chop onion and tomatoes separately. Keep aside.

In a wide sauce pan, heat oil. Add chopped onion. Fry until onion is translucent.

Add chopped tomatoes. Cook tomato-onion mixture until all the water from tomatoes evaporates and the mixture leaves oil.

Now add all the remaining powders listed in ingredients and salt. Add half cup of water and mix well.

Add stuffed brinjals. Cook over low heat until the brinjals are cooked soft and the water is all evaporated.

Serve hot with roti or chapati.

Mint Pulao

2011-01-06T00:44:00.000-08:00

It feels good when people remember what you like and cook the same when you visit them. Don't you agree with me? Well, my Aunt does that. She knows that I like the pulao she cooks. Every time I visit her she cooks this Pulao for me.

When I visited her in Irvine last month I asked for the recipe and took pictures for this post :)

Ingredients :

1 cup rice

1 onion

1 tomato

1 medium carrot

few florets cauliflower

4-5 green beans

1 medium potato

1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground garam masala

2-3 green chilies

2-3 twigs of mint

1 teaspoon ginger-garlic paste

1 tablespoon oil

Salt to taste

Juice of 1/2 lemon

1 teaspoon ghee (optional)

Coriander leaves

Fresh grated coconut

Method :

Wash rice with water, drain and keep aside.

Meanwhile, chop tomato and onion. Cut vegetables into 1/2 inch pieces. Almost equal size so that the cooking time is same and also looks good. Grind mint leaves together with green chilies to a smooth paste.

In a deep sauce pan, heat oil. Add garam masala powder, ginger-garlic paste and onion. Fry until the onion is translucent. Then add tomatoes and ground mint paste. Fry until oil separates.

Now, add all the vegetables and saute for a minute. Add rice and mix well with masala and vegetables. Add 2 cups of water. Add salt and stir once. Cook pulao covered on low heat.

When pulao is almost done add lemon juice and ghee. Stir once and cook covered until done. If you want it to be vegan then do not add ghee.

When serving, garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves an grated coconut. Serve hot with raita. Yum yum!

Lemony Pasta

2011-01-05T05:42:00.000-08:00

Pasta is something that you can do a lot of experiments with. It can be adopted to any cuisine, in my opinion. I love lemon rice and lemon semiya and so I thought I could give a try with pasta too. But, didn't want to use mustard seeds and curry leaves :) Thought of using the special sun dried tomatoes which I had brought from Italy recently.

In one of the farms in Tuscany I had an authentic Italian home-style dinner. It was real homie. On special request they served me complete veggie food, I mean no meat, no fish and no cheese. That made me so confident that I could make tasty Italian food without using cheese. The ribbon pasta in tomato sauce was so soft and the tomato sauce was so tasty that I wanted to eat more and more of it. They served sun-dried tomatoes soaked in olive oil and pickled olives with assortment of wine. I am not a great fan of wine but, sun dried tomatoes soaked in olive oil tasted very good. I thought using them in my experiment with Lemon Pasta. Then the usual ... tasty and figure friendly, broccoli. Ended up with simple ingredients and great tasting pasta. Now-a-days it is one of my favs and I make it very frequently ...

Ingredients :

1 cup pasta (any type)
Few broccoli florets
1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes

Method :

Cook pasta as per instructions with salt added. You can use any type, I used corkscrew.<
Meanwhile, in a wide saucepan heat oil and add chopped sun dried tomatoes. Saute for a minute. Add broccoli saute only until they change the color to beautiful green. Add salt to veggies.
To this add pasta and black pepper. Saute for one more minute. Remove from heat.
Add lemon juice and mix well.

Serve hot.

Sometimes, I add snow peas as well with broccoli, if I have them in the pantry. They taste great too.

Chakke Sukki : Tender Jackfruit side dish

2011-01-04T03:28:00.000-08:00

Chakko in Konkani means tender jackfruit. It can be used to make different curries and side dishes. I used the canned jackfruit and beleive me! it doesn't taste as good as the fresh ones. The brine adds some kind of side smell. But, better than nothing :)

When we visited grandparents, way back our luggage used to be unmanageable. Big bags full of Mangalorean vegetables, which included breadfruit, taro, wild sweet potatoes, chakko, jackfruit, drumsticks, turmeric leaves, green eggplant (gulla) and so on ... and munchies!!!!! then for a week we used to have feast everyday. For another two weeks all the munchies ... Anyways, back to chakke sukki :)

Ingradients :

1 can Chakko (Tender jackfruit)
2 tablespoons fresh grated coconut
4-5 dry red chilies depending on their heat
1 teaspoon coriander powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
1/4 teaspoon fenugreek powder
small piece of tamarind
1 teaspoon Urad daal
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
Curry leaves
Pinch of Asafoetida
1 tablespoon oil
Salt to taste

Method :

Wash the brine off the jackfruit pieces. In little water boil them till soft. Keep aside to cool.
Roast urad daal. Grind coconut, red chilies, coriander, cumin, methi, turmeric powders, tamarind and half urad daal into a coarse paste.
Heat oil in a kadai (wide wrought iron pan) add mustard seeds. When mustard seeds splutter add curry leaves, urad daal and asafoetida. When the nice aroma of urad daal and asafoetida spreads add the ground masala mix well. Add little water (water used to boil jackfruit) simmer for a minute.
Meanwhile, drain the squash the boiled jackfruit with your hands. Add this to the simmering masala. Add salt and mix well. On low heat, cook covered until the water is evaporated and the side dish is dry.

Serve hot with rice and saru or any daali randai.

Fried Idli : A makeover

2011-01-03T05:09:00.001-08:00

Leftover idlis are not that great to enjoy. They will have a smell because of too much of fermentation and they become hard. Easy and best way is to make them a bit flavorful and crispy. My Mom fried them with little bit of fresh coconut oil. I like coconut oil very much and then the crispiness makes these leftover idlis delicious. Coconut oil can be substituted with ghee. In my opinion ghee is very common, giving a very different flavor is the real makeover :)

Ingredients :

Leftover idlis
Fresh coconut oil
Any chutney powder

Method :

Apply coconut oil on both sides on idlis and fry them on tava. Remove from heat sprinkle chutney powder on one side.

Serve hot-hot. I promise ... yum !!!! You won't even know they were stale leftover idlis.

Moogadaali - Green gram Breakfast

2011-01-02T18:38:00.000-08:00

As a child I had Moogadaali (split green gram) very frequently for breakfast. My Mom prepared it frequently because it was easy to prepare in the morning, it was very filling and she considered it was very healthy. As I am a big fan of idli and dosa I used to like this once in a while.

Ingredients :

1 cup Moong daal (split green gram)
2-3 green chilies depending on heat
curry leaves
1/4 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds
Oil for seasoning
Salt to taste

Method :

Wash and soak moong daal in enough water for 20 mins.
Slit green chilies lengthwise.
In a wide saucepan heat oil. Add mustard and cumin seeds. When mustard seeds splutter add curry leaves and slit green chilies. When chilies change color add add soaked moong daal and salt. Mix daal with the seasoning and add little water. Cook on low heat. Remove from heat when the moong daal is just done. It should not be too mushy.

Serve hot.

Happy New Year and Rajma Curry

2011-01-02T04:18:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year to all Cooks and Readers :)

One of my frequenturry is Rajma. It is tasty and protein-rich. Only thing I, or everyone probably, hate about it is ... it is too flatulent. But, still I cook this one. I like it with rotis and rice as well. At home everyone makes fun of it but still ...

Ingredients :

1 can cooked Kidney beans
1 large onion
1 large tomato
1 teaspoon ginger paste
1 teaspoon red chili powder
1 teaspoon coriander powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
1 teaspoon amchur powder
pinch of turmeric powder
Coriander leaves
1 tablespoon oil
Salt to taste

Method :

Finely chop onion, tomato and coriander leaves separately.
In a sauce pan, heat oil and add chopped onion and ginger paste. Saute well until the onion is cooked well. Add chopped tomato and fry well until the oil separates.
Add all powders, salt and some water. Bring it to boil and boil until the raw smell of masala is gone.
Now, add chopped coriander leaves and cooked beans. If the curry is too thick add some more water. Simmer for few minutes that beans absorb masala flavor.

Serve hot with rice or roti.

Guggari : Green gram side dish

2010-12-22T20:08:00.000-08:00

Guggari is common only in North Karnataka. In North Karnataka, they have specific names for the dishes. Sometimes the name doesn't indicate the main ingredient. When we first moved to Hubli, we had so much of confusion over the accent, and getting the words. It used to be hilarious. Even after 20 years my Mom still speaks in her Mangalorean accent.

Anyways, guggari is a spicy side dish made of sprouted green gram. It is little chewy and hence goes well with the jowar rotis. Ingredients are very simple and easy to prepare.

Ingredients :

2 cups sprouted green gram
1 large onion
4-5 cloves of garlic
1 teaspoon red chili powder
Coriander leaves
1 tablespoon oil
Salt to taste

Method :

Finely chop onions, garlic and coriander leaves separately.
Heat oil in a pan fry chopped onions and garlic. Saute until the onion are little raw. Add chili powder, turmeric powder, chopped coriander leaves and salt. Mix well. Reduce heat.
Add sprouted green gram. Mix well to coat green gram with masala. Remove from heat.
Take care not to saute green gram too much. This removes the moisture from the green gram and they become hard.

Serve hot with phulka or rotis.

Unorthodox Paneer Fried rice

2010-12-22T20:05:00.000-08:00

Who doesn't like Paneer? :) Paneer (cottage cheese) is my all time favorite. The only cheese I eat. I can eat it any time of the day in any form. I sometimes eat it just like that giving an excuse 'I need proteins' !!! :) I find ways to make something out of this paneer. This recipe is not really authentic fried rice, I am not using soy sauce or MSG. This is my own version :)

Ingredients :

Rice 1 cup
Paneer 1 pack (more or less)
One large onion
Half Bell pepper (if too big)
1 Medium carrot
4-5 green chilies based on heat
Coriander leaves
1 teaspoon chopped ginger
2 cloves garlic chopped
1/2 teaspoon crushed black pepper
Pinch of turmeric
2 tablespoon oil (you can use enough oil, the measure is approximate)
Salt to taste

Method :

Cook rice. Take care it is not mushy.
Cut paneer, bell pepper and carrot into small cubes (1/2 cm).
Heat one tablespoon oil and fry paneer cubes until golden brown. Transfer paneer to a plate.
In the same pan add remaining oil, fry finely chopped onion, chopped green chilies, ginger and garlic till onion is translucent. Add turmeric and saute for another minute. Add carrots and bell pepper pieces and saute until the vegetables change color lightly.
Add salt, crushed pepper and chopped coriander leaves. Mix well.
Add cooked rice and fried paneer. Mix carefully until the rice is coated with masala mixture.
Serve hot garnishing with chopped coriander leaves.

Moogadaali Halwa : Green gram Halwa

2010-12-22T20:04:00.001-08:00

Moong daal is one of the ingredients used to make festive desserts in my family. Halwa is one of them. Very simple and healthy too. I prepare it when I get a sweet tooth.

Ingredients :

1 cup Moong Daal
2 cups milk
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup ghee
Powder of 2-3 cardamoms
Few strands of saffron

Method :

Soak moong daal in enough water for about an hour. Drain water and grind into a coarse paste.
Soak saffron in a tablespoonful milk.
In a wide non-stick pan warm up milk. Add moong daal paste and half portion of the ghee. Keep stirring on low heat to avoid burning at the bottom.
When the mixture becomes thick add saffron and cardamom powder. Keep stirring on low heat for some more time.
When the mixture becomes thick add sugar and mix well until the sugar dissolves. Cook for some more time until the mixture gets halwa consistency.
Serve hot or at room temperature.

Pickled Olives

2010-12-22T20:02:00.000-08:00

Do you like olives? I like them very much. I eat them all the time with salads. But, in my family many do not like them. I think it is an acquired taste. Recently when I visited Italy I had different types of olives with different flavors, in different forms. I liked one which was little flavored. I tried this myself ... garlic-ky and spicy ...

Ingredients :

1 can black olives
1 can green olives
10-12 cloves of garlic
1 teaspoon paprika (more if you want it to be spicy)
1 tablespoon EVOO

Method :

Finely chop garlic. Heat oil in a sauce pan. Add garlic and fry until golden brown. Add paprika and remove from heat. When the oil cools add olives. Mix well.

I did not add any salt because the olives were already in the brine.

Can be served as pickles.

Mooga Usli : Green gram side dish

2010-12-22T19:16:00.000-08:00

Usli is one of my Mom's favorites. She prepared usli of most of the grains. It is tasty and on that very healthy. I love green gram because it is much less flatulent than other grains. Flavor of curry leaves and green chilies make this dish very delicious.

Ingredients :

1 cup sprouted green gram
2-3 green chilies depending on the heat
Curry leaves
1 tablespoon fresh grated coconut
Salt to taste
Pinch of sugar
1/4 teaspoon mustard seeds
2 teaspoons oil

Method :

Cook sprouted green gram in pressure cooker adding water. Remove peels which float at the surface. Drain the water.
Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds. When mustard seeds splutter add curry leaves and green chilies. When chilies change color add cooked green gram, grated coconut, salt, and sugar. Mix well and cook for a minute.

Serve hot.

Batate Bhaje : Potato Fritters

2010-12-22T19:14:00.000-08:00

In konkani we call Bhajji as Bhaje. And who on this Earth doesn't like Bhajji? Wow, it is raining outside and thinking of Bhajji itself makes me smile. Hot-hot bhajji with steaming hot coffee ... every Indian soul will love this :)

Ingredients :

Medium sized potato
1 cup Besan (chickpea powder)
1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/4 teaspoon peprika
Salt to taste
Pinch of baking soda
Oil to deep fry

Method :

Peel potatoes and cut into thin slices. Soak in salt water.
Mix besan and other ingredients. Add enough water to make thick batter.
Dip each potato slice in the batter and deep fry in oil.
Serve hot with mint chutney or ketchup.

Badam Halwa : Almond Halwa

2010-12-22T18:43:00.000-08:00

When I used to visit my Grandma in Coondapura one item in the task list would be eating badam halwa from Hotel Paarijaat. Those days this hotel was one of the fanciest in the town. Now, my Grandma is nomore but, I still visit a nearby place called Anegudde, a religious place. And on the way back I buy this badam halwa from the same hotel. Recently, I bought a bagful of almonds from Costco and was wondering what to do with so much of almonds. My sister gave a suggestion to prepare halwa and she gave me the recipe too.

Ingredients :

1 cup Badam (Almonds)
2 cups Half & Half milk (or very thick milk)
1 cup Sugar
3/4 cup ghee
Few strands of saffron
Powder of 2-3 cardamoms

Method :

Soak Badam in enough water for few hours so that it is easy to peel them.
After peeling grind badam into smooth paste.
Soak saffron in a tablespoonful milk.
In a wide non-stick pan warm milk on a very low heat. Add almond paste and half of the ghee. Keep stirring the mixture on a low heat to avoid burning at the bottom.
When the mixture starts thickening add saffron and cardamom powder. Cook for some more time until the mixture gets thick.
Add sugar. Mix well until sugar dissolves. Keep stirring on low heat until the mixture gets the halwa consistency. Remove from heat and let it cool.
Serve in any shape garnishing with roasted almonds.

Lemon Semiya

2010-12-22T17:06:00.000-08:00

During my hostel days 9 years ago I used to wait for the cook to prepare this rice semiya for breakfast. The cook used to prepare this one really good. When I left the hostel I stated preparing this myself with little improvements or I added one more ingredient :)

Ingredients :

Rice semiya 100gms packet
1 Large white onion
3-4 green chilies depending on the heat
1/4 inch piece of ginger
1 sprig curry leaves
1/4 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds
5-6 sprigs coriander leaves
pinch of turmeric powder
Juice of one lemon
1 tablespoon groundnut oil
Salt to taste
Pinch of sugar (optional)
Grated coconut for garnishing (optional)

Method :

In a pot boil water. Add the semiya. Cook until the semiya is just done, do not allow the semiya to get mushy.
Meanwhile, finely chop onions, green chilies, coriander leaves, ginger.
In a wide pan heat oil. Add mustard seeds. When mustard seeds splutter add cumin seeds, chopped onions, green chilies, ginger and curry leaves. Saute until the onion is translucent.
Add salt, turmeric powder and chopped coriander leaves. Mix well until the coriander leaves slightly change color.
Now, remove from heat. Add sugar only if you like little sweetish taste. Mix well.
Add the semiya and lemon juice. Mix until the semiya is coated with the seasoning.
Serve hot. Garnish with little grated coconut on every plate.

Bisibele Huli Anna with no bele

2010-12-21T23:35:00.000-08:00

This was a mistake turned out to be a delicacy. It is cold now-a-days and I wanted to eat something very spicy. I thought I will prepare Bisibele Huli Anna, popularly known as Bisibele Baath. With all interest I prepared the masala and when I was about to mix the rice I realized that I didn't cook toor daal along with the rice. Disappointed I added only rice. But, to my amazement the preparation was very delicious.

Ingredients :

1 cup rice
1 lemon sized chunk of tamarind
curry leaves
1 medium potato
4-5 green beans
1 medium green bell pepper (capsicum)
1 medium carrot
1 tablespoon ghee

For Masala Powder :

2 tablespoons channa daal
1 tablespoon urad daal
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
4-5 dry red chilies
1 teaspoon back pepper

For seasoning :

1 tablespoon ghee
Pinch of asafoetida
Dry red chilies
curry leaves

Method :

Wash rice and cook.

Soak tamarind in water and extract pulp.

Meanwhile, roast all the ingredients listed under masala. Cool and then powder all the ingredients together. Keep aside.Cut the vegetables into bigger pieces. Cook potatoes separately or you can cook potatoes with rice.

In a wide pan pour tamarind pulp with extra water. Bring it to boil. Add all the masala powder, few curry leaves and cut vegetables. Boil until the raw smell of malasa is gone. Add 1 tablespoon ghee. Mix well.Add rice and potatoes mix well until rice is covered with masala. If it is too dry add little water. Cook covered for another minute.

For seasoning, heat ghee add mustard seeds. When mustard seeds splutter add curry leaves, red chilies and asafoetida. When the nice aroma spreads pour this on the rice mixture and cover immediately. Mix the seasoning well before serving.

Serve hot with spicy potato chips or boondi.

Tomato Uttappam

2010-12-21T22:44:00.000-08:00

First time I had this tomato uttappam, around 15 years ago, at Kamat Hotel in Hubli. My sister liked it very much. She kept on saying that she can modify it to make it taste better. She was oldest of us all and being a school kid I used to look up to her for everything. She was our Top-Chef those days. And she really did improvise it :) Here is her recipe.

Ingredients :

1 cup Besan (chickpea powder)
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
2 firm tomatoes
1 large red onion
2-3 green chilies
4-5 prigs of coriander leaves
1 sprig curry leaves
Salt to taste
Oil to fry uttappam

Method :

Take 1 cup of buttermilk in a mixing bowl. If the buttermilk is too thick add water. Slowly add the besan, cumin seeds and salt and mix well so that there are no lumps. Use enough besan to make a thick batter of pancake consistency. Keep aside for 20-30 mins.
Meanwhile, finely chop onion, tomato, green chilies, curry leaves and coriander leaves. Mix these well. Keep aside.
In a dosa pan, spread little oil and pour a uttappam. Spread tomato-onion mixture evenly over the uttappam and press lightly so that the mixture sticks firmly to the batter below. When the uttappam is done on one side, pour a teaspoonful of oil over the tomato-onion mixture-side, then turn over the uttappam and cook on the other side till golden brown.

Serve hot with coconut chutney.

Idli Uppittu

2010-12-20T16:45:00.000-08:00

After first couple of batches, idli batter gets a bit stale even if you refrigerate it. And the idlis turn out to be a bit sour. To avoid the raised noses during breakfast my Mom used to prepare idli uppittu. I think this is very common in south Indian household. Here is what my Mom did.

Ingredients :

Stale idlis - 6
channa dal - 1 teaspoon
urad dal - 1 teaspoon
curry leaves - 1/2 a sprig
mustard seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
coconut oil - 1 tablespoon
dry red chilies broken into small pieces - 2

Method :

Crush idlis into coarse powder or small pieces.
In a shallow wide pan heat oil. Add mustard seeds. When mustard seeds splutter add curry leaves, red chilies. Fry for a minute. Add the idli powder to the seasoning. Mix well.
No need to add salt as the idli batter already has salt. If you like you can add few more drops of fresh coconut oil.
I like the flavor and taste of idli uppittu very much except the fact that it has unhealthy coconut oil.

Sabudane Payasu

2010-12-20T05:50:00.001-08:00

Sabudana is one of the most used ingredients in Konkani cuisine. Used to prepare desserts, deep fried snacks, upma etc. Especially for the traditional preparations. I love the sabudana upma and also the pasasu (an indian style dessert). I have a modern twist just by using a fruit as a garnish.

Ingredients :

Sabudana 1 cup
Milk 2 cups
Water 2 cups
Sugar 1 cup (depends on the taste)
Ghee 1/4 cup
Handful of roasted cashew nuts
Few strands of saffron

Canned peaches to garnish (very very optional)

Method :

Soak sabudana in 1 cup of water for 30 mins.
In a deep sauce pan warm up milk. Add sabudana along with water. Bring it to boil. Cook for sometime until the sabudana becomes soft. Add water if the consistency of the mixture is too thick.
Meantime, roast cashew nuts. Soak saffron in a tablespoonful of milk
Add cashew nuts, saffron milk, ghee to the boiling sabudana and mix well. Cook for few more mins until the sabudana is completely soft.
Add sugar and mix well until sugar dissolves. I do not add sugar to the boiling mixture, sometimes I have observed that the milk breaks by doing this.
You can serve hot in traditional way.
I chilled it by keeping the refrigerator and served it with a piece of canned peach. The fruity taste was good :)

Sweet and sour chutney

2010-12-07T07:19:00.000-08:00

Sweet and sour taste is always very appealing to me. I used to love this chutney made of imli (tamarind) and jaggery. I especially liked it with the sweet dosa variety like Surnoli (a konkani dosa).

Ingredients :

6-7 Sweet tamarind (I used Thai tamarind)

1 teaspoon red chili powder

1 lemon sized piece of jaggery - finely chopped

Oil for seasoning

1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds

2 dry red chilies

Pinch of asafoetida

a sprig of Curry leaves

Salt to taste

Method :

Remove the upper hard shell of the tamarind. Soak tamarind in enough water for 30 mins. Remove the pulp adding more water. Remove any seeds or any hard residue of the shells.

In a pan, bring the tamarind pulp to a boil. Add chili powder, few curry leaves and jaggery. Cook for about 2 minutes more to get the thick consistency. Remove from heat.

In a tadka pan, heat oil. Add mustard seeds. When mustard seeds splutter add remaining curry leaves, red chilies and asafoetida. When the nice aroma of seasoning spreads around pour the seasoning over the chutney and keep it covered.

Mix well before serving. This can be kept for a week without refrigeration.

If it is made less sweet, it can be mixed with cooked rice to prepare a simple variety of tamarind rice on the days you are feeling very lazy to cook something near to exotic.

Spicy Potato

2010-12-06T21:42:00.000-08:00

Few days ago I happened to buy some fingerling potatoes and didn't know what to do with them. Actually one doesn't have to worry about potatoes. They are so flexible and you can do anything with them. Anyways, I boiled and peeled them. Then looked in to the pantry and found the usual. Then went according to my instincts. The result seemed to be nice and delicious :) And I thought it was my version of Dum Aloo :)

Ingredients :

Fingerling potatoes around 10
Large ripe tomato -1
Large onion -1
Cloves of garlic - 3-4
Chili powder 2 teaspoonful
Garam Masala - 1/2 teaspoonful
Extra Virgin olive oil 2 tablespoonful
Fresh Coriander leaves - a handful
Salt to taste

Method:

Poke the potatoes with a fork on all sides and then boil them until cooked but firm. Peel them and keep aside covered.
Chop onion and grind with garlic into a coarse paste.
Chop Tomato and grind into a paste.
In a shallow pan heat olive oil and add onion paste. Saute until the raw smell of onion is gone.
Add tomato paste and saute it until the water evaporates and the mixture leaves the oil.
Now, add chili powder, salt, garam masala, chopped coriander leaves and little water and mix well.
Add the potatoes mix well until potatoes are covered with masala.
Cook covered until the gravy thickens.
Not sure everyone likes it, but I liked the olive oil which gives a very different pickle-y flavor to the curry. Serve it with soft phulkas or chapatis.

Easy Pasta

2010-04-18T15:44:00.000-07:00

Very simple food tastes much better for everyday eating. Mixing of too many spices and flavors doesn't work for me. Keeping recipe simple and using fewer ingredients makes food taste better. When I come back home from work, late and hungry, I just want something which is super easy to cook and also tastes great. I guess it happens to everybody :) On such evenings I keep my cooking semi-homemade.

I open the door, wash my hands, keep half cup of cappalletti pasta (or whichever pasta I have in pantry) with 3 cups of water and salt on stovetop. And then, I will do rest of my chores like changing clothes, washing the face, sorting out important mail from the junk mail, messages on telephone, etc ... By then pasta will be cooked and little bit of seasoning would get my food ready!

Ingredients :

Serves 2, If you are very hungry and do not have any sides then serves 1.

1/2 cup Cappalletti pasta (you can use whichever pasta you have in your pantry)
1 medium onion
2 cloves of garlic (if they are small use 3)
Few sprigs of Basil (depends on your liking for flavor)
1 cup Mariana sauce
1 tablespoon peanut powder (very coarse)
1 tablespoon EVOO
Salt to taste
Crushed black pepper corns

Method :

1. Cook pasta in 3 cups of water with generous amount of salt added.

2. Chop onions and mince garlic.

3. In a wide sauce pan heat oil and add onions and garlic. Saute until tender.

4. Reduce the heat to moderate, add Mariana sauce and chopped basil, cook for another minute.

5. Add the pasta to the sauce, mix in well so that pasta gets coated with the sauce.

6. Add peanut powder and give a stir.

7. Add crushed black pepper for added flavor. Cover the pan with the lid and turn off the heat. I do this because I like the flavor of the black pepper corn absorbed by the pasta.

Serve hot with veggie salad.

I add peanut powder because I donot eat cheese. I tried peanut powder and it worked like magic. It gives a very nutty-crunchy texture to the pasta.

Bendekai Gojju: Sweet n' Spicy Orka Curry

2010-04-17T15:33:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned in my previous post, during my short India trip I collected as many recipes possible. Yeah ... this one too! Couple of years ago, when I was working in Bangalore ... this happened. My colleague used to frequently get this curry for her lunch. I am not a big fan of 'eating outside' everyday and so I ate packed lunch too. We both ate together most of the days ... and the aroma of this gojju was so much mouth watering that I had to make it. When I asked her for recipe she promptly told me what to do and what to use in a ballpark ... and I left Bangalore soon after and totally forgot about it. When I was in Bangalore two weeks ago so many thoughts about the past passed my mind and Bendekai gojju was one of them. And here it is!

Ingredients:

1 lb fresh tender Okra
1 teaspoon channa daal
1 teaspoon urad daal
Lemon size ball of tamarind
small piece of jaggery, depends on your taste for sweet curry
1 teaspoon coriander powder
1/4 teaspoon cumin powder
1 teaspoon red chili powder, add more if you want it to be spicy
1/4 teaspoon mustard seeds
pinch of asafoetida
1 tablespoon oil
more Oil for seasoning

Method:

Soak tamarind in one cup of water for some time and remove the pulp.

Cut okra into thin slices. In a wide pan heat a tablespoon of oil and fry okra pieces until brown so the sliminess of okra is completely gone. Set aside.

Roast channa daal and urad daal. Powder the roasted daals into smooth powder. Keep aside.

In a saucepan heat the tamarind pulp. Add water if it is too thick. When it starts boiling, add the powdered spices, daal powder and salt mix well, then bring it to boil. Now, add jaggery and fried okra pieces. Cook for another minute. Keep it covered after removing from heat. Keep in mind this curry consistency should not be too thick, liquid-like consistency goes well.

For seasoning, heat oil and add mustard seeds. When seeds splutter, add curry leaves and asafoetida. When the asafoetida aroma spreads around, add the seasoning to the curry and cover the curry immediately. Covering helps the hot curry to absorb the flavor of seasoning well.

Serve hot with steaming rice or soft roti.

Sabudane Uppittu

2010-04-10T10:51:00.000-07:00

Here is another one of my favorites and my Sister prepared it when I visited her in India. Huh ... as if she has some magic trick that it tasted so good. Very delicious uppittu. I will eat it any time! It is a hot favorite on fasting days like Sankashtha Chaturthi :) Here it goes my sister's recipe ...

Ingredients:

1 cup sabudana
1/2 cup roasted peanuts
3-4 green chilies depending on their heat - finely chopped
Small pice of ginger - finely chopped
Curry leaves
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
Salt to taste
2 tablespoons oil

Method:

Soak sabudana for few hours in the water until they absorb water well. Powder the peanuts coarsely.

In a wide non-stick pan heat oil, add mustard seeds and cumin seeds. When the seeds splutter add curry leaves, chopped ginger and green chilies. Saute for 30 seconds may be.

Add sabudana and mix with the oil gently. Keep stirring regularly but gently so that the sabudana cooks but not mashed. Add salt and peanut powder, and then mix well. Remove from the heat after about a minute.

Serve hot, garnished with fresh chopped coriander.

Sabudana-Potato Vada

2010-04-05T08:32:00.001-07:00

I had a great trip to India! It was lovely feeling to be soaked in the love of the family. My Mother and my sisters made all possible dishes I liked in those 10 days and I ate them all! Ahh it feels great! I took pictures of most of the dishes while I was there last month so that I could post them here :) I love sabudana and anything made of it ... This was one of my sister's recipes. She once ate this vada in one small restaurant in Dharwad (a sleepy city in Karnataka, India) and recreated it. And so it is my Sister's own recipe. And I must say it was so delicious! I love deep fried anything and this became my instant favorite. Yum! yum!! Health factor ... hmmm ... we are NOT going to eat it everyday and so it is okay :)

Ingredients :

For filling:

1/2 Kg Potato
1 very large or 2 medium onions
green chilies depending on their heat and your liking for heat
1 teaspoon Cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon Mustard seeds
1/4 teaspoon Turmeric
1 sprig Curry leaves
Oil for seasoning
Salt to taste

For Vada:

1 cup Sabudana
1-2 tablespoon maida
Oil for deep frying

Method :

Soak sabudana in water for few hours.

Boil potatoes in a pressure cooker and let them cool. Peel and coarsely mash them. In a pan heat oil add mustard seeds and cumin seeds, when splutter add chopped onion, chopped green chilies and curry leaves. Fry until translucent. Then add turmeric powder cook for couple of mins. Add salt and mashed potato. Mix well so that potato gets coated with the masala. Make small balls of this potato mixture.

With maida make a thin batter adding water. Heat oil for deep frying. Take a potato ball, flatten it a bit, dip in the maida batter and coat it with sabudana. Deep fry until golden brown.

Serve hot with coconut-coriander chutney. The look of the vada itself is so very appetizing. Taste? You will definitely like it!

Dali Kappa : Varieties

2010-02-24T11:54:00.001-08:00

Dali Kappa (Dali is Lentil) are very frequent side dishes at home. I love them and my Mother loves them. Depending on what kappa is cooked my Mother prepared tomato saru or dalitoy to relish with hot steaming rice. Dali kappa recipe is the same but we can use different vegetable to make some variety. I love kappa with leafy vegetables like malabaar spinach or just spinach, spring onions, dill or methi (fenugreek leaves). I had earlier posted spring onion kappa made of channa daal. We can also make it using cabbage. Some Konkanis call it with different name though. Here I have posted two varieties of kappa with malabar spinach and cabbage.

Ingredients :

1 cup Toor daal

1/4 cup rice 1 large onion

1/2 cup fresh grated Coconut

2 tablespoons Chili powder (depends on how spicy you prefer)

1 tablespoon Coriander powder

1/2 tablespoon Cumin powder

1/4 teaspoon fenugreek powder

1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder

small piece of tamarind

Salt to taste

Oil for frying

1 cup chopped Malabar Spinach leaves/shredded cabbage/Fenugreek leaves. If you want to use dill use 1/4 cup. Dill has a strong flavor and it will overpower all other flavors.

Method :

Soak toor daal and rice separately for 3 to 4 hours. Grind toor daal to a very coarse paste. Grind grated coconut, tamarind and other powdered spices together to a fairly coarse paste. Grind rice to a smooth paste separately. Rice acts as a binding agent to keep the coarse daal together with other spices.

Fiinely chop onion and spinach/cabbage. Now, mix all the ground pastes, chopped ingredients together and salt. Mix thoroughly.

Heat a teaspoon full of oil in a flat frying pan. Take a lemon sized portion of the mixture and flatten it on the frying pan to make a small dosa or roti. Add little oil on the top and cook on both sides till kappa are crispy.

Serve hot with steaming hot rice and tomato saru. Once I had an idea of using these kappa as burger pattis. I made them less spicy and they tasted great!

Sheve Payasu : Semiya Payasa

2010-02-14T10:34:00.000-08:00

Sheve (or Semiya) is an Indian style vermicelli used to make payasu (a dessert) or upma (savory breakfast). It is one of the easiest and tastiest of all traditional desserts. There are too very different recipes for this. But, it tastes good whichever recipe is used to make this.

My Mother makes this in two different ways. In one, she uses coconut milk. In another, she uses cashew paste. I like the later the best. Today I had a sweet tooth and wanted to eat something fragrant and warm. I didn't waste any time. I feel great after having the payasu and wanted to share my great feeling :) And here is the recipe...

Ingredients :

Serves 4

1/2 cup vermicelli
2 cups thick milk
1/4 cup cashew nuts
1/2 cup sugar (or to your taste)
1 tablespoon ghee
Few strands of saffron
Few cashew halves

Method :

1. Soak the cashew nuts in 1/2 cup water for an hour. Grind to a smooth paste. Keep aside.
2. Roast the vermicelli and cashew halves using 1 tablespoon ghee. Keep aside.
3. In one tablespoon hot water, soak the saffron strands. Keep aside.
4. In a deep sauce pan heat milk and bring it to boil. Add roasted vermicelli and cashew paste. Keep stirring this mixture until the vermicelli is cooked.
5. Reduce the heat, add saffron water and allow the payasu to absorb the flavor.
6. Now add sugar and mix well until the sugar dissolves completely. Remove from heat.

Serve warm or cold. It tastes good either way.

Side tips: If you want to use coconut milk, add 1/2 cup of coconut milk as a substitute for cashew paste.

Badanekai Bharta : Spicy Eggplant dip

2010-02-13T15:11:00.000-08:00

My parents live in North Karnataka and I grew up there. And so I know North Karnataka style cooking as much as I know about Konkani cooking. Badanekayi (Eggplant or Brinjal) is a very popular vegetable there along with capsicum (green bell pepper) and daikon. And I love the side dishes and curries made of them with the Jowar rotis. I am really missing some of the unique greens while typing this post!

The cook in the hostel I stayed during my studies made this bharta every Fridays. It was a little different than the usual bharta from North Karnataka in a way how it is cooked. Usually only the eggplant is cooked, rest of the ingredients will be raw and fewer spices are used. Our cook's version was little different. He cooked all the ingredients because he was worried that the bharta may go bad as the dinner was served from 6:00PM to 10:00PM. So here it goes.

Ingredients :

1 big Eggplant
1 medium tomato
1 medium onion
1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
1 teaspoon coriander powder
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1 tablespoon oil
Crushed black pepper to taste
Salt to taste

Method :

1. Broil the eggplant until the skin is little charred, make sure inside is completely cooked. Or you can do it on open flame also. When cooled remove the skin and mash the pulp. Keep aside.

2. Chop onions and tomatoes separately

3. Heat oil in a wide shallow pan, saute the chopped onion until tender

4. Add tomatoes, cook for another two minutes until tomatoes are soft

5. Add cumin powder, coriander powder, salt and crushed black pepper and turmeric. Mix well and cook for one minute

6. Add eggplant pulp mix well so that all the seasoning is evenly mixed.

7. Cook covered on a low flame for another minute and turn off the heat

Serve with rotis or chapatis. North Karnataka people usually eat raw onions, lemon and greens chilies on the side for extra heat. You can have a taste too! I have tried onions and lemon but not green chilies!

Tzatziki Sauce

2010-02-09T01:48:00.000-08:00

Yey! My first Mediterranean (side)dish! Okay okay ... I know ... no brainer! But, still ... After a long time I visited the library and found mediterranean cooking to be interesting. I was sitting there and going over the spices, vegetables, flavors and recipes ... main courses didn't catch my attention as most of them were around meat. The section took me in an instant was DIPS :) All veggie! So many opportunities to experiment. Then I started thinking about mixing and matching my favorite ingredients. The dishes look so colorful and exotic! I am also thinking of cooking the main courses by substituting something for meat! and yes ... that substitute won't be tofu. Whatever ... no cookbook will help until one learns the basics. Until one knows about the flavors and how to mix them. Now, I am learning ... and so started with the tzatziki :)

Its not usual yogurt sauce, I added my very favorite ingredient, Green Olives! I love green olives with cucumber. I have been eating them together as salad for years now. The mild pickle-y taste of olives goes very well with the cool of the cucumber. So, here is the world's best tzatziki recipe :) I did not add olive oil. Also, I roasted the garlic. Somehow, raw garlic doesn't taste good for me.

Ingredients :

1 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup coarsely chopped cucumber
1/4 cup coarsely chopped pitted green olives
1 clove roasted and minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon crushed mint
1/4 teaspoon crushed black peppers
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Salt to taste

Method :

1. In a medium bowl mix all the ingredient except black pepper.
2. Garnish with crushed black pepper

Yet another Aloo Gobi ...

2010-02-08T09:13:00.001-08:00

Very common, yet popular … excellent combination … anytime easy to make … Aloo Gobi (potato-Cauliflower side dish) … I don’t think there is any Indian who has not cooked or at least not tasted this very popular North Indian side dish. Every time I have had it, be in friend’s pot luck, or in restaurants it tasted different. In Udupi palace its different, in Bombay Garden its different, my friend cooked- it tasted different … I don’t know what is the original recipe for it. However it is made, it tastes lovely … very very comfort food. Once me and my Mom visited my Aunt in Mumbai. It was raining and cold. My Aunt decided to cook Teekhi Gobi (spicy cauliflower) because my Mom asked for something spicy. But, cauliflower! Oh! my Mom hates the smell of it. But, my Aunt tried to convince her little sister that it would be nice with phulka. Oh! The rice-lover is being forced to eat phulka! Anyway, we sat there being polite guests. So, there was this spicy gobi which me and my Mom ate happily asking for one more phulka :)

Buttttt, only gobi? boring huh? And so I added aloo to it …

Ingredients :

1 whole cauliflower (medium size) cut into florets
1 big potato peeled and cut into cubes
1 onion chopped
Lemon sized ball of tamarind
1 teaspoon cumin powder
2 teaspoon coriander powder
2 teaspoon red chili powder (depends on taste)
Salt to taste
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 tablespoon oil

Method :

1. Soak tamarind in half a cup water and extract the pulp
2. In a wide shallow pan heat oil and add cumin seeds
3. When cumin seeds change the color add onion and cook till tender
4. Add potato cubes and cauliflower florets, sauté for sometime until they are half cooked
5. Now add the chili powder, cumin powder, coriander powder and salt to the tamarind pulp and mix well
6. Add the tamarind mixture to the potato and cauliflower, mix so that the spices coat all the pieces well.
7. Cook covered until all the liquid evaporates

Serve hot with hot-soft phulkas. Yum! Yum! If you like something spicy this is for you.

Goli Bhaje : Mangaluru Bhajji

2010-01-31T09:57:00.000-08:00

Goli Bhaje is very popular in South Canara (a district in coastal Karnataka State, India) as an instant snack. You will get these in big or small or any restaurants there. When I was child, I used to visit my Grandma in Coondapura. Soon after reaching I used to be eager to go to a small restaurant called Raya Hotel. First thing I wanted to eat was PaLapaNasa Podi (breadfruit fritter), next was Biscutte Ambade and then Buns. If there was any more space in the stomach then would order Goli Bhaje. Though Goli Bhaje was in the last place in my order/preference list, it is really tasty and super easy to make :)

Ingredients :

1 cup maida (all purpose floor)
1 cup (or as required) buttermilk
1 green chili chopped
1 teaspoon chopped ginger
1 teaspoon whole black pepper corn
3-4 finely chopped curry leaves
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
Salt to taste
Oil to deep fry

Method :

1. Mix all the ingredients except oil to make a thick batter
2. Keep aside for 10 minutes so that batter rises a bit. This gives bhaje the fluffiness inside.

3. Heat enough oil in a pan to deep fry the bhaje
4. Use a spoon to scoop cherry size batter and pour into the oil.

Make sure as soon as you pour the batter the bhaje should immediately float up. If it sits down at the botton that means the batter is not raised enough. You can add a bit more soda to adjust.

Serve with coconut chutney (recommended) or any chutney you like. This can go even with no chutney!

Side tips : Some people keep the batter overnight to ferment and avoid adding soda. Soda makes the Bhaje to abosorb more oil while deep frying. But, then it will not be instant snack :)

Also heard from my sister, she used the left over dosa batter and half the amount of buttermilk and kept overnight. Don't under-estimate cooks ... they invent!

Daali-Methi Upkari : Seasoned Lentils and Fenugreek greens

2010-01-29T09:54:00.000-08:00

Very simple and healthy ... and very very tasty ... Methi (Fenugreek leaves) is enriched with minerals, high iron content and low in calories. Mixed with lentils it really becomes a great healthy side dish. If not available fresh you can use Kasuri methi which is dried herb. Methi is one of my Dad's favorites. And mine too :) The slightly bitter taste goes very well with the dryness phulka. I use methi in various dishes. One of them is here ...

Ingredients :

Serves 4

1 bunch methi
3/4 cup Toor daal
2 cloves garlic
1 medium onion
2 green chilies
1 teaspoon cumin powder
2 teaspoon coriander powder
Salt to taste
2 teaspoon oil

Method :
1. Wash daal and cook with enough water. Do not cook in pressure cooker. Daal should be cooked and should be firm not mushy. Drain the water and set aside
2. Separate the methi leaves from the stems and wash the leaves thouroughly. Set aside
3. Chop onions and garlic, slit the green chillies lengthwise
4. Heat oil in a shallow wide pan add chopped onions and garlic. Fry well until tender
5. Add salt, cumin and coriander powders. Mix well
6. Add the methi leaves, mix and cook covered
7. When the Methis leaves are almost cooked add cooked daal
8. Cook covered for 2 more minutes

Keep the upkari covered until you serve it. The is will help daal to absorb all the flavors in that heat and steam. Serve with Phulka or roti.

Two-in-One : Aloo Palak and Palak Paneer

2010-01-28T21:03:00.000-08:00

I like paneer (Indian cottage cheese : no rennet) a lot, but when I see the calories and amount of fat in it I try to keep away. Palak Paneer (Paneer in Spinach curry) is one of my favorite dishes but then paneer again! So, as an alternative I cook Aloo Palak (Potatoes in Spinach curry). I am not sure the recipe for both spinach curries differs. I cook both same ways, with same ingredients. I use potato and call it Aloo Palak and when I use Paneer I call it Palak Paneer :) Now, I have found a way to satisfy my taste buds as well as not feel guilty. I cook the spinach curry and divide it into tow parts. Add paneer to one half and add potatoes to the other so that I eat fewer pieces of paneer and and fill the rest with potato :)

Ingredients :

2 bunches Spinach
half block of Paneer
1 medium Onion
1 Tomato
2 green chillies
2-3 pods of garlic. If you have big pods use fewer to your taste
1 teaspoon cumin powder
2 teaspoons coriander powder
Salt to taste
Oil

Method :

1. Peel and cut potatoes into cubes. Cook in the microwave for 3 minutes or until cooked but still firm. Keep aside
2. Grind onion, green chillies and garlic together to a paste, and grind tomatoes to puree separately
3. Remove the stalks from spinach and wash thoroughly. With little water added boil the spinach until soft. Cool a bit
4. Grind the spinach to a puree
5. Cut paneer into cubes. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a wide shallow pan and fry the paneer cubes until golden brown. Do not brown too much, paneer becomes hard. Remove from heat and keep aside. Keep the remaining oil and the pan for curry preparation
6. In the pan used in step-5, heat the oil and add onion paste and fry well until it changes the color
7. Add tomato puree fry the mixture until all the water evaporates
8. Add spinach puree, cumin and coriander powders, and salt, mix well. Fry until the curry boils.
9. Divide the curry into two parts, add potatoes to one part and paneer to another
10. Coat paneer and potatoes with the curry. Cook covered for 3 more minutes

Serve hot with roti, chapati or rice.

Ananasa Ambat : Pinapple sweet curry

2010-01-27T09:17:00.000-08:00

This is my favorite curry in the whole world :) The original curry which my Mother makes is using ripe mangoes called ambe ambat. Ambo is mango and ambat is curry. Especially the mangoes with lots of fiber. When we didn't get that type of mangoes she used pineapple. I like both versions. For me what tastes the best is the sweet and spicy curry than the fruit used. I used to sit and lick the mango seed for hours until my Mother gave me a warning that she would spank me if I continued :) Yeah ... those were the days ... The curry is so simple to make and so fewer ingredients to use for the aroma this curry has!

Ingredients :

1/2 ripe pineapple, peeled and cut into cubes

For curry :
1/2 cup fresh grated coconut
2 tablespoons channa daal (dry split chickpeas)
1 tablespoon urad daal (dry split black gram)
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/4 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
5-6 red dry chillies
A cherry sized jaggery piece (more if you like sweeter)
1 small piece of tamarind
Salt to taste

For Seasoning :
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 tablespoon oil
1/4 teaspoon asapoteda (hing)
2-3 red dry chillies

Method :

1. Roast all the ingredients for masala except coconut, jaggery, tamarind, turmeric and salt.
2. Grind the grated coconut, together with roasted ingredients, turmeric and tamarind.
3. In a deep sauce pan boil the pineapple pieces with little water.
4. When the pineapples are half cooked add the ground masala, crushed jaggery and salt. Mix well until jaggery is dissolved.
5. Cook covered until you get the nice aroma of the pineapple and the curry. Remove fom heat.
6. Heat 1 tablesppon oil in a small sauce pan, add mustard seeds for seasoning.
7. When mustard seeds splutter add dry chillies and asaphoteda.
8. Remove from heat when the asaphoteda aroma is around.
9. Pour the seasoning on the curry and cover the curry immediately. This will allow the curry to absorb the flavor of the seasoning.

Serve hot with hot steaming rice. Also you can serve it with naan, phulka. In my opinion it taste divine with hot steaming rice :)

Stuffed Portabella

2010-01-26T20:55:00.000-08:00

All my childhood I had seen only wild mushrooms and I was never a fan of them. My sister used to love mushroom curry and she always looked for them in market. There is something about my sister. Whichever city she visits she shops, not for clothes or bags or shoes but for some cooking ingredients. She is a great cook and never hesitates to try and experiment. If you are thinking she is a house-wife and she has nothing else to do, then you are wrong. She is a very successful and popular gynecologist who has tons of hobbies. She introduced me to the cultivated mushrooms like button, oyster mushrooms etc. Later I tried out some mushrooms like crumini and portabella long after I moved to USA. And started to cultivate a taste for mushrooms. I googled for mushroom recipes then on.

I found so many recipes in google search, the one interested me was Stuffed Portabella. But was disappointed to see most of those recipes used cheese. I do not eat cheese. It might sound funny but, yeah I use milk and yogurt but not cheese :) I thought I would create my own version of Stuffed and Grilled Portabella. It turned out to be desi-Portabella (Indian version) And here it is …

Ingredients :

4 big Portabella mushroom caps

For stuffing :
1 Big potato
1 tomato medium
1 onion medium
Half green pepper
4 Thai green chilies
1 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste
Finely chopped fresh coriander leaves
Fresh ground black peppercorns
bread crumbs
Salt to taste
Oil

For garnish :
1 medium onion
1 medium Red pepper
1 medium yellow pepper
Fresh ground black peppercorns
Sour cream

Method :

1. Clean the portabella mushrooms with a damp cloth and remove the stalks. Keep aside.
2. Peel and cut the potatoes into cubes. Cook for 5 minutes in microwave until soft. Mash then to a coarse paste.
3. Finely chop onion, tomato, green bell pepper, green chilies
4. Heat one tablespoon oil in a wide saucepan. Add chopped onions and green chilies, and ginger-garlic paste. Saute for 2-3 minutes until tender
5. Add tomato and saute for another 2 minutes
6. Add green pepper and saute for a minute. Add salt and mix well
7. Add mashed potatoes and fresh coriander leaves. Mix well. Divide the mixture into 4 portions. 8. Season the portabella with salt and fresh ground black peppercorn and with a spoon add oil over these caps
9. Stuff each mushroom cap with potato stuffing. Sprinkle bread crumbs over the stuffing side
10. Pre heat the oven to 350 degrees and bake the mushrooms for 30 minutes or until done

Garnish :
11. Cut the onions, red and yellow pepper into long strips, saute in a teaspoon oil adding a pinch of salt and fresh ground black peppercorn
12. Serve stuffed mushrooms hot, topped with the garnish and a dollop of sour cream

Raspberry Yogurt

2010-01-24T13:44:00.000-08:00

I have always wanted to eat flavored yogurt. Most of the flavored yogurt available in the stores has gelatin as one of the ingredients which I do not prefer to consume. And so always wanted to try out my own recipe with the ingredients I am comfortable with. My first try was with Raspberries. I love raspberries, On my every visit to Costco I buy a box of raspberries and finish eating them all by the end of the day. They have a mild sweetish and sour taste which pleases my taste buds. So I thought why not mix it with the yougurt. There are my versions of this recipe and this is my version ...

Ingredients :

1 cup plain Yogurt
1/2 cup Raspberries
1/4 cup Sugar (you can adjust this according to your taste)
A pinch of salt
1 teaspoon powdered sugar for garnish

Method :

1. In a small bowl mash the raspberries to a fine puree.
2. Add sugar, chilled yogurt and salt and mix well so that there are no yogurt lumps.
3. Garnish with a raspberry and a little powdered sugar on it.

Serve cold as a dessert or eat it for breakfast. Yogurt and fruits healthy always!

Tendli Sukki : Ivy Gourd spicy sid dish

2010-01-17T16:45:00.000-08:00

Tendli is used quite a lot for preparing side dishes. My Mom prepared many varieties of side dishes like upkari, tadasle and this sukki. Tendli (ivy gourd) sukki is sometimes prepared for feast on auspicious days as there is no onion used. On any festivals or any auspicious days like many other Hindus Konkanis do not eat onions or garlic.

This is one of my favorites. I eat it with hot and soft phulkas. The aroma of this sukki is very distinct because of the seasoning used. Very simple to prepare.

Ingredients :

1/4 kg Ivy gourd

2 tablespoons grated fresh coconut

1 teaspoon channa daal

1 teaspoon urad daal

4-5 red dry chilies

1 tablespo0n coriander seeds

1/4 teaspoon fenugreek seeds

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

curry leaves

1 teaspoon oil for seasoning

salt to taste

Method :

1. Wash and cut lengthwise each ivy gourd into 4 pieces.

2. Roast red chilies, coriander seeds, fenugreek seeds and cumin seeds to toasty texture.
3. Grind grated coconut, roasted red chilies, coriander seeds, fenugreek seeds, cumin seeds to a very coarse paste.
4. In a wide pan heat oil, add mustard seeds, channa daal, urad daal and curry leaves.
5. When daals get golden brown in color add the ivy gourd pieces and saute for few minutes.
6. When the ivy gourd pieces are half cooked add the coconut paste and salt and mix well.
7. Add little water and cook the sukki covered until all the water is evaporated and the ivy gourd is cooked.

Serve hot with chapati/roti/phulka or with rice-saru/dalitoy.

Raagi Manni : Millet Sweet

2010-01-16T17:24:00.000-08:00

Raagi Manni is sweet dish which is like halwa. This is a must cook dish for Sri Krishna Janmashtami (a festive celebration for Lord Krishna's Birthday). Millet is very healthy as it is protein rich and also it seems keeps the inner body cool in summer. I feel it is okay that I am posting this recipe in winter and not n Janmashtami too :)

This sweet is favorite of my Mom and also my brother. My Mom always prepared it more so that my brother will get a bigger portion. Though my Mom made it from the scratch, it is considerably easy if we skip the first step of grinding the whole soaked millet. My Mom soaks the whole millet overnight, grinds and then removes the husk. I used millet powder.

Ingredients :

1 cup millet powder
1 cup jaggery (more if you like it very sweet)
1 cup coconut milk
1 cup milk
2 cups water
1 tablespoon ghee (clarified butter)
Cashew nuts (very much optional)

Method :

1. Mix water and millet powder. Using a very thin cloth strain out the thick millet husk. You can strain twice with little more water so that you will remove only the husk and good part doesn't go waste.
2. Now, pour the millet mix into a thick bottom, non-stick pan. Add coconut milk, and normal milk. Bring it to boil on moderate heat. Keep stirring the mixture all the time, do not allow the mixture to thicken at the bottom which happens very quickly.
3. Add jaggery and ghee now and mix well. Adding jaggery in the beginning makes the mixture kind of a syrup. So avoid that.
4. Remove from heat when the mixture thickens to a halwa consistency and looks a bit darker. Change of color indicates it is cooked.
5. Spread the mixture evenly to 1cm or 1.5cm thickness on a greased flat bottom plate and leave it to cool. Use ghee as grease. It gives that great aromatic flavor and also adds to the taste.
6. Cut into desired shapes and sizes to serve. You can garnish each piece with a halve of roasted cashew nut.

Serve with Ghee. You can serve it hot or chilled. Tastes good both ways.

PaNsa MuLka : Jackfruit Fried Snacks

2009-12-31T23:30:00.000-08:00

PaNosu is Jackfruit. You will see at least one Jackfruit tree in any Konkani backyard. And it is used to make so many things, idli, dosa, muLka, papad, kachre, sukki and so on ... Like mango jackfruit is so much used in konkani cuisine.

MuLka is one of my favorites. It is a must cook on Ganesha Chaturthi, a festival where Hindus worship Lord Ganesha. I still remember ... when I was young my family used to visit my grandparents in Kumta, a small town in coastal Karnataka, India. There used to be very big family gathering, ceremonies and food. And the ceremonies used to take long time and I used to get hungry. When all elders were busy with the ceremony, me and few of my cousins used to sneak inside and steal muLka from the kitchen.

MuLka are very simple to make, very few ingredients to use. Only difficult thing is getting hands on the jackfruit. I bought canned jackfruit. But, the fresh jackfruit gives wonderful taste.

Ingredients :
1 can jackfruit (8 deseeded bulbs)
1 cup fresh grated coconut
1 cup grated jaggery (as a substitute I think brown sugar can be used)
1 cup sooji
Pinch of salt
Oil to deep fry

The jackfruit flesh is in the form of yellow soft bulbs around the seeds.

Jaggery is unrefined sugar. It is solidified sugarcane juice which has not undergone the bleaching process. In India usually it is sold as a solid block.

Method :

Grind jackfruit bulbs, grated coconut and jaggery together adding little water. Add salt and mix well. Add sooji little by little and mix. If you add all of sooji at once, there might be lumps. And also the mixture might get very dry and hard. Make a mixture of thick consistency so you can make small balls.

Heat oil in a deep frying pan. Use a tablespoon to take small portion of the mixture and deep fry in the hot oil until golden brown.

Can be used as apetizers or dessert or just a snack to munch!

Sasama Chutney : Mustard chutney

2009-11-08T20:33:00.001-08:00

Sasama Chutney is one of my favorite chutneys that my Mother makes. I eat this with idli, dosa, shavayi, chapati and even rice sometimes :) It has that smoky flavor of roasted mustard and curry leaves. It is very simple to prepare also.

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons mustard
1 cup grated fresh coconut
10-12 curry leaves
4 dry red chilies
2 teaspoons oil for seasoning
1/2 inch piece of tamarind
pinch of Asafetida
Salt to taste

Method:

In a frying pan heat oil. Add mustard seeds, curry leaves and dry red chilies. When mustard seeds start spluttering add the asafetida and remove from heat.

Grind the grated coconut, tamarind, salt and 3/4 if the mustard mixture prepared above to a coarse paste. Add water to bring the ground mixture to chutney consistency.

Add the remaining mustard seasoning to the chutney.

Serve fresh with Idly, Dosa or Shevayi (Konkani style rice noodles).

Bhende Sasam : Ladies finger side dish

2009-09-19T20:57:00.000-07:00

Sasam is one of the popular Konkani side dish. Usually it is served with special type of rice preparation called Pej. Pej is boiled pre-boiled rice with liquid starch in it. It is little difficult to explain :) Some people have it every day sometime between breakfast and lunch. It is supposed to be cooling up the body. My Mother loves it and she has many sasam recipes.

Ingredients :

250gms Bhende (Ladies Finger)
1/2 cup grated fresh coconut
1 tablespoon red chili powder
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
Small piece of tamarind
Curry leaves
1-2 dry whole red chilies
1/4 teaspoon asephotida
Salt to taste
Oil for seasoning

Method :

1. Cut the Ladies finger into 1cm slices

2. In a deep sauce pan boil the Ladies finger (LF) pieces with salt and a piece of tamarind. Once the LF pieces are cooked remove from the heat. Let it cool to room temperature. This is important.

3. Grind fresh grated coconut, red chili powder and 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds into smooth paste.

4. Add the ground paste to the boiled and cooled LF pieces. Do not add much water. The water used to boil LF pieces is enough for the curry consistency.

5. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a pan, add mustard seeds, asephoetida and dry whole red chilies. When the mustard seeds splatter add the seasoning to the sasam mixture. Close the lid.

Serve fresh with Pej or cooked white rice.

Sasam should be served fresh. Since the coconut mixture is not cooked it will not be good for consumption 6-8 hours after preparation.

Karate Vadi : Sauteed Bitter gourd

2009-09-14T08:39:00.000-07:00

Bitter gourd is one of my Father's favorite melons and my Mother has some interesting recipes to make it taste good. I do not like bittergourd so much though. This recipe makes bitter gourd taste bitter but still better. It is super-simple also ! Bitter gourd has very many medicinal values too. It seems bitter gourd is good for diabetics as it improves glucose tolerence.

Ingredients :

4 tender Bitter gourd
1 twig curry leaves
4 green chilies
1 tablespoon Oil
Salt to taste

Method :

Slice bitter gourd into thin circles. Slit green chilis.

Heat oil in a wide and shallow pan. Add bitter gourd, green chilies and curry leaves. Saute for 3-4 minutes until the bitter gourd changes to deep green color.

Add salt and mix well. Saute until the bitter gourd is brown and crispy. Turn off the heat and leave the pan on the stove. Do not keep it covered. If the stove is electric it will still have the heat and this makes the vadi more cripier.

Serve hot or cold with rice-curds, rice-dalitoy.

Kashayi : A medicinal drink made everyday drink :)

2009-09-13T09:00:00.000-07:00

If you visit any Konkani home in North Canara you will be offered this drink. It is very common. This is considered as a substitute for coffee and tea. Especially when you visit somebody in the evening or if you do not drink coffee or tea, then Kashayi is what you get !

Kashay actually means medicinal liquid. The original recipe for kashayi is more complicated with very different and has difficult to get ingredients. When my Mother named some of the ingredients I didn't understand what they were! They are supposed to be good remedies for stomachache, constipation, cold, heat, gas problem etc,. All in one ! To make it simple the recipe is simplified, not by me traditionally instead with very common ingredients which we have in our kitchen all the time.

Ingredients :

For powder :
1 cup coriander seeds
1/2 cup cumin seeds
1/4 cup fennel seeds
1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds (optional)

Method :

Roast all the ingredients and powder coarsely.

To prepare two cups of Kashayi :
1 cup water
1 cup whole milk
3 teaspoons sugar (depends on your taste for sweetness)

Boil 1 cup water in a small deep pan add 2 teaspoons of kashayi powder. Boil for 2-3 mins. If you prefer stronger concentrate boil for one more minute. Strain the kashayi.

Add 1 cup of hot milk and sugar to Kashayi. Serve hot.

I do not add sugar. For me the kashayi taste with milk feels very good.

Avare Sukki

2009-09-10T21:20:00.000-07:00

Avare is a type of flat beans. I am really not sure if this type of beans is common to authentic Konkani cooking. It is mostly adapted when we moved to North Karnataka. My Father liked fresh vegetables a lot. He loved to try different vegetables when we moved from one region to other as my Father was transferred on job. Avare is one of my Father's favorite :) I like it too.

Ingredients :

250 gm Avare

1 small onion - chopped

1 teaspoon full red chili powder (depends on your taste for heat)

1/2 teaspoon coriander powder

1/2 teaspoon cumin powder

A pinch of turmeric powder

1/4 teaspoon mustard seeds

Curry leaves

Salt to taste

Oil for seasoning

Method :

Cut the Avare into 5cm length pieces. In a shallow pan heat a tablespoon oil and add mustard seeds. When mustard seeds splatter add curry leaves and chopped onion. Fry until the onion is translucent and the aroma of curry leaves spreads. Add cut beans and mix well. Add little water. Cook covered.

When the Avare is mostly cooked, add red chili powder, coriander powder, cumin powder and salt. Mix well and add little more water if required. Cook covered for few more minutes so that the raw smell of spices is gone.

Serve hot with roti, chapati or rice-dallitoy, or rice-saaru. It is very simple and tasty side dish.

Teek Phovu - Spicy Poha

2009-08-31T20:31:00.000-07:00

Spicy Poha is very common Konkani snack. If there isn't enough time to cook something complicated for breakfast then Teek Phovu will be ready in 15 mins :) Some people eat it when they are fasting (with no onion though). It stays longer, tasty when cold and chewy so that one can eat for a long time ! Actually my Mother hates it, but me and my sisters love it.

Ingredients :

1/4 Kg Thin Poha
1 medium onion - finely chopped
1/4 cup fresh grated coconut
1 teaspoon coriander powder
1 teaspoon cumin powder
2 teaspoons red chili powder (depends on how hot you prefer)
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/4 turmeric powder
Curry leaves
Chopped coriander leaves
Salt to taste
Oil for seasoning

Method :

Heat oil in a shallow pan. Add mustard seeds and curry leaves. When the mustard seeds splatter add onions and fry until translucent.

Lower the heat. Add all the powders and salt except sugar. Mix the ingredients well for a minute. Then add grated coconut and chopped coriander leaves. Mix well again.

Remove from heat. Add sugar and poha. Mix well until all the poha is covered with spice. Keep for 5 mins so that poha absorbs the spiciness.

Serve with Coffee. If you like munchies you can serve few muruku or sev with Teek Phovu for extra taste.

Tendli Kaju Upkari

2009-01-01T23:45:00.000-08:00

If you have attended any Mangalorean weddings then you know what am I talking about :) It is one of the must's of the traditional wedding lunch of Konkanis. Very simple and nutritional yet tasty. Taste of tender Tendli (Ivy Guard) and the nutty cashews go so well that you cannot guess ... you will know when you taste it :)

Traditionally, the cashew nuts used in this side dish are very tender, not fully developed. The tender cashew pods are harvested from the grove. The shells of these pods are soft and green, not yet hard and grey. The pods are then shelled and the nuts are soaked in the water for a day or two to get rid of the juice in the pod. This juice, especially in the shell burns the skin. In my childhood days, when I visited my Grandparents, once in a while I got this juice on my hands and my hands looked very ugly. Since, I didn't find them for my recipe here I am using the usual cashew nuts available in the market.

Ingredients :

¼ Kg Tendli

Handful of cashew halves

1 tablespoonful grated fresh coconut

3 Green chilies (use according to your taste)

Curry leaves

1 teaspoonful mustard seeds

Salt to taste

1 tablespoonful oil for seasoning

Method :

Soak cashew halves in enough water. Wash Tendli thoroughly and cut each one lengthwise into six pieces. Slit green chilies.

Heat oil in a shallow pan and add mustard seeds. When they splutter add slit green chilies and curry leaves. Sauté the green chilies and curry leaves a little. Add cut Tendli and sauté them until translucent. Add soaked cashew nuts and sprinkle a little leftover water over the mixture. Add coconut and salt and mix well. Cook covered on a low flame until the water is evaporated.

Serve hot as a side dish with rice and dalitoy, saru, or dali randayi. Also tastes good with roti or chapaati.

Mooga Sukki - Green Gram side dish

2008-09-08T07:32:00.000-07:00

This is one of the side dishes I like. I have been eating this since my childhood with rice and saaru. But, when we moved to North Karnataka my Mother started making jowar rotis. Then on she prepared mooga sukki when she made jowar rotis. The soft rotis will go well with the flavor of onions and spicy taste of red chili and green gram.

Ingredients :

1 cup green gram
1 onion - chopped
1 tablespoon fresh grated coconut
1 teaspoon red chili powder
1 teaspoon coriander powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
Salt to taste
1 inch piece of tamarind
Curry leaves
1 tablespoon oil

Method :

Dry roast green gram until golden brown and pressure cook till soft using 3 cups of water. Drain off the extra water after boiling. Save this water.

Heat oil in a wide and deep pan (so that mixing is easy) and add chopped onion. When Onions are half cooked add grated coconut, red chili powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, cumin powder, curry leaves, salt and tamarind and mix well together. Remember the onions should be still little raw.

Now, add the cooked green gram and mix all the ingredients together. Keep covered on a low flame till the onions are cooked.

The aromatic flavor of raw onions will be absorbed by the green gram while onion gets cooked. This gives a very distinct flavor to the side dish.

Serve hot with rice, saaru or chapati. It tastes good with roti or phulka too.

The extra water used to boil the green gram can be used to prepare a delicious soup. Add little red chili powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, salt and boil again. Just before serving add juice of half lemon, and season with curry leaves, mustard and asafetida.

Khichadi

2008-09-06T13:30:00.000-07:00

Actually this is not the khichadi people make when somebody is sick !! My Mother cooks this sweet dish in the month of Shravan. We Konkanis celebrate something called 'Chudi' on every Friday and Sunday of Shravan. And this Khichadi is prepared as offering to the Goddess. Chudi is a small and beautiful bunch of leaves, flowers and a specific type of grass called dirvankur. May be I will post a picture some time. My Mother prepares these chudis and after the ceremony she calls 5 women in the neighborhood and offers them these chudis with beetle leaves and banana. And also this sweet dish Khichadi.

Ingredients :

1/2 cup rice
1/2 cup green gram
2 table spoons grated coconut (fresh or dry)
3/4 cup jaggery (or brown sugar)
1/2 cup ghee (clarified butter)

Method :

Dry roast green gram. Wash the rice. Pressure cook green gram and rice together with 2.5 cups of water. Make sure both rice and green gram are cooked soft. Add grated coconut, jaggery and ghee. Mix well.

Serve hot.

Tomato Saaru - Spicy Tomato Soup

2008-08-22T18:27:00.001-07:00

This is another simple and tasty soups I love.

Ingredients :

2 ripe and juicy tomatoes
1 tablespoon grated coconut
1 tablespoon red chili powder
1 tablespoon coriander powder
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/2 fenugreek powder
Salt to taste
Pinch of Sugar
Oil for seasoning
4-5 cloves of Garlic
Curry leaves
Coriander leaves

Method :

Boil cut tomatoes in 2 cups of water till mushy. Grind grated coconut with all the powders to a smooth paste. Add it to the boiled tomatoes and boil the mixture again. Add salt, sugar, chopped coriander leaves and curry leaves and boil the soup until the raw smell of masala is replaced by nice aroma of curry and coriander leaves.

Heat 2 teaspoons full of oil in a small sauce pan add crushed garlic. Fry garlic till brown. Add this seasoning to tomato soup. Keep the tomato soup covered for 5 mins so the soup completely absorbs the flavor of garlic seasoning.

Serve hot with steamed white rice and kappa or sukki.

ChaNe DaaLi Kappa - Shelled Chickpea side dish

2008-08-21T17:28:00.000-07:00

ChaNe DaaLi kappa is one of my favorites. My Mother prepared this every other week for me. Hot steaming rice, tomato saaru and these kappa are divine combination :) With very simple ingredients it is fairly easy to prepare.

Ingredients :

1 cup ChaNe DaaLi (Shelled Chickpeas)
1/2 cup rice
1 bunch of spring onions
1 big red onion
3 tablespoons grated coconut
2 tablespoons red chili powder
1 tablespoon coriander powder
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/2 teaspoon fenugreek powder

1" piece of tamerind
Salt to taste
Oil to fry

Method :

Soak chaNe daaLi and rice separately for 3 to 4 hours. Grind the rice to a smooth paste separately. Rice acts as a binding agent to keep the coarse chaNe daaLi together with other spices. Grind chaNe daaLi to a very coarse paste.

Grind grated coconut, tamerind and other powdered spices together to a fairly coarse paste. Finely chop spring onions and red onion. Now, mix all the ground pastes, chopped onions together and add salt. Mix thoroughly.

Heat a teaspoon full of oil in a flat frying pan. Take a lemon sized portion of the mixture and and flatten it on the frying pan as shown below. Add little oil on the top and cook on both sides till kappa are crispy.

Serve hot with steaming white rice and tomato saaru or daaLitoy. 1 cup chaNe daaLi measurement serves 5-6 people.

The variations to this dish are plenty. Substitute cabbage or malbaar spinach or pathra in the place of spring onions and you have three more delicious recipes :)

Beanssa Upkari - Green Beans side dish

2008-08-13T18:14:00.001-07:00

This is very simple upkari (side dish with simple seasoning) that my Mother prepared. I don't like food with too much of masala (spices) and I always loved these upkaris.

Those days we could get these tender green beans only after rains. Other seasons the beans sold in the market were too hard with strings. We had a small vegetable garden in the backyard and we cropped these beans few times :) Cooking time is just 1% of preparation time. Cutting these beans to small pieces is a bit of time consuming process, but you will be rewarded with the results. My Mother takes very less time because she always uses the AaddaLi, an equipment that is used by Konkanis to cut vegetables and grating coconut. Unfortunately I do not have a picture of an aaddaLi :(. If you are a chef and know how to use the knife fast ... khat ... khat ... then it is pretty simple :)

Ingredients :

1/1 lb Green beans
2 Green chilies (quantity depends on how beans you have and how hot your taste is)
Handful of grated coconut
1/4 teaspoon Mustard seeds
1 teaspoon oil
Curry leaves
Salt to taste

Method :

Wash the green beans and remove the ends. Cut into very small pieces (5mm length). The beans should be very tender otherwise the side dish will not taste good. Slit the green chilies lengthwise.

In a shallow pan, heat oil. Add mustard seeds, add slit green chilies, and curry leaves. When the mustard seeds start splattering add green beans. Saute for few minutes until the color of the green beans changes. Add salt and mix well. Add grated coconut and give a light stir. Close the lid of the pan. Cook covered on low heat for 2 mins. And the upkari is ready.

Do not add water anytime. Additing the water will dilute that very veggie taste and crispiness of the beans. The water in the beans itself and the salt is enough for cooking.

This goes well with boiled white rice and Daalitoy.

My sister has a variation to this ... she adds a bit of cumin powder and coriander powder. This makes the upkari much flavorful.

ChaNe Daali Rave Payasu

2008-08-10T13:17:00.000-07:00

This is a dessert, more appropriately prepared on auspicious occations like religious ceremonies, weddings. ChaNe Daali is shelled chickpea and rava is coarsely powdered wheat. Both these healthy ingreadients are mixed with some tasty ingredients like jaggery and coconut milk to prepare this yummy dessert.

Ingredients :

1 cup Bombay rava

1/2 cup ChaNe Dalli (Shelled chickpeas)

1 cup brown sugar (in place of jaggery)

1.5 cups coconut milk

1 tsp ghee (clarified butter)

raisins, cashew nuts

Method :

Soak shelled chickpeas in one cup of water for an hour. Cook them separately.

Heat ghee in a shallow pan and roast the rava, raisins and cashew nuts till you get a nice aroma. Do not allow the rava to turn brown. Keep aside.

Boil 2 cups of water in a deep sauce pan. When the water is boiling reduce the heat and add the roasted rava. Stir vigorously to avoid lump formations. When the rava is mixed well with water and becomes like smooth paste allow it to cook for 2 minutes, but keep stirring. Add boiled chick peas, sugar and coconut milk give another vigorous stir to mix all the ingredients well. Simmer it for another mins then remove from heat.

The consistency of this dessert should be like a thick batter. If anytime you feel the payasa consistency is too thick add more water or coconut milk to make it like a thick batter.

Usually served hot. To give it a twist you can serve it a bit cold (not chilled) :)

Mitkisangi teeki sukki - Spicy Cluster Beans

2008-04-24T21:50:00.000-07:00

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

2008-04-24T21:47:00.000-07:00

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

2008-04-24T21:42:00.000-07:00

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

2008-04-18T22:15:00.000-07:00

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

2008-04-08T19:19:00.000-07:00

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

2008-04-08T17:52:00.001-07:00

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

2008-04-04T15:39:00.001-07:00

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

2008-04-03T19:43:00.000-07:00

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.

Kele Kappa - Green Plantain side dish

2008-03-31T21:00:00.000-07:00

Kele are green plantain. They are only used for preparing side dishes or chips, but not used as fruits. This is my Mom’s favorite.

Ingredients :

2 Green plantain
1 tablespoon red chili powder
½ teaspoon turmeric powder
2 tablespoon rava
1 small piece of tamarind
Salt to taste
Oil

Method :

Peel the outer skin of the plantain with a knife or peeler. Slice the plantain lengthwise into ¼ inch slices. Put them in a bowl.

Soak the tamarind in 1 tablespoon water, squeeze to remove the pulp when soft. Add red chili powder, turmeric powder and salt to tamarind pulp. Mix well. Pour this paste on the plantain pieces and mix well so that all the plantain pieces are covered with this paste. Keep it for 15-20 mins.

Take two tablespoons of rava in a flat plate. Apply rava to both sides of the plantain pieces. Heat one teaspoon oil in a flat pan and fry the plantain pieces on both sides.

Serve hot with rice and dalithoy or any dali randai or tomato saru (hot spicy soup).

Bhende Sukki - Lady's Finger side dish

2008-03-25T19:03:00.000-07:00

Bhende or Bhindi is Lady’s finger. Konkanis make few side dishes with it. One of them is Bhende Sukki. Sukki is a term used to say ‘dry’, particularly to say ‘no watery gravy’.

Ingredients :

100gms Lady’s Fingers
1 medium sized onion - chopped
2 tablespoons grated fresh coconut
1 tablespoon roasted coriander powder
½ teaspoon fenugreek powder
½ teaspoon turmeric powder
1 tablespoon red chili powder
1 tablespoon Oil
Curry leaves
Small piece of tamarind pulp
Salt to taste

Method :

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

Remove the ends of the Lady’s Finger and cut them little slant. In a shallow saucepan heat 1 tablespoon oil and fry the lady’s finger pieces until the slimy juice is gone. Do not burn them.

Add chopped onion, coconut paste, curry leaves, tamarind piece and salt. Add enough water and mix well. Bring it to boil. Simmer until you get the aroma of curry leaves around and most of the water is evaporated.

Serve hot as a side dish. Good to serve with rice and tomato saru (spicy hot soup). Goes very well with roti also.

Kunvale Dali Randai – Ash gourd Lentil curry

2008-03-23T22:34:00.000-07:00

Kunvale in Konkani is ash gourd. Vegetarian Konkanis (they are very few) make ‘dali randai’ (lentil curry) everyday using different vegetables. Depending on the vegetable used, the seasoning and few ingredients will be different. The common ingredients for dali randai are lentil, grated fresh coconut. There may not be any Konkani dish where grated fresh coconut is not used :)

Ingredients :

1/8 th piece of ash gourd (medium sized)
½ cup lentil (Toor daal)
3/4 cup grated fresh coconut
1 tablespoons roasted coriander powder
2 tablespoons red chili powder
½ teaspoon methi powder
½ teaspoon cumin powder
½ teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon mustard seeds (1/2 teaspoon for grinding and rest is for seasoning)
Curry leaves
Pinch of Asafetida
2 Whole dried red chilies

Method :

Cut ash gourd into 1 inch pieces, pressure cook with lentils with enough water.

Grind grated coconut, coriander powder, cumin powder, chili powder, methi powder, turmeric together to a smooth paste. At the end add the mustard seeds and grind for few seconds.

In a deep saucepan, add the boiled lentils and ash gourd mix it with the ground coconut mixture. Add half curry leaves and salt. Add water if the curry to too thick. Boil until for 5 mins so that raw smell of coconut and other ingredients is gone and you get nice aromatic flavor of curry leaves.

Season with oil, asafetida, whole dried red chilies and curry leaves.

Serve hot with steaming hot white rice and papad, or any spicy side dish like Tendli Tadasale.

Tendle Tadasale – Stir fried Ivy gourd

2008-03-23T07:23:00.001-07:00

This is very simple side dish, which can be made in an instant and very good for taste buds :) Spicier the better :) The recipe I am sharing with you is how my Mom made it. I found few variations though :)

Ingredients :

10 Tendli (ivy gourd)
3 green chilies (this depends on heat of the chilies and how spicy you prefer)
4-5 Curry leaves
½ teaspoon Mustard seeds
Salt to taste
2 teaspoons oil
(optional) A pinch of asafetida or 1/2 teaspoon of cumin powder. If you are using asafetida do not use cumin powder and vice versa.

Method :

Crush (but do not mash) the ivy gourd to flat. Add salt and mix well. Slit chilies.

Heat oil in a thick-bottomed non-stick pan, add mustard seeds and asafetida (optional). When the mustard seeds splatter, add crushed ivy gourd, curry leaves and slit chilies. Fry these until done. When ivy gourd is almost done add roasted cummin powder (optional) and stir well. Turn off the heat and keep the sauce pan covered with lid for few mins. Usually the ivy gourd gets a bit burnt ouside, but this gives a smokey delicious taste.

Tips : Since we are frying ivy gourd with green chilies, it kind of gets the heat in the kitchen air. To reduce the frying time, I try to cook the crushed ivy gourd with salt in microwave for 2 mins before frying them.

Sampipalle Bhalni – Dill and rice pudding

2008-03-22T10:20:00.000-07:00

Sampi pallo are fennel leaves or Dill which have strong herbal aroma. Sampipalle bhalni is very aromatic and sweet and so, perfect for breakfast. My brother and my sister like this very much and they ate bhalni for breakfast and as well as lunch :)

When I saw fennel leaves at Namaste Plaza today, and on an impulse I picked two bunches. Called my Mom for recipe. Then I was all set :)

Ingredients :

2 bunches of fennel leaves
2 cups of coarsely powdered rice
2 cups of grated jaggery (brown sugar can be good substitute)
1 cup grated fresh coconut Salt to taste, should not overwhelm the sweetness

Method :

Separate fennel leaves from the strong stems. Grind fennel leaves and grated fresh coconut together with water. Pour this mixture in a thick bottomed non-stick pan.

Add grated jaggery and salt, mix well until jaggery is dissolved in the mixture. Add coarsely powdered rice and mix well. Add more water to ease this process.

Keep this pan with fennel leaf mixture on stove and bring it to boil. Keep stirring all the time until the mixture becomes thick.

Pour the mixture into greased idli stand. Cook for 5 mins in a pressure cooker (with no weight).

Serve hot with ghee (not vegan). This is a sweet dish, if you don't like too sweet you can add 1.5 cups of grated jaggery.

PoNasa Kachre - Jackfruit chips

2008-03-21T19:51:00.000-07:00

In Konkani ‘PoNosu’ is jackfruit and ‘Kachre’ are chips. In coastal Karnataka, every Konkani backyard will have at least one jackfruit tree. With one jackfruit Konkanis can prepare tons of items including breakfast, side dishes and snacks.

PoNasa kachre are deep fried chips to munch with evening tea or anytime !! When my Mom made these with big jackfruit spending most of her afternoon and evening, we finished them by next day evening :)

Ingredients :

Jackfruit, which is big and has just started to ripe. The edible bulbs or flesh should be very firm, thick and should not be turned too yellow.

Salt to taste
Oil to deep fry

Method :

Remove the seeds from the edible bulbs. Cut the bulbs lengthwise into half centimeter wide pieces. Take some water and salt in a small soup bowl and mix well until the salt is dissolved. And now, get ready for deep frying :)

Heat oil for deep frying in a shallow and wide pan. Keep the salt water handy to be used while frying. Put handful of jackfruit pieces in the oil. When they are half way done sprinkle the salt water on the oil. This makes noise but, will not splatter the hot oil around. Do this with your own responsibility. (If you are not comfortable doing this, you can sprinkle salt over the chips after taking them out of the oil). Fry until golden brown.

Buns

2008-03-19T22:24:00.000-07:00

These are not the buns you get in the bakery. These are special sweet and deep fried Mangalore Buns :) My childhood memories are still alive. I remember the ‘Raya Hotel’ two blocks away from my Grandpa’s house. Though my Grandma cooked goodies for us, I still wanted to eat buns and podi (another deep fried snack) from this Raya Hotel :)

Ingredients :

2 cups of wheat flour (approximate)

1 Big ripe banana 1 tablespoon curd (not very sour)

2 tablespoon jaggery (brown sugar can be a good substitute)

Very little salt so that it doesn’t overwhelm the sweetness.

½ teaspoon eating soda

Method :

Peel and mash the banana into a smooth pulp. Add curds, jaggery and salt mix well. Add the soda and the flour to the banana-curd mixture. Add flour little by little till you get a thick dough consistency. Do not knead the dough.

Keep the dough in a big box, so that the dough as enough space to ferment and expand, and close the lid tightly. Keep it overnight or around 12 hrs.

Make small balls out of this dough and roll it a bit to flatten them into small, thick circles. Do not roll them very thin or do not use too much of force. Doing this will take away all the fluffiness from the dough. Deep fry in a shallow pan until golden brown. Serve hot.

These are good as evening snacks. Usually this is served with coconut chutney. But, I like it with no chutney.

Dalithoy - Konkani style lentil soup

2008-03-17T18:12:00.000-07:00

It is very simple and healthy soup that is very popular Konkani preparation. ‘Dali’ in Konkani is daal or lentil. People make many versions of it. As you travel from Goa to Kasragod along the coast of Karnataka you will taste different versions of it. If you Google for ‘Dalithoy’ you will find hundreds of entries :) My mother prepared it at least once a week. It is very simple to prepare and so it is lazy person's favorite :)

Ingredients :

½ cup Dali (lentils)
½ cup grated fresh coconut
2 cloves of garlic – crushed a bit
Small piece of ginger - finely chopped
Green chilies – how many ? depends on your taste
Salt to taste

Oil for seasoning
2 dry whole red chilies

Method :

Wash Dali and pressure cook until soft with slit green chilies and few drops of oil. Transfer the boiled dali into a deep saucepan. Add chopped ginger.

Mix half cup of water and the grated coconut in a separate bowl and mix well. Squeeze out the coconut milk. to the boiled dali and bring it to boil. Simmer for 3-4 minutes.

For seasoning (tadka), heat oil in a small saucepan, add crushed garlic cloves and the whole red chilies. Once the garlic is fully fried pour the seasoning on to the dali and close the lid. Keep for 5 mins so that the aroma of the garlic seasoning is well absorbed by dali.

Ghee (not vegan) can be substituted for oil. The seasoning will be much more aromatic.

Serve with boiled rice and any side dish like upkari (sautéed vegetables) or pickle. It goes with everything. I like it with Vaigana kappa, thendle tadasale or pathode.

Gasagase Udak

2008-03-16T08:44:00.000-07:00

This particular drink might be called differently by other Konkanis, but my Mom called it Gasagase Udak, which means ‘poppy seed water’. My Mom also considered this to be a pain killer as poppy seeds get you a very good sleep. An ideal drink after a strenuous hike or hectic travel for a good sleep. When I was very young, I remember my Grandma served this drink in a big, long and very artistic bronze tumbler.

In Bangalore I have tasted Gasagase Payasa for which some ingredients are same, but this is much different in taste.

Ingredients to serve 1 (in a big glass):

- 2 tablespoons roasted poppy seeds
- 1 table spoon fresh grated coconut, specifically the upper layer which is sweet and soft. The lower layer of the coconut is usually doesn’t grind into smooth paste. This may make the drink little coarse.

- 2 inch piece of jaggery powdered coarsely.
Use fresh jaggery because it will have lighter color to the drink. Molasses or darker jaggery will give a darker color to the drink. 2 spoons of Brown sugar or honey are good substitutes

- 6 roasted cashew nuts (4 for grinding 2 for garnishing)

Method :

Grind all the above ingredients with little water to a very smooth paste. Then put this paste in a big bowl add glassful of water to get a very thin consistency. You can add more jaggery to get the desired sweetness.

Serve fresh garnishing with cashew halves. You can serve it in a little modern way by cooling it but, not chilled. On a hot afternoon tastes very good.

Kadamb

2008-03-12T22:04:00.000-07:00

This is one of my favorite breakfast-lunch-snack-dinner :) I ate this all the time when my Mother cooked this. It is little too much of work and takes lot of time. But, is worth it. Since these dumplings are cooked wrapped in banana leaf, the aroma is very appetizing. If you are making idli or dosa frequently then you will not feel this is too much of work.

Ingredients :

2 cups of rice
2 cups of chopped cucumber
1 cup grated fresh coconut
Salt to taste

Banana leaf to wrap

Method :

Soak the rice in water for 6 hrs. Use the rice which you might use for making idli. Drain the water and spread the rice over a thin cotton towel (something like dhoti). Allow it to dry completely. Then make a very coarse powder in a mixer/grinder.

Wash and cut banana leaf into 4 or 5 inches wide strips. Put these strips on the stove to make them little softer so that it is easy to wrap. Keep these banana leaves ready.

Peel the cucumber and chop them into small pieces. Use the cucumber which is very fresh and has lot of water in it.

Mix well together the rice powder, grated fresh coconut, the chopped cucumber and salt. Take two strips of banana leaf, make a ‘+’ pattern. Place a handful of the rice flour-cucumber mix and wrap the banana strips from both sides. Steam cook in a pressure cooker (without the weight) for 10 mins.

Serve hot with coconut-coriander chutney. It tastes very good with fresh coconut oil :) Consuming coconut oil is not very good for health.

Shevayi Uppittu

2007-11-08T20:45:00.000-08:00

“Shevayi” is fresh noodles made of rice and fresh coconut. Actually, my Mother makes these noodles fresh at home. They are little thicker and very soft. It is a big process for me, I have used the ones we get in the stores, which are very far away in the taste. And so it may not look or taste like a specialty Konkani breakfast.

Ingredients :

1 packet of fine rice noodles
1.big onion chopped
2.green chilies – finely chopped (depending on how spicy you prefer)
1 tsp finely chopped ginger
Coriander leaves – chopped (save some for garnishing)
Curry leaves

Juice of one lemon
Pinch of turmeric
½ tsp cumin seeds
½ tsp mustard seeds
Salt to taste
Oil for seasoning
Fresh grated coconut for garnish.

Method :

In a deep pan boil water add few drops of oil. Add noodles and cook till they are soft. Donot overcook the noodles. Drain all the water. Again rinse these cokked noodles in cold water and drain again. This is to remove the extra starch so that the noodles will not stick together when they are cold. Keep aside.

In a shallow wide pan, heat oil and add cumin seeds and mustard seeds. When the mustard seeds start splattering, add green chilies, ginger, and onion. Fry the mixture for a while. Add Curry leaves and fry for some more until the onions are golden. Add turmeric, salt and coriander leaves and mix well. Reduce the heat. Add the cooked noodles and mix well, but gently so that the noodles won't break, till all the noodles get the yellow color of turmeric and all the seasoning. Turn off the heat. Add lemon juice and mix well again. Garnish with fresh grated coconut and chopped coriander leaves.

Serve hot for breakfast.

Vaingana (eggplant) Kappa

2007-10-22T22:46:00.000-07:00

This is very easy and dry side dish which goes with rice and ‘dali thoy’ (lentil soup). Very suitable for light lunch or dinner. Tastes good in the cold weather :)

Ingredients :

1 - Eggplant (big, round and purple one)
2 – tbsp rava
1 – tbsp red chili powder
a dash of garam masala
salt to taste and oil to cook

Method :

Cut the eggplants into round 5mm thick slices. Add salt mix well and keep aside for 10 mins. Meantime, in a flat plate mix rava, red chili powder and garam masala. Heat a wide tava and smear oil on to it. Apply the dry rava mixture to the eggplant pieces like below :

And place them on the tava one by one. Sprinke few drops of water on each eggplant slice. Cook covered. Then put few drops of oil on each slice and turn them over to cook on the other side.
Cook till the eggplant slices are golden and cooked. Serve hot with rice and ‘dali thoy’. You can even serve with rice and tomato saru (another type of spicy hot soup).

The same can be made with potatoes and it is called 'Batate Kappa' :).

Mumbri

2007-10-17T17:59:00.000-07:00

This is very easy and simple breakfast. My mother always made this for breakfast and packed it for my lunch also. It was a tasty and non-messy lunch for me to carry when I was in the college.

Ingradients :

2 cups rava (coarsely powdered wheat)
2 cups water
2 small green chilies – finely chopped
few twigs of cilantro – coarsely chopped
4 curry leaves – coarsely chopped
1 small tomato – finely chopped
Salt to taste
Oil/Ghee to fry

Method :

In a wide bowl mix all the ingredients except oil. Add water to make very thick batter which looks like below :
Keep aside for 5 mins to allow the rava to absorb water. Heat a wide tava (flat iron pan), smear half tsp of oil on to it. Put a small portion of the batter and spread it in the shape of pancake like below :
Cook on both sides till golden. Serve hot with ghee (ghee is not vegan) or any type of chutney of your choice. You can use ghee for frying instead of oil so that you don't have to serve with ghee and can reduce the fat content.

Bhajji Upkari (Greens)

2007-08-09T21:08:00.000-07:00

In Konkani, 'bhajji' means green leafy vegetable and 'upkari' means a side dish prepared just by seasoning any vegetable and no masala (strong spices) added.

Ingredients :

1 bunch of greens

2 small green chillies- slit lengthwise

2 cloves of garlic- chopped

1 tea spoon grated coconut

1 tea spoon oil

Salt to taste

Method :

Separate leaves from the stems and wash the leaves thoroughly. In a shallow pan heat oil and fry the green chillies and chopped garlic till garlic turns brown. Add the greens and mix well. Do not add any water. The water in the greens itself is enough to cook. When the greens are half cooked add salt and grated coconut. Cook covered till most of the water is evaporated.

Serve it with curd rice. The acidic taste of curds enhances the taste of greens. It is very simple side dish to make but very healthy.

PaanpoLe (Rice pancakes)

2007-08-02T20:52:00.000-07:00

“PaanpoLe” doesn't exactly translate into rice pancakes. The exact translation goes like this ... In Konkani "paan" means leaf and "poLe" translates to "pancakes". These pancakes are very thin, as thin as leaf. These pancakes make a very tasty and easy breakfast.

Ingredients :

1 cup white rice
1/6 cup fresh grated coconut
salt to taste
1 table spoon ghee
oil for frying

Method :

Soak the rice overnight. Grind the rice and fresh grated coconut together to smooth consistency with sufficient amount of water. Add salt to taste and mix well. Add more water if required. The consistency of the batter should be little thicker than milk.

Mix ghee with oil which you will be using for frying. Heat a round, flat and heavy iron pan (which in Konkani is commonly called as ‘PoLe kayl’). This type of pan is only used for making pancakes. Do not use the non-stick pan for frying these pancakes. Apply the oil-ghee mixture evenly on the heated pan. Pour a big tablespoon full of batter in a swift so that the batter is evenly spread on the pan. Close the lid of the pan and let the pancake cook. When done fold the pancake to half and again so it looks triangular in shape. These pancakes are very soft and hence folding is necessary to remove from the pan.

Do not pile up the pancakes while hot. They stick to each other and serving them will be difficult. Adding more coconut enhances the taste but it makes pancakes so soft that taking them out of pan will become extremely difficult.

Serve hot with coconut chutney. These pancakes are good to eat even without chutney. As they have fresh coconut and fried with a bit of ghee they have a great flavor. It is a good snack for toddlers too because it is not spicy.