Adgai (Young Jackfruit- Raw Mango Pickle)

Adgai is a very popular Konkani Instant pickle. I got this recipe from my mother. This is commonly prepared during summer, as the young jackfruit and raw mango are seasonal. This is one of my favorite pickle and was in my 'to- do' list for a long time. Some how I was nervous to try making pickle. 

Finally I managed to make it successfully under the guidance of my mother. I am very thankful to her. I cannot explain the happiness I got after eating the pickle made by me :-) Do give this a try and I am sure you will love it too.

Ingredients:

• Young Jackfruit*, chopped- 1 cup (heaping)
• Raw Mango, medium sized** - 1 (nearly makes 1 1/4 cup when chopped)
• Salt- To taste

For Roasting:

• Dry Red Chillies (byadgi variety), big sized- 10-12
• Mustard seeds- 2 1/2 tsp
• Coriander seeds- 1 1/2 tsp
• Fenugreek seeds/ Methi- 1/4 tsp
• Turmeric Powder- 1/4 tsp
• Asafoetida/ Hing- 1/4 tsp
• Oil- For roasting

*Young jackfruit can be fresh or canned. I used canned. If using canned then use half a can of young jackfruit.
**Raw mango should be fresh and sour. More sour the better it is, for pickle.

Procedure:

Few important things you need to keep in mind before making this pickle:

#All the bowls, spoon, frying pan etc should be clean and dry.

#It is preferred that you start making the pickle in the morning and by evening it will be done. Next day, it will be ready to use.

#Be careful while adding salt. Add it in steps. You can always add more if required.

#The pickle has to be stored in a clean glass or porcelain jar (you can also use plastic containers. remember that it might get stained).

Now coming back to the preparation-

Wash the raw mango and pat dry. Then chop it into small cubes.

Transfer the chopped raw mango into a large dry bowl. Sprinkle little salt and mix well. Cover and let it rest for 4-6 hours.

Next comes the chopping of raw young jackfruit.

If using fresh- using greased hands, remove the outer hard skin and inner core (like pineapple). Then chop it  into small cubes.

If using canned- drain the water and rinse the pieces thoroughly for 2-3 times in water. Then chop it further to get bite size pieces. Canned young jackfruit makes life lot easier :-)

Then transfer these pieces in a pressure cooker with enough water and little salt. Pressure cook it for 1 whistle. Let it cool completely (absolutely cold). Then drain the pieces. Reserve the liquid in which it was cooked. It can be used while grinding the chilli paste.

Next step is to make the chilli paste.

Take a dry pan and add few drops of oil. Add the dry red chilli and fry it lightly, for a minute or so. Care should be taken not to burn the chillies. Transfer it to a plate for cooling.

In the same pan, add few more drops of oil and add coriander seeds and mustard seeds. Start frying it on a medium- low flame. When it slightly changes the color, add fenugreek seeds and asafoetida. Slowly the mustard starts to pop. At this stage, turn off the heat and finally add the turmeric powder and give a quick stir. Transfer it to a plate, for cooling. Burning the spices will make the pickle bitter. So fry them on a low heat.

Once the spices gets cooled, grind them into a fine powder. Then add little amount of the reserved liquid (in which jackfruit was cooked) and grind. The resulting paste should be smooth.

Its time to mix everything.

Put the raw jackfruit, chilli paste, salt into the bowl containing raw mango. Mix well. Add more water or reserved liquid to achieve the desired consistency. I kept it medium thick. Let this mixture sit for a day, so that the raw mango and jackfruit gets time to absorb the flavors. Adgai is ready!!

Store it in a glass/ porcelain jar. Refrigerate it for future use. It stays good for 15 days to a month.

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Black-Eyed Peas Salad

Black- Eyed Peas Salad is a healthy recipe (like any other salad). My husband gave me the recipe, which he had got from a good friend. This salad is simple and doesn't demand much effort and time. After eating this salad, you will think- even healthy stuff can taste good :-) You can also serve this as an appetizer for your guests. Give this a try and enjoy!

Ingredients:

• Black -eyed Peas- 1 cup
• Tomato, small sized- 1
• Onion, finely chopped- 1/4 cup
• Cilantro/ Coriander leaves- 5-6 sprigs
• Lemon juice- 1-2 tsp (adjust accordingly)
• Tomato ketchup- 1 tsp
• Chaat masala- 1/2 tsp
• Garam masala- 1/2 tsp
• Red Chilli Powder- To Taste
• Salt- To taste

Procedure:

Wash and soak the black- eyed peas in water for 1-2 hours (some varieties need to be soaked overnight. But the one I used requires only 1 hour of soaking ). 

Then cook them in a pressure cooker with enough water and salt, for one whistle. Once cooled, drain the beans. The cooked beans should be cooked yet firm.

Then chop the onion, tomato, cilantro.

Then put the cooked beans, chopped onion, tomato, cilantro in a large mixing bowl. 

Then add the lemon juice, red chilli powder, tomato ketchup, chaat masala, garam masala. Give a good, gentle mix.

At this point taste the bean mixture and add more lemon juice or salt or red chilli powder etc, if required. Black-Eyed Peas Salad is ready!!

Serve it with corn chips or as it is. Above measurement serves 2-3 people.

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Coconut Rice

Coconut Rice is a very popular South- Indian dish. I got this recipe from a friend. This recipe is very simple and requires only 8-10 minutes to make it (excluding the cooking time for rice). The addition of ghee for seasoning, the generous amount of coconut with a small hint of lemon juice makes it very tasty. Do try it yourself :-)

Ingredients:

• Rice (long grained)- 3/4 cup
• Grated Coconut, Fresh/ Frozen- 1/3 cup
• Ghee (clarified butter) or Oil- 2-3 tsp
• Mustard seeds- 1/2 tsp
• Cashew nut- 4-5 (optional)
• Chana dal/ Split Chickpeas- 2 tsp
• Urad dal/ Split black gram- 1 tsp
• Curry leaves- Few
• Lemon juice- 1- 1 1/2 tsp
• Salt- To taste

Procedure:

Wash and cook the rice (I cooked in a microwave oven). Let it cool for some time. The rice grains should be well separated, once cooked (I added few drops of oil in the rice- water mixture before cooking).

Now prepare the seasoning. First heat the ghee in a kadai. Then add mustard seeds. Once it starts popping, add the cashews, chana dal and urad dal. Once it starts to turn slight brown, add the chopped green chilli (or dry red chilli) and curry leaves. Fry for a minute.

Then add the cooked rice, grated coconut, salt. Mix well. 

Continue heating for 2-3 minutes and turn off the heat. Finally add the lemon juice and give a good mix. Coconut Rice is ready!!

Serve it hot. Above measurement serves one.

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Moolangi Buthi (Coconut based Radish Curry)

Moolangi Buthi is a simple coconut based dry curry. In Konkani, moolangi means radish. I got to learn making this, from my SIL. 

Frankly speaking, I was not a great fan of radish. The smell and taste of the radish always kept me away from it. I changed my mind after trying to make fritters. Radish never tasted so good till then. After eating this curry at my SIL's place, I started to like it. There was no foul smell of radish. This was due to the coconut based masala. Hence I thought of sharing this recipe so that radish haters can give a try :-)

Ingredients:

• Radish, big sized- 1
• Onion, medium sized- 1
• Grated coconut, fresh/frozen- 1/2 cup
• Roasted dry red chillies- 4-5
• Tamarind- A small ball (gooseberry sized)
• Coriander seeds- 1 tsp
• Oil- 2 tsp
• Mustard seeds- 1/2 tsp (optional)
• Salt- To taste

Procedure:

Give a rough chop to the onion. Then slice the radish (circular or semi- circular shape). 

Heat oil in a kadai and add mustard seeds (mustard seeds is optional. You can directly add chopped onions to the oil). When it starts to splutter, add chopped onion. Fry until it turns translucent. 

Now add the sliced radish and fry for 3-4 minutes.

While the radish is frying prepare the masala. 
For masala- grind grated coconut, roasted dry red chillies, tamarind and coriander seeds. Make a paste (not too fine). Add little water while grinding. 

Add this masala to the radish-onion mixture.

Mix it well. Add salt to taste. Add little water and close the lid.

Continue cooking on a medium flame until the radish cooks (for me it took nearly 20-25 minutes). Check it often and add more water if required (Consistency of this dish is dry). Moolangi Buthi is ready!!

Serve it hot with rice. Above measurement serves 2-3 people.

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Soybean Dosa

Soybean Dosa is a protein rich dosa. I got this recipe from Red Chillies.        
I was very happy when I found this recipe as I had soybeans which was lying unused since a long time. I followed the recipe as it is without making any variation and the dosa turned out very soft. 

Ingredients:

• Soybean- 1/4 cup
• Rice- 3/4 cup
• Urad dal/ Split Black gram- 1/2 cup
• Cooked rice- 2-3 Tbsp
• Salt- To taste

Procedure:

Wash the rice, soybean and urad dal. Soak them together in enough water for 6-7 hours (I soaked them overnight). 

Then grind them along with cooked rice, with enough water to get a smooth paste. The batter should be thick in consistency. Then allow this batter to ferment for 8-10 hours in a warm place. Once it is fermented, add salt. Add water to adjust the consistency of the batter (it should be thick, yet pouring consistency).

Now, heat the dosa pan. Add a ladel full of batter and spread it in circular motion (you can also make thick soft dosas without spreading the batter too much)

Now add oil (if using) and close the lid for half a minute. Then the dosa starts to turn brown.

At this point, you can flip it and fry the other side (to make it little crispy) or transfer it to a plate. 
Soybean Dosa is ready!!

Serve it hot with Coconut chutney. I served it with Kothambari Palle Chutney. Above measurement serves 2-3 people.

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Godda Paanaka (Ginger- Jaggery Drink)

Godda Paanaka is a very popular beverage. In Konkani, 'god' means jaggery and paanaka means 'a drink'. I got this recipe from a cook book written by Jaya Shenoy. 

Godda Paanaka is commonly served in temples on special occasions. This drink has a unique taste. It is very spicy due to the addition of peppercorns. The spiciness is well balanced by the jaggery and lemon juice. Do try making this unique drink and enjoy.

Ingredients:

• Water- 2 cups
• Jaggery, grated- 1/2 cup (vary accordingly)
• Whole Peppercorns- 1 tsp
• Ginger- 1 inch
• Lemon- half of a small one
• Cardamom pods- 4

Procedure:

Grate the jaggery.

Then crush the ginger and peppercorns (I used a mortar and pestle for crushing. You can as well add jaggery and crush all the three together). Crush the cardamom as well.

Now add the jaggery, crushed ginger-peppercorn mixture and powdered cardamom to the water. Then squeeze in the lime juice, as required. Then stir well until everything mixes well. 

Give a taste test and add anything, if required. Godda Paanaka is ready!!

Serve it as it is or you can as well chill it (Strain the final mixture, if required). Above measurement serves 1-2 people.

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Kothambari Palle Chutney (Cilantro/ Coriander Leaves Chutney)

Kothambari Palle Chutney is a simple recipe. In Konkani, Kothambari Pallo means Coriander leaves (cilantro). I got this recipe from a cook book written by Jaya V Shenoy.

I am a great of Cilantro and always have them on hand. I use it a lot and this is the chutney which I make regularly for dosas. I make it a little different than this recipe but tastes some what similar. Try making this simple, flavorful chutney. The fresh cilantro added, gives a wonderful flavor as well as taste.

Ingredients:

• Coriander leaves/Cilantro- 13-15 sprigs (along with stems)
• Grated Coconut, fresh/ frozen- 1/2 cup
• Green Chilli- 2-3
• Tamarind- A very small piece
• Cumin seeds/ Jeera- 1/2 tsp
• Salt- To taste

For Seasoning:

• Oil- 1 tsp
• Mustard seeds- 1/2 tsp
• Curry leaves- 3-4
• Urad dal/ Split black gram- 1/2 tsp

Procedure:

Wash and give a rough chop to the coriander leaves (cilantro). Then grind all the ingredients mentioned under 'Ingredients' . 

Add little water while grinding. Don't grind  the chutney very smooth. Transfer it into a bowl. Adjust the consistency of the chutney using water (I made it medium thick). Then add seasoning.

For seasoning- Heat oil and add mustard seeds. Once it starts spluttering, add urad dal and curry leaves. Turn off the heat, when the urad dal starts to turn light brown. Add this to the chutney and mix well. Kothambari Palle Chutney is ready.

Serve it with dosa or any idli of your choice. Above measurement serves 2-3 people.

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