Puli koddel (Ash gourd curry)

Puli koddel is another popular konkani dish. It is made for special occasions as it doesn't have onion or garlic. This dish has the fresh flavors from the spices, sweetness from jaggery, sourness from tamarind and the sesame seeds (special ingredient which gives a different taste as well as a dark color to the dish), together makes it delicious.

Ingredients:

• Ash gourd/Kuvale- 250g
• Grated Coconut, fresh/frozen- 1/2 cup
• Sesame seeds (black)- 1 Tbsp
• Raw rice- 1 Tbsp
• Coriander seeds- 2 tsp
• Split chickpeas/Chanadal- 1 tsp
• Cumin seeds/ Jeera- 1/2 tsp
• Fenugreek seeds/ Methi seeds- 1/4 tsp
• Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp
• Asafoetida- A pinch
• Tamarind- A small ball (slightly bigger than gooseberry)
• Roasted red chillies- 4
• Jaggery- To taste (i added 2-3 Tbsp)
• Oil- 2 Tbsp
• Mustard seeds- 1 tsp
• Curry leaves- few
• Salt- To taste

Procedure:

Remove the peel and seeds of the ash gourd and cut in to pieces.

Cook these pieces in a cooker (two whistles) by adding little water and salt to taste.

To prepare masala: Roast coconut until light brown and allow it to cool. Now fry coriander seeds, chanadal, cumin, fenugreek, asafoetida, turmeric, sesame seeds and rice with little oil (I fried sesame seeds and rice separately without adding oil and the rest together with little oil. You can also add few curry leaves while frying which enhances the taste of the masala as well as adds more iron into it).

After everything gets cooled, grind all of them together along with roasted red chillies and tamarind. Add little water which will help to give a smooth paste.

Add this masala to the cooked ash gourd and mix well. Bring it to a boil. Now add jaggery and check for salt. Add water, if required to get the right consistency (don't make it too watery). After it comes to a boil, continue heating for five more minutes and turn off the heat.
For seasoning- heat oil and add mustard seeds. Once it starts spluttering, add curry leaves and turn off the heat. Add it to the prepared curry and mix well. Puli koddel is ready!!

Serve it hot with rice, dosa or rotis. Above measurement serves 2-3 people.

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Patholi- A Konkani Delicacy

There are many konkani dishes which I want to post but not able to do, because of the unavailability of certain things. Patholi is one among the konkani dishes which is considered special. I will tell you what makes it so special. Patholis are sweet rice dumplings steamed on Turmeric leaves!!. Now will you consider it special? Yes you have to!! I don't know who found out this recipe but he/she has to be appreciated for the idea!! This dish is commonly prepared during festivals like Nagara Panchami and Gowri Pooja. 

The importance of certain things is realized only in their absence. Why this saying?? this is because I never considered it special when I was in India. Only after not having it for more than a year, I realized its importance. The crave for eating Patholi increased day by day. My amma told me to try making it on banana leaves, as I couldn't find turmeric leaves. I found banana leaves in the frozen section. Thanks a ton for Goya!! Patholis made on banana leaves turned out delicious but still it missed the special flavors induced by turmeric leaves. Something is better than Nothing!!:)  Looking at the recipe you may think its lengthy but trust me its worth the effort! Hot Patholi with generous amount of ghee on it is something everyone has to taste once!!
To make patholi we need to prepare two main things- Rice batter and Choornu.


To Make Choornu:
Ingredients:

• Grated Coconut, fresh/frozen- 1 cup
• Jaggery- 1/2-3/4 cup (Adjust according to how sweet you want)
• Cardamom powder- 1 tsp

(I added 1 1/4 cup of grated coconut, as I and my husband like choornu very much. We ate little amount of it before it went on the rice batter:) So if you have a sweet tooth then you need to add more just as I did)


Procedure: 

Take a small skillet and add jaggery to it. Turn on the heat and add little water (2 Tbsp) to it. Mix it well. Once the jaggery dissolves completely add the grated coconut and mix well. Let it sit on medium flame until the water evaporates completely. Turn off the heat. Add cardamom powder and mix well. Choornu is ready!!

To make rice batter:
Ingredients:

• Rice (raw)- 1 cup
• Grated Coconut, fresh/frozen- 1/4 cup
• Pressed rice/Puffed rice- 1/4 cup
• Salt- To taste.

(Some people add little amount of jaggery to make the batter sweet. But i didn't add any. You can try adding it)

Soak the rice for 1-2 hours. Grind the soaked rice, grated coconut, pressed rice and salt to get a fine batter. Avoid adding water (if you add water, the batter becomes watery and will be difficult to steam it on the leaf. This step is very important. Make it as thick and fine as possible)

Assembling:


First wash the banana leaves. Wipe off the extra water on the leaf (it should be absolutely dry). If using frozen leaves, keep it out of the freezer for 30-45 minutes and then clean it (handle the leaves with great care as there are higher chances of the leaves getting damaged. If the leaves are too crispy then run the leaves over the heat for few seconds, which will make it softer and easier to handle).

Make small square or rectangular pieces of the banana leaf (You can cut it into small or big size). Keep in mind that it should fit well in your steamer).
1. Spread pieces of the banana leaves on a flat (spacious) surface. Put little amount of rice batter on it and start spreading it as shown in the picture below.

Repeat this process for other leaves, until the batter gets over.


2.Now start spreading the choornu in the middle of the batter, along its length (if its a square, no worries of the direction)

Repeat this for other banana leaves.


3. Now fold the leaves along the center, as shown below.

Pile them up in a steamer carefully and steam for 15 minutes.

Patholi is ready!!

Discard the leaf and serve it hot with generous amount of ghee:) You won't stop with one!!

I have few pictures captured by my Amma (MIL) back in India. She clicked these pictures for me. I am thankful for her for clicking all the pictures and my cousin who sent me the pictures and other family members who helped me with the photos of Patholi, made on turmeric leaves.

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Benda Song (Lady's finger/Okra Curry)

Benda song is one more popular konkani dish. Byanda means lady's finger in konkani. This is a spicy dish which is nearly similar to one of my post, batate song. Try making this simple tasty dish.


Ingredients:

• Lady's finger/Okra- 250g
• Onion, medium sized- 1
• Grated Coconut, fresh/frozen- 1/2 cup
• Roasted red chillies- 3-4
• Tamarind- A small ball (gooseberry sized)
• Oil- 1 Tbsp
• Salt- To taste

Procedure:

Cut the onion lengthwise and okra (edges trimmed) into 1-1.5cm long.

Now fry the onion using oil, until it turns light brown. Then add chopped okra and keep mixing. Let it fry together for couple of minutes. 

For the masala- grind coconut, red chillies and tamarind until it becomes a smooth paste. Add little water while grinding, which helps in making the paste smoother. Add this masala to the onion- okra mixture.

Add required amount of water, salt to taste and mix well. Continue cooking until okras get cooked in masala. This might take 5-10 minutes depending on the okra. The consistency of this dish is a personal choice (you can make it thick/medium watery). 

Once the okras gets cooked, turn off the heat. Benda song is ready!!

Serve it with rice, rotis, panpolo, undis, dosa. Above measurement is for serving two people.

Note: If you don't want to use coconut/ pressed with time then you can follow the same procedure of one of my post, batate song. Only the cooking time varies. It comes out equally tasty.

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Bharshi Upkari (Mixed vegetable Curry)

Bharshi Upkari  is a dish with lot of veggies in coconut based sauce. Bharshi in konkani means mixed. This dish is almost similar to one of my post- Gajbaje. The only difference between these two is the masala. We don't add any spices in gajbaje whereas for this dish we add. 
For the first time I ate this dish in a temple (served as prasadam) and liked it very much. I always wanted my amma to make this for me but she didn't have the recipe. Finally last week she got this recipe from my aunt. Try making this healthy dish.


Ingredients:

• Chopped Mixed Vegetables- 4- 4 1/2 cups
• Grated coconut, fresh/frozen- 1 cup
• Roasted red chilli- 4
• Tamarind- A small ball (gooseberry sized)
• Coriander seeds- 2 tsp
• Uraddal/ Split blackgram- 1 tsp
• Fenugreek seeds/ Methi seeds- 1/4 tsp
• Jaggery- A small piece
• Oil- 1 1/2 Tbsp
• Mustard seeds- 1 tsp
• Curry leaves- Few
• Salt- To taste

Vegetables I used were- cowpea beans (alsande), carrot, potato, lady's finger (okra), ivy gourd (tendle), beans and suran (Indian yam). You can make your own combination except bitter gourd, drum stick, onion.

Procedure:

Wash all the vegetables and chop them into desired shape.

Cook the vegetables in a cooker by adding required amount of water and salt to taste (1-2 whistles).

For the masala- First fry the coriander seeds, urad dal and fenugreek seeds until they turn light brown, using 1/2 Tbsp of oil. (you can fry them together. Fenugreek seeds has to be added at the end because it takes very little time)

Now grind the grated coconut, roasted red chillies, tamarind and the roasted spices with little water. The consistency of the masala should be in between coarse and fine.Add this masala and small piece of jaggery to the cooked vegetables. Mix them well.

Stir the vegetables gently, as there are chances of some vegetables getting smashed. Bring it to a boil and then continue heating for five more minutes. Turn off the heat.

For seasoning- heat 1 Tbsp of oil. Once it gets heated add mustard seeds. After it splutters, add curry leaves and turn off the heat. Add this to the vegetable-masala mixture and mix well. Bharshi Upkari is ready!!

Serve it with rice, idli. Above measurement serves four people.

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Batato bhajjunu Upkari (Potato Stir fry)

Batato bhajjunu Upkari is a very simple dish. In konkani, batato means potato and bhajjunu means frying. This is a very easy dish and perfect for beginners. Potato lovers will surely love it!!


Ingredients:

• Potatoes (big sized)- 3
• Oil- 2-3 Tbsp
• Mustard seeds- 1/2 tsp
• Red chilli powder- 1/2 tsp (adjust according to your taste)
• Salt- To taste

Procedure:

Wash and peel the potatoes. Cut it lengthwise or any other desired shape. Sprinkle little bit of salt on it and keep aside. 
Now heat oil in a pan and once it gets heated add mustard seeds. Once it starts spluttering, add chopped potatoes and red chilli powder. Mix well. 
Heat should be on medium or lesser than that (water is not added to this dish. Hence we are adding more oil. Those who prefer less oil can reduce it and add water). The potatoes might take 15 minutes to cook (time taken depends on the potato). Add more salt if required. Batato bhajjunu Upkari is ready!!

This can be served as a side dish for rice. Above measurement serves two people.

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Vaali Ambat (Malabar Spinach Curry)

Vaali Ambat is a very popular konkani dish. This dish is rich in protein, fiber and minerals. Try making this delicious healthy dish.


Ingredients:

• Malabar Spinach- 1 bunch
• Toordal- 1/4 cup
• Onion (medium sized)- 1 (1/2+1/2)
• Grated Coconut, fresh/frozen- 1/2 cup
• Roasted Red Chillies- 3-4
• Tamarind- A very small ball (gooseberry sized)
• Oil- 1 Tbsp
• Salt- To taste

Note: This dish is more popularly made as Vaali-Papashpala(raw papaya) Ambat i.e they also add pieces of raw papaya while cooking, which goes very well with malabar spinach. Even yellow cucumber can be substituted for raw papaya (I didn't add both of them).

Procedure:


Clean the malabar spinach and separate the leaves from the stem. Cut the stem into 1-1.5 inches long. Wash toordal thoroughly. Take the stem of the malabar spinach, toordal and chopped onion (half of it) in a cooker. Add sufficient water and salt to taste. 

Cook them for two whistles. Meanwhile chop the leaves of the malabar spinach and cook them separately  by adding it in boiling water (use a small vessel). The leaves will take less than 5 minutes to cook. Add the cooked leaves to the cooked dal-stem mixture and mix well.

For the masala- Grind the grated coconut,red chillies and tamarind to a smooth paste by adding little water. Add this masala to the above cooked mixture and bring it to a boil. When it comes to boil, continue heating for five more minutes. Turn off the heat. 

For seasoning- heat oil and once it gets heated, add the chopped onions (remaining half) and fry until its turns slight brown. Add this to vegetable and dal-masala mixture. Mix it well. Vaali Ambat is ready!!

Serve it hot with rice, idli. Above measurement serves two people.

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Losne Chutney (Garlic Chutney)

Losunu in konkani means garlic. If you are searching for a different variety of chutney then this is one such!! Its a very delicious chutney, with less ingredients and can be done within few minutes. Garlic lovers will surely like this. Its an all time favorite chutney of ours. 


Ingredients:

• Grated coconut- 1 cup
• Roasted red chilli- 4
• Tamarind- A small ball (gooseberry sized)
• Garlic pods- 9-10
• Oil- 1/2 Tbsp
• Salt- To taste

Procedure:


Roast the garlic pods using oil, until it turns light brown (or little more than that). Now grind all the ingredients using little water to a consistency somewhere between coarse and fine (Just like other chutney,do not make the chutney watery and fine). Transfer it into a bowl. Losne Chutney is ready!! 

It goes well with panpolo, dill roti, rice, undi, dosa or just as it is:-) (we finish half of it as soon as it is done). Above measurement serves 2-3 people.

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