Broccoli Stir Fry

Once upon a time Broccoli was generally unheard in India. But now it is grown in India and is available in super-markets though quite expensive. This vegetable is green in colour and resembles cauliflower. It is known to have great nutritional and medicinal properties. It cooks very easily and is delicious in taste too. When cooked on high flame, it retains its nutritive value as well as its colour.

This recipe is typically konkani known as "Thalaasan" meaning stir-fried with garlic. Vegetables like gherkins (tendle/tendli), chow-chow ( seemebadanekayi) etc are also prepared in this manner.

A few friends of mine had requested me for this recipe. Hence I am posting this specially for them.

Ingredients:

Broccoli	400 gms
Carrot grated	2tbsps
Garlic	7-8 cloves
Dry Red chilies	2 -3
Oil	2tsps
Salt	11/2 tsps or to taste
Water	1 cup

Method :

1. Wash the Broccolli thoroughly and cut them into bite-size florets.
2. Heat oil in a wok/kadai.
3. Crush garlic. Add them in the hot oil. When they turn slightly brown, add the red chilies. Stir well.
4. Now add the Broccoli florets and keep the flame on high. Keep stirring.
5. Add water little at a time and stir again.
6. When the florets are half cooked, add salt. If necessary add water. Stir and cook till done.
7. Garnish with grated carrots.

Serves : 4

Note :

A Chinese variation can be made in the same recipe as follows:

In a bowl, add soya sauce, vinegar, tomato juice/puree and a pinch of sugar. Mix well and add this mixture to the above recipe (when it is almost done).

For information on Broccoli :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broccoli

Kosambari (Salad)

This attractive dish is not only tasty but healthy too ! It seems unbelievable - as the words healthy, tasty and beauty is a rare combination at least where food is concerned. Moreover, it is very easy to prepare too.

Yesterday while chatting with my brother, I realised that it was Ramnavami day ( I am not a very religious type of person) and this kosambari or salad is a must have during such festivities in Bangalore. I had prepared it during our "Ugadi" festival .

Ingredients:

Moong dal / Split green gram	½ cup
Cucumber	1 small
Carrot grated	2 tbsps
Green chillies (chopped)	1 or as per taste
Corriander leaves (chopped)	2 tbsps
Lime juice	2 tsps
Asafoetida	A pinch
Curry leaves	1 sprig
oil	1 tsp
Mustard seeds	1 tsp
Salt	As per taste

Method:

1. Wash & soak Moong dal in water for an hour. Then drain and keep aside.
2. Wash all the vegetables. Skin and grate cucumber and carrot.
3. In a bowl, mix moong dal & grated cucumber.
4. Heat oil in a small pan and add to it mustard seeds and when it splutters, add green chillies, curry leaves and asafoetida. Mix and remove from flame and add this to the bowl of moong dal and grated cucumber .
5. Add salt and lime juice. Mix well and garnish it with grated carrots & chopped coriander leaves.
6. Serve immediately.

Serves : 4

Note:

Instead of grating the cucumber, you may cut it into small cubes.

If you need to serve the salad at a later time, add the salt just before serving.

Madagane (Sweet dish)

This mildly sweet dish is generally prepared during “Ugadi” festival in all Konkani households. In other south Indian states too, a similar type of dish is prepared and it is known as "payassam".

Even though, I enjoy this dish, I would always hesitate to prepare it as it involves a cumbersome process of breaking the coconut, grating it, grinding it and finally filtering it to remove the juice of the coconut.

Thanks to the coconut milk which is readily available in the market, now all this work can be completely eliminated and can be quickly prepared without hassles. Ofcourse not everybody would agree with me but I being slightly lazy would always opt for a litle short-cut method !!

In the market a wide variety of coconut milk or coconut milk powders are available. I would recommend the Homemade brand which comes in tetra packs of 200ml. According to me, these are (as the name suggests) quite fresh and does not give the coconut oil smell if you use it as per their instructions.

Ingredients

Channa dal (Bengal gram dal)	1 cup
Tender Cashew nuts	15 - 20
Powdered jaggery	1 cup
Coconut milk	1 pkt (200ml)
Cardamom powder	1-2 tsps
Rice powder	1 tbsp
Water	3 cups

Method :

1. Soak the tender cashew nuts in hot water for 15-20 mins. Then peel the skin and halve it and keep aside.
2. Wash channa dal.
3. Boil 2 cups of water. Add to it the washed channa dal and when it is almost cooked, add the halved cashew nuts.
4. When dal and the nuts are cooked, add the powdered jaggery and mix well.
5. Lower the flame and add rice powder. Stir well to prevent it from sticking at the bottom.
6. Add coconut milk and stir again. If its very thick add a little water.
7. Bring to boil and remove from flame.
8. Finally add cardamom and mix well.
9. Serve hot.
   

Serves : 6

Note :

You can substitute Moong dal (split green gram) or broken wheat or oats for Channa dal (split black gram) using the above method in which case the cooking time for each will vary accordingly.

Rice powder is added as a thickening agent. You may omit it altogether or use any other thickening agent of your choice ( like corn starch).

Tendle & Bibbe Upkari

This is actually a very simple curry but due to the addition of tender cashew nuts, it attains a special status.

Tender Cashew nuts are different from the cashew nuts that are available in super markets.

“Bibbo” or tender cashew nuts are generally available in India in Karnataka, Kerala and Konkan area of Maharashtra, & Goa. Mangalore stores generally stock them too.

This unique combination of Tendle & Bibbo upkari is generally prepared during religious ceremonies or during any celebrations in the Konkani community. “Ugadi” celebration without this dish is considered incomplete !

Bibbe upkari is a dry dish. The Bibbos need a little processing before it can be used in cooking.

Raw Bibbos -------------------------------- Boiled Bibbos

Boiled and Peeled Bibbos

Ingredients

Gherkins/tendle	250 gms
Tender cashew nuts/Bibbo	1 cup
Mustard seeds	1 tsp
Dry Red Chillies	2-3
Oil	2 tsps
Salt	As per taste
Water	2 cups
Freshly grated coconut	2tbsps

Method:

1. Heat a cup of water & soak the tender cashew nuts in it for about 15-20minutes.
2. Drain the water from the soaked cashew nuts and peel off the skin (which can now be easily removed) and halve them.
3. Wash the tendle and snip off its ends and halve the vegetable lengthwise. Then each half cut it into thin slices.
   
4. Heat a pan. Add to it oil, mustard seeds and dry red chillies. When mustard seeds start spluttering, lower the flame and add the cut tendles. Stir it. Increase the flame and add a little water and allow it to cook.
5. When the tendles are half cooked, add the cashew nut halves. Stir again and add water if necessary.
6. Finally add salt. Cover it and let it cook till done.
7. Garnish it with freshly grated coconut.

Serves : 4

Note :

Garnishing with freshly grated coconut is optional.

This dish goes well with rice and dal or even with chapattis.

For names of Tendle/Tendli in other Indian languages :

http://www.alibaba.com/product/winterfresh-101439490-10650549/Indian_Tendli_Fresh_Vegetable.html

Happy & Properous Yugadi( New Year ) to all !

A New Year Begins

Happy “Sanvsar Padvo” or Yugadi as we Konkanis or GSB’s greet each other on this day which is falling on 16th March 2010.

The Kannadigas and Andhrites call it “Ugadi” while the Maharashtrians call it “Gudi Padwa” and the Sindhis, “Cheti Chand”.

Each community celebrates this day with certain specific rituals but one “ritual” common to all is preparing exotic varieties of food and eating them !!

It is supposed to mark the beginning of the Hindu Calendar. From this day onwards a new "Panchang" ( Hindu astrological almanac which follows traditional Indian cosmology, and presents important astronomical data ) is to be followed till the coming of the next Yugadi.

As per my knowledge, we Konkanis do not have any special religious ritual as such (correct me if I am wrong) except eating all the yummy food that is prepared on this day !!

Ofcourse, we have an early morning bath and we do clean and decorate our homes and wear new clothes. It is said that the husbands should bring their wives a new sari on this day. I do not know if this is said in jest. I am sure all the wives will agree with me that they do deserve a new sari for the yummy food that is being prepared on this special day!

The special dishes that are done on this day are : Tendle & Bibbe Upkari (Gerkins & Tender cashew curry), Chana Ghashi with Kadgi (Chick Pea curry with tender jack-fruit), Madagane (sweet dish prepared out of Split chick pea and coconut milk), Dali-Thoy etc. These are the main ones that are prepared in every household.

Watch out for the “Padvo” recipes in my next post.

Source

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gudi_Padwa

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panchangam

For more details on customs and rituals:

http://www.hindujagruti.org/hinduism/festivals/gudhipadwa/

Bread Usli

“Usli” is a word in Konkani language. It generally means a dry dish. This is a breakfast dish or an evening snack. It is a very tasty dish and can be prepared quickly. This “usli” can also be prepared from leftover bread slices.

Ingredients :

Bread slices	8 - 10
Onion	1 medium
Potatoes boiled (optional)	1 medium
Green chillies	2
Curry leaves	1 sprig
Corriander leaves	1 small bunch
Mustard seeds	1 tsp
Oil	1 tbsp
Turmeric	½ tsp
Buttermilk	2 tbsps
Salt	to taste

Method :

1. Cut bread slices into small cubes and sprinkle buttermilk over it and mix well so that all the bread cubes becomes slightly moist. Keep aside.
2. Cut boiled potato (if using) also into small cubes.
3. Wash and chop onions, green chillies and coriander leaves.
4. Heat a pan or a wok (preferably non-stick) and in it add the oil and mustard seeds.
5. When mustard seeds start spluttering, add the chopped onions, boiled potato cubes, green chillies, curry leaves and turmeric.
6. Stir this mixture on a low flame till the onions are transparent but not browned.
7. Add salt and give it a good stir again.
8. Finally add the moistened bread cubes. Mix well and cover the pan for about two minutes and remove from heat
9. Garnish with chopped corriander leaves. Serve hot.
   

Note : Serves 4

Instead of buttermilk you can sprinkle water in which case, squeeze lemon juice

while garnishing. Grated coconut can also be added for garnishing.

Green Pea Pod (outer skin) Curry

Everybody is aware of green peas and various dishes that can be prepared out of this vegetable. I wonder how many of you have heard or tasted a curry made out of the skin of the pea pod. Yes, you have heard it right and I am not joking and neither is it April Fools day !!

This dish was initially made by my aunt during my school days. Of course at that time we were more interested in the taste and the looks of the dish rather than the vegetable itself.

We first tasted it and found it very interesting and to our liking. So the next step was to identify the vegetable. But sadly enough, none of us could do it.

So when she revealed that it was made from the skin of the green pea-pod, we just could not believe it. She then actually bought a kilo of green peas (with the pod ofcourse)

and showed us how to peel the skin of the pod. Even though it is slightly laborious, it is worth going through it due to its nutritional value ( I believe it is full of fibre) as well as the taste.

How to skin the pod :

First of all the pods of the Green Peas should be fresh and green (not the dry and pale ones). After shelling the peas, choose only the tender green (pod only) ones and discard the dry pale ones. Wash them thoroughly and drain off the water.

First, separate the pod i.e. take it apart. Take one half of the pod, and press one of the pointed edge inwards and gently pull it along till it reaches the other end and peel off completely from the pod as shown above. You will notice that a thin hard skin is being peeled. Discard this. And what remains behind is the tender outer skin. Just use your hands to cut them into 2/3 pieces. (See the picture below) Follow the same procedure for the rest of the pods.

Initially, you may find it difficult, but ones you get the hang of it, you will be able to do it faster. But take care to see that the peel is removed completely or else the dish will turn chewy. Ones this is done, (see above picture) you are ready for the preparation of the curry which is very simple and tasty too.

Ingredients

Green Pea pods	1/2 kg Washed peeled and cut
Potato	1 washed and chopped
Onion	1peeled & chopped
Tomato	1 washed & chopped
Green chilies	2
Turmeric powder	¼ tsp
Oil	3-4 tsps
Mustard seeds	1-2 tsps
Salt	To taste
Water	1 cup
Corriander leaves	Small bunch –washed and chopped

Method :

• Heat oil in a wok/pan/kadai. Add to it the mustard seeds.
• When mustard seeds start spluttering, add chopped onion, turmeric powder and split green chilies.
• Saute it for awhile till the onions are transparent but not browned.
• Now add the chopped potatoes, peeled and cut pea pods and chopped tomatoes.
• Stir well and add half the water (the skin of the pea pods leave its own water).
• Keep it covered on a medium flame. Occasionally stir.
• When half cooked, add the salt and the remaining water if necessary.
• Cook till done. Garnish it with chopped coriander leaves.

Note :

1 Kg of fresh green peas produces about 1/2kg pods ( i.e. after shelling).

It cooks within 10-15 minutes. It goes well with chapattis and also with rice and dal.