Simebadanekayi Upkari

When we first came to Bangalore, this vegetable caught our attention as it was available in plenty. This vegetable is known as “Simebadanekayi” in Kannada. In Tamil it is know as chou-chou and in western countries esp. in US it is known as chayote.

This vegetable cooks very easily and varies dishes can be made from it. Besides, it is also very good for health and not expensive too. It is a very versatile vegetable. It can also be used in Sambhar, Sindhi Kadhi, Kurma, salads or even fries or “phodis”.

When I first tried my hand at this vegetable, I was not aware that the skin needs to be peeled. So we all had a tough time eating this - as the peel does not cook and is very hard and chewy! Ofcourse, I have learnt my lesson the hard way - literally!

This dish which I have made here is a typical Bangalorean dish.

Ingredients:

Simebadanekayi	2
Channa Dal (split gram)	3 tbsps
Mustard seeds	1 tsp
Jeera (cumin seeds)	1 tsp
Dry Red chillies	2
Green chillies	1
Asafetida	A pinch
Curry leaves	1 sprig
Salt	To taste
oil	1 tbsp
Corriander leaves (chopped)	2 tbsps
Lime juice	2 tsps

Grated coconut (optional) 1 tbsp

Method:

1. Wash and peel the skin of simebadanekayis. Halve it and discard the white seed which is inside. Then cut the vegetable into cubes.
2. Wash the channa dal and keep aside.
3. Heat a pan/kadai/wok on a medium flame. Add to it oil, mustard seeds, jeera and dry red chillies.
4. When mustard seeds pop, add curry leaves, asafetida and green chillies. Then add the washed channa dal. Stir well and add half a cup of water and allow it to cook for a while.
5. When channa dal is half cooked, add the simebadanekayi cubes, salt and mix well. Simebadanekayi leaves its own water. But if necessary, you may add a little water to avoid sticking at the bottom.
6. Cook till done. Add lime juice and mix well.
7. Finally garnish with chopped coriander leaves and grated coconut.
   
8. Serve hot.

Serves: 3

Note:

• Grated coconut is generally also added as garnish along with coriander leaves.
• This dish goes well with rice and dal and even with chapattis.

See here for more info on this vegetable:

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

Phagila Phodi (Wild Gourd Fries)

Phagil - Konkani word for Wild gourd and “Phodi” means “fried slice”. Phagil is a seasonal vegetable, green in colour and is oval or round in shape. As the name (wild gourd) suggests, it grows wildly in forests during the monsoon. "Amchis" (konkani speaking people) will go to great lengths to lay their hands on this vegetable no matter what the cost!! And after eating the phodis, he or she only will end up singing - “ Yeh Dil Mange More”!!

Most of our festivals start in the month of “Shraavan” and continue till the end of the year. So, this item is generally found in most of the menus during the festive season when this vegetable is available in plenty.

Besides, being tasty and crispy, it is very easy to prepare and cooks very fast too. It can also be deep fried but to avoid the excess oil and moreover, everybody nowadays being quite health conscious, shallow frying is a better option. The usage of chilly powder can be varied according to one’s taste.

Ingredients:

Phagil (wild gourd)	3
Salt	As per taste
Rice powder	3 tbsps
Red chilly powder	2tsps
Asafoetida	A pinch
oil	For shallow frying

Method:

1. Wash the phagils (wild gourds) and pat dry them. Snip off the ends. Slice each phagil into 4-5 slices lengthwise. Sprinkle salt, red chilly powder and asafetida over these slices on both sides evenly and keep aside for about 15mins.
2. Heat a pan and smear oil on it.
3. Place the rice powder in a plate. Roll each phagil slice in the rice powder one by one and place it on the heated (medium flame) pan.
4. Pour some oil on the sides and fry the slices on both sides till golden brown.
5. Serve hot.

Makes about 12-15 phodis

Serves: 2

Note:

• This is eaten as a side dish. It can also be eaten as a snack with or without sauce or chutney.
• "Phodis" can also be prepared out of other vegetables like bitter gourd, large brinjal, yam, breadfruit, simebadanekayi (chow-chow) etc.
  

Jackfruit Patholi

This is my third sweet dish made after demolishing the jackfruit!!

Patholi is a Konkani word for a sweet dish that is steamed in a leaf. The batter for patholi is generally made of rice flour and the leaf used to prepare this dish is the turmeric leaf which has a powerful aroma of its own.

Since jackfruit is a very aromatic fruit by itself, the leaves used for jackfruit patholi should be non-aromatic (as the two strong flavours will clash) like the Banana leaf (“Cholko” in Konkani ) OR the Champa (flower) leaf which is known as “Kud Champe Paan” in Konkani. Traditionally it is prepared in these leaves in coastal Karnataka (Udipi, Mangalore, Karwar areas).

Since my husband managed to get Kud Champe Paan, I prepared the patholi in these leaves.

Before Steaming

After Steaming

Ingredients:

Ripe Jackfruit plums(deseeded)	12
Rice powder	3 – 4 tbsps
Salt	a pinch
Jaggery (molasses) powder	2 tbsps
Coconut scrapings	1 cup
Cardamom powder	teaspoon
Banana leaf (bits /”cholko”) or Champa flower leaves (Kud Champe Paan)	10

Method:

1. Wash the Banana leaves or champa flower leaves thoroughly and wipe them dry and keep aside.
2. Grind the jackfruit plums along with one tablespoon of coconut scrapings, rice powder and salt without adding any water to a smooth paste. Divide this ground paste roughly into 10 equal portions and keep aside.
3. Crush the remaining coconut scrapings along with jaggery and cardamom powder and mix it well to prepare what is known as choorn in konkani
4. Now spread all the 10 leaves with the front side facing you. On each leaf spread the ground mixture evenly on the leaf as shown.
5. Sprinkle the coconut +jaggery +cardamom mixture (choorn) in the centre lengthwise as shown in the picture.
6. Gently fold the leaves lengthwise (as shown in the picture) and place these in the cooker (without the whistle) or in a steamer and steam for about 40 – 45 mins.
7. Serve hot.

Note:

• If using bannana leaf, you will have to cut the leaf into 7-9” bits and follow the same method as above.
• Patholi is generally eaten hot (after discarding the leaves) with a little ghee (clarified butter) smeared on it.

Jackfruit Fritters (Mullik)

This is the second sweet snack that I am preparing from the jackfruit.

Since Jackfruits are available in plenty during the rainy season, this special snack, Mullik (as it is known in konkani) is prepared in most Konkani households and when eaten over a cup of hot coffee (or for that matter hot tea) with the sound of pitter-patter of the raindrops at the background, it feels like heaven. Any Amchi or Konkani person will vouch for it!!

Ingredients:

Ripe Jackfruit plums	10
Rice powder	1 tbsp
Semolina (fine sooji)	1 tbsp
Salt	A pinch
Coconut scrapings	1 tbsp
Oil	For frying
Water	A small bowl

Method:

1. Grind the jackfruit plums with rice powder and coconut scrapings to a smooth paste without adding water.
2. Add salt and semolina. Mix well.
3. Heat oil in a wok/kadai. Dip your fingers in the bowl of water and take a little of the ground mixture and form it into marble shape and slide it gently into the hot oil.
4. Add about 6 to 8 fritters at a time. Fry it on a moderate fire till golden brown stirring occasionally.
5. Remove these on to a paper towel.
6. Serve hot.

Makes about 20 fritters

Note:

• Mullik (Jackfruit fritters) are eaten as snacks.
• If the jackfruit is not very sweet, you may add a little jaggery (according to one’s taste) while grinding the mixture. Rest of the method is as mentioned above.

Watch out for yet another recipe from this wonderful fruit in my next post.

Gharayi (Jackfruit Payasam)

In my last post, I had written about Jackfruit and had promised you all some sweet dishes using this fruit as the major ingredient. The first such dish is "Gharayi" which is commonly used as a dessert.

“Gharayi” (payasam /sweet dish) is derived from the konkani word "Gharaw" i.e. jackfruit plums. This is a very tasty sweet dish and is prepared during weddings or any religious festivals or during the jackfruit season!!

Generally coconut milk required for this recipe, is prepared by grinding the freshly grated coconut with water and squeezing out the juice. Ofcourse it gives a better flavour when prepared this way. But as you know, I always take the easier way out i.e. buying the coconut milk in tetra pack – it saves a lot of time.

Ingredients:

Jackfruit plums	8
Coconut milk	1 cup or 150 ml
Ghee (clarified butter)	1 tsp
Semolina (fine sooji)	¼ cup
Jaggery (powdered)	2-3 tbsps
Raisins	8-10
Cardamom powder	1 tsp
Water	3- 4 cups

Method:

1. Chop Jackfruit plums into cubes and set aside.
2. Roast Semolina (fine sooji) with ghee for about 5-7 minutes and set aside.
3. Boil water and add to it the chopped jackfruit plums. Cook on medium flame till they are soft.
4. Add roasted semolina. When semolina is cooked, add powdered jaggery.
5. When jaggery (molasses) is dissolved, add coconut milk and bring it to boil.
6. Add raisins and cardamom powder. Stir well and remove from flame.
7. Serve hot.

Serves : 4

Note:

• Jackfruit plums cook quickly so do not over cook it.
• It is always advisable to soak raisins in cold water first for 10-15 mins and then squeeze out the water completely before adding to the payasam.
• If the payasam consistency is thick, add more water.

Jackfruit (Ponos)

It’s raining Jackfruits in Bangalore now!! It’s the jackfruit season and one jackfruit also landed in our house!!

In southern India Jackfruit trees can be found in the backyard of almost every house.

Raw and tender jackfruits ( ‘Kadgi” in konkani “Kathal” in hindi ) are used as vegetable in curries, and various other dishes.

In konkani, the ripened jackfruit is known as “Ponos” and jack plums are known as “Gharaw”. It is a very aromatic fruit and sweet to taste. Sometimes the aroma is quite overpowering. One thing is certain - no one can steal and eat it without being caught !

Frankly speaking, cutting a jackfruit is an art and needs certain type of skills as well as certain amount of physical strength for a neat job to be done. My husband geared himself up for this Herculean task! For this, you will need a lot of newspapers to be spread on the floor (it’s best done this way) as it can get quite messy if one does not take proper precautions. Smear your hands as well as the knife with coconut oil ( mind you no other oil will do as far as konkani people are concerned !) to avoid the gum like sticky secretion coming out from the core stem and then proceed with the cutting of the fruit.

We got 61 “Gharaus” or jack plums from this one Jackfruit! We distributed most of it among our friends and relatives and kept a few for ourselves.

Jack plums are also eaten as a fruit. However, it is advisable to eat this early in the morning (for breakfast) as it takes time to digest. Traditionally, it is also recommended to take a teaspoon of honey after eating it to aid in the digestion.

Various sweet dishes are prepared from the ripened jackfruit.

Watch out for the sweet dish recipes in the next few posts.