Allam pachadi(ginger chutney) Andhra style

I have prepared this  ginger chutney with Pesarattu(green gram dosa)  a type of dosa which is very popular in Andhra pradesh .This ginger chutney has a perfect blend of flavours like sweet ,sour and hot ! typical Andhra style chutney goes well with south indian dosas,idlis or even with hot steaming rice.

Ginger-4 (1" pieces)

Tamarind-1 lemon sized ball

Jaggery -1/4cup

Kashmiri red chillies-7-8

Coriander seed- 3tsp

Fenugreek seed-1/2tsp

Urad dal-1tsp

Bengal gram dal-1/2tsp

Garlic-5cloves

Mustard seeds-1tsp

Curry leaves-2spring

Oil-2 tbsp

Method:

• Soak tamarind in 1/4 cup of hot water for15- 20 mins.
• Wash ginger and peel them and wipe it with a clean cloth.Let it dry completely.Then make into tiny pieces and fry with a tsp of oil for a minute on low flame.
• Remove fried ginger and add 1tbsp of oil in a  same pan.In that add urad dal,bengal gram dal,Coriander seeds,red chillies,cloves and fenugreek one by one.Saute till bengal gram turns to light brown.
• Now grind all the ingredients along with jaggery and salt to smooth paste.
• Take a small pan and add remaining oil for tempering .Heat oil ,in that add mustard and let it splutter,then add curry leaves and switch off the gas.Pour this over the ground paste,mix it well and its ready ...

Note: This chutney can be stored in a  sterilized jar for 1-2 weeks without refrigeration.

Mochar ghonto/banana flower dry dish..Popular begali dish

Bengalis love their food so much so that they just don't waste any part of the vegetable like us .We konkanis too prepare so many dishes from banana plant.I got one nice banana flower from our garden and wanted to try something other than konkani dish because i have tried two dishes before with this flower.So when i was searching some recipes relating to banana flower i got this beautiful dish which i really liked a lot.Though i have not followed the exact recipe because i always try to cook according to my hubby and kids taste in mind before trying something new dishes.So i always advice  never blindly follow any recipe unless you are 100% confident about the taste.You can do some changes here and there according to your taste.

  Ghanta means finely chopped veggies or minced veggies dry dish.You can prepare this with any of the veggies or with some mixed vegetables too.

Ingredients:
Banana flower-1
Potato-1
Cumin seeds-1/2tsp
Red chilly-2
Crushed ginger-1tsp
Turmeric powder-12/tsp
Cardamom-2
Cinnamon-1"piece
Clove-2
Coconut -1/4 cup(grated)
Salt and sugar to taste
Mustard oil-2tsp

Method

First remove outer dark coloured leaves ,at least 3-4 layers of leaves you have to remove to reach the heart of the flower.

Inside every layer you will get these tiny flowers which need to use that florets also so keep all the florets and  clean and finely chop them along with the main flower.Before handling the banana flower apply some coconut or mustard oil to your hands to protect your hands from that sticky juice.Once you are done with the chopping soak it in the water for a while.

• Powder cardamom,cinnamon and cloves to get fine garam masala powder and keep aside.
• Now heat oil in pan add cumin and Red chillies and saute for a second.
• Add crushed ginger followed by diced potato.Stir fry potatoes till it cooks to light brown.
• Now its time to add chopped banana flowers.Before using the flowers do not forget to squeeze all the water out.
• Saute for a minute then add turmeric ,sugar and salt and mix it well.
• Cover it with a lid for 5-7 mins or until the dish is almost dry over a low flame.
• Then add powdered spices and grated coconut,mix it well and switch off the gas.
• Serve hot with steaming hot rice and dal.

Kakarakaya vepudu(bittergourd stir fry masala)..An authentic Andhra dish

This dish is from Andhra where people love to eat rich and spicy food.Vepudu means fried.Mostly deep fried dishes are known as vepudu but in this dish i have just shallow fried my bitter gourd which makes this dish very healthy and tasty too.

Ingredients: 

 Bitter gourd-2

Onion-3

Green chillies-2

Garlic -6-7 cloves

Tamarind-1 lemon sized ball(make pulp by using 1/4cup of water)

Turmeric-1/2tsp

Lemon juice-1tsp

Cumin-1/2tsp

Black gram dal-1/2tsp

Mustard-1/2tsp

Curry leaves-1spring

Oil-2-3tsp

Ingredients for curry powder:

Ground nuts-2tbsp

Cumin-1tsp

Coriander seeds-2tsp

Bengal gram dal/chana dal-1tbsp

Red chilly-4-5

Method of preparing curry powder

• Heat 2tsp of oil in a pan and roast all the ingredients till its changes to light brown colour

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• Now coarsely power all the roasted ingredients in a mixer grinder.Curry powder is ready .Now lets start our main dish.

• Thinly slice bitter gourd and marinate it with salt ,Turmeric and lemon juice for 30 minutes.Just before using squeeze the bitter gourd and discard the water .This reduces bitterness of the gourd .But personally i like the bitter taste so i never strain the water from gourds. 

• Heat oil in a pan in that add cumin,mustard,uraddal.when it changes colour add curry leaves,chopped green chillies,crushed garlic and onion chopped.Saute for sometime or until onion changes to light pink color.

                                     

• Now add sliced bittergourd and saute for 2min,cover and cook on a low flame till its done.In between  keep stirring and check for seasoning as we have used salt in the marination also.So its better to check salt after every step.you can add salt if necessary after adding curry powder.
• Once the gourd is cooked add the masala powder and  tamarind pulp,mix it well.Saute for 2-3 mins and switch off the gas.
• Serve hot with rice or roti

Note:Those who want have plain stir fried gourd then no need of curry powder just have it like that.

Patholi/patholeo/steamed sweet rice dumpling in turmeric leaf

Happy Nagpanchami to all my readers!!

   We celebrate Nagpanchami during the month of Shravan.It is a festival of snakes celebrated on the 5th day of shravan month one of the auspicious month for hindus.we celebrate so many festivals during this month like Nagapachami,rakhsha bandan,Narali purnima,sutta punnav / pavitraropana, gokulashtami / krishnashtami,Mosaru kudikey/dahi handi and so many other small puja's and rituals.

  We konkanis prepare lots of sweets and savouries by using seasonal veggies. Today i have prepared some steamed  sweet rice dumpling in turmeric leaf  .We call it patholi or kadubu(kannada) which is quite popular in south india and some parts of west bengal..In goa people call it patholeo.They use dark goan jaggery which tastes superb and gives rich brown colour. We prepare this specially for this day along with some other sweets too.But this  sweet dumpling is a must on this day.when i was a kid i just used to wait for this day to relish this divine dish!

Turmeric leaves are very aromatic and has got very unique flavour.This leaf is very useful in cooking as it is medicinally very good for health because of its antiseptic property.

Ingredients:

For the rice covering:

Raw rice-11/2cups

Beaten rice-1cup

Turmeric leaves-20 (medium size)

Salt -1tsp

For stuffing:

Coconut -2cups(grated)

Jaggery-1cup

Soak rice and beaten rice for 2 hours.Drain the water from rice and grind both the ingredients to smooth paste without adding too much of water.I have added only 11/2cup of water to the batter while grinding.If you feel the batter is little watery then add some rice flour to adjust the consistency.The batter should be thicker than Dosa/ pancake batter.

Now prepare the stuffing with grated coconut and jaggery.Heat  a pan /wok add jaggery and 1/2 cup of water and let it dissolve completely.Now add grated coconut  and mix it well.Cook till it becomes dry and all the moisture evaporates.If  you prepare the stuffing like this then you can keep the patholis for couple of days without refrigeration.One short cut  method is just add grated jaggery and mix it well with the coconut and your filling is ready.But i always prefer 1st method.

 

• Clean all the leaves in under running water,wipe them with kitchen towel and now its ready for stuffing.

 

• Now boil some water in the idli steamer

• Now arrange all the leaves in a row and start spreading the batter.
•  Spread a table spoon of batter in each leaves as shown in the picture.You have to spread the batter evenly for the better results.

• Now take some stuffing and nicely spread it in a single line.The stuffing should be in the centre.If you want more sweet then you can add little more stuffing.

• Proceed the same with all the leaves.Once done its ready for steaming.

• Now keep all the patholis in a steamer and close the lid.Let it steam for about 15mins or till done.
• Serve hot with ghee.

Note: Its better to trim the leaves on both the ends and if your leaves are too big then its better to make it half so you can arrange the patholis easily inside the steamer.One more important tip is always arrange the patholis in such a way the steam passes through each and every patholi while cooking.

Kanchipuram Idli

Kanchipuram is a famous temple city in Tamil nadu But whenever I think of Kanchipuram the first thing that comes to my mind is silk saries,beautiful hand loom saries and dress materials.It is also know as silk city. Today apart from its sarees this small town is famous of its cusine .One of the famous dish is special kanchipuram Idli.It is a colourful seasoned idli.The seasoning gives a nice flavour and aroma to this idli .

Ingredients:
Par boiled rice-1cup
Raw rice/dosa rice-1/2cup
Urad dal/Split black gram dal-1/2cup
Dried ginger/shunti/saunt powder-1tsp
                  or
Fresh ginger-1"piece
Yoghurt-1cup
Green chillies-2(finely chopped)
Turmeric-1/2tsp(optional)
Salt to taste

Ingredients for tempering:
Mustard seeds-1tsp
Chanadal-1tsp
Cumin-1/2tsp
Asafoetida-1pinch
Curry leaves- 2spring( chopped)
Black pepper corns( coarsely crushed)- 1/2tsp
Cashew nuts- 5-6(chopped)

Method:

• Soak Dal for about 6hours.
• Soak both the rice together for 6-7 hours.
• First grind urad dal to smooth paste  and keep aside.
• Now grind both the rice to semolina consistency
• Mix both the batter well.Add salt to taste and let the batter ferment over night.
• Next day add yoghurt,chopped green chillies,dry ginger powder or chopped ginger and mix it well.
• Now prepare for tempering.
• Heat a small pan ,add some oil or ghee.In that add Chanadal,Muatard seeds,cumin seeds,Black pepper corns,Cashewnuts,asafoetida  and Curry leaves one by one.
• Now add this to the batter and give a quick stir.Let the batter stand for 30 mins.
• After 30 mins heat water in idli steamer .In the meantime grease the idli moulds and then fill it with idli batter and steam on high heat for about 15 mins.
• Let it cool off a bit before taking it out from the mould.
• Serve hot with chutney and sambar 

Bikkanda song(spicy jackseed masala)..a seasonal konkani delicacy

I am here with one more dish which is our family favourite konkani seasonal dish with jackseed.We call it Bikkanda song... Song is a type of dish  in konkani ,which is a spicy dish.In this we use only chilly and tamarind along with coriander and methi for the masala.

Ingredients:
Jack seed-2cups
Onion-4(sliced)
Dry red chillies-8-9
Tamarind-1 big lemon sized ball
Coriander seeds-1tbsp
Methi/fenugreek-1/2tsp
Salt to taste
coconut oil or any veg oil-2tbsp

Method:

• Remove the outer layer of jackseed and then thinly slice all seeds.
• Now roast chillies with a tsp of coconut oil and keep aside.
• Same pan roast coriander when its turns to light brown add fenugreek and fry for a second and switch off the gas.
• Now grind roasted chillies,coriander and fenugreek along with tamarind to smooth paste.
• In a shallow frying pan add oil and fry onion till they turns to light pink color.
• Now add sliced jackseeds and salt to taste.Mix it well and add the ground masala and a cup of water.
• Cover it with a lid and cook on a low flame till jackseed becomes soft and tender.
• Now open the lid and cook until the dish is semi dry.
• Serve hot with rice and dal

Horse gram masala dosa

One more dosa for my dosa feast!! This dosa is bit different from our usual masala dosa because i have used horse gram in this which makes this dosa more healthy and tasty too.Normally we make thick pancake type dosas with this batter which we call kultha(horse gram)doddak but for the first time i tried this crispy dosa with potato masala like our usual masala dosa.

Ingredients:
Horse gram-1cup
Raw rice/dosa rice-3cups
Urad dal /split black gram-1/4
Salt to taste

Ingredients for potato baji(masala):
Boiled potato-5 medium
Onion-3 sliced
Green chilly-3-4 chopped
Curry leaves-2spring
Mustard-1/2tsp
Split Black gram /urad dal-1tsp
Chana dal/Bengal gram dal-1/2tsp
Turmeric-1/2tsp
Oil-1tbsp

Method of making baji(potato masala)

• Cut potatoes into cubes.
• Heat a kadai/pan add oil and let it heat for a second
• Add some urad dal,mustard ,chana dal let chanadal and uraddal change its color to golden brown.
• Now add curry leaves followed by slice onion and chopped green chillies.Saute for 5 mins.
• Add turmeric powder and mix it well.
• At this stage add 1cup of water and let it boil.Now add  boiled potato pieces and salt to taste.Cover it with a lid and cook on a low flame for couple of seconds.Now switch off the gas and its ready to go with your dosa or chapati.

Method of making dosa batter:

• Soak horse gram and urad dal together overnight or 7-8 hours
• Soak rice separately overnight or 3-4 hours
• Next day morning grind all the ingredients together to smooth thick paste.
• Add salt to taste and mix it well.

Method of making dosa

Now heat dosa pan and now pour a ladle full of batter onto the pan and lightly use the ladle to spread the batter into a circular shape from centre outwords.Drizzle with a oil and cook till golden brown

Now put some potato masala in the middle of the dosa.

Now fold the dosa from one side as shown in the above picture.

Now fold the other side too.

Now fold the 3nd side to form a prefect triangle and take it out and serve hot with sambar and chutney of your choice.

Chakke kuru Pajji/jackfruit seed chutney

This chutney is prepared with jackfruit seed .This is a coorgi dish called Chakkey kuru pajji(jackfruit seed chutney) which is quite famous in coorg specially in jackfruit season.There they relish this with Rice rotti/otti or Kodumbuttu( rice dumplings).
  Jackfruit is a unique,exotic fruit from which we can prepared so many dishes whether its raw or ripe.we can use almost all parts of jackfruit tree.In jackfruit the seeds are also important as edibles.We konkanis prepare so many dishes with this goes well with any dish.You can prepare so many dishes with this.Jackfruit seeds are relatively big compared to other fruit seeds.It can easily substitute for potato.

Ingredients:
Jackfruit seed-10
Green chillies-3-4
Fresh grated coconut-1cup
Lemon juice-2tsp
Salt to taste
Garlic-7-8 cloves for seasoning

Method:

• First cook the seeds with salt till soft in a pressure cooker.Take about 2-3 whistle.
• Once it is cool down remove the outer white coloured peel and mash it well.
• Now grind it along with coconut and green chillies to fine paste.
• Mix it lemon juice and salt to taste.
• Now take a small pan add a table spoon of oil and add some crushed garlic and fry till golden brown.Add this to the ground paste and serve with roti or rice.

Sweet thousali(cucumber dosa).. a konkani dish

One more dosa for dosa lovers.This dosa is little sweet with cucumber flavour.We konkanis call it thousali..(thousey means cucumber in konkani ).

Ingredients:
Dosa rice/raw rice-2cups
Cucumber-11/2cup(grated)
Jaggery-1cup(or to taste)
Baking soda-1/2tsp
Salt-1tsp

Method:

• Soak rice for about 2-3 hours.
• Squeeze  1 cup of grated Cucumber and collect the water and keep aside.
• Now grind the rice using the cucumber juice ,1/2cup of remaining cucumber and Jaggery to smooth paste.
• Add salt and baking soda and mix it well.
• The batter should be slightly thinner than our usual plain dosa.
• Now heat dosa tava and spread ladle full and cover it for 2-3 mins on medium flame.
• When you see the crispy outer layer its ready to take out.
• Serve hot with dollop of butter.

Note: No need of fermentation..very quick and easy 

Shaam savera/Palak-paneer kofta in Makhni gravy

Recipe source: Sanjeev Kapoor

Ingredients for kofta:

Spinach- 2 bunch Approximately 3 cups( finely chopped)
Corn flour-1cup
Wheat flour-2tbsp
Green chillies-3-4(finely chopped)
Garlic-4-5 cloves( chopped)
Cumin -1/2tsp
Paneer/cottage cheese-150 gms/1cup
Salt to taste
Oil for frying

Ingredients for Makhni gravy:
Tomato-4
Onion-1
Ginger-1" piece
Garlic-8-9 cloves
Red chilly powder-1tbsp
Green chillies-1(finely chopped)
Garam Masala-2tsp
Kasoori methi-1tsp
Cornflour-2tsp(mixed with 1tbsp of milk)
Cardamom-2
Cinnamon-1" piece
Bay leaf-1
Sugar-1/2tsp
Butter-1tbsp
Cream-1cup

1st prepare Makhni gravy :

• Grind tomato,ginger,garlic and onion to smooth paste.
• Heat butter and a tsp of oil in a pan and add whole spices and stir them for a while.
• Then add chilly powder followed by chopped chillies and ground tomato paste.Saute for 5-6 mins or till the oil floats on top.
• Add garam masala,kasoori methi,sugar and salt to taste.Mix it well.Then add 11/2cups of water.Bring to boil,reduce heat  and simmer for 5mins.
• Stir in fresh cream and corn flour mixed with milk.Stir for 2mins and switch off the gas and garnish with coriander leaves.

Method of making koftas:

• Wash spinach under plenty of running water to get rid of any dirt and let it drain for a while.
• Grate paneer/cottage cheese and a pinch of salt and mix it well.Make 12  marble sized balls and keep aside
• Now add cornflour and wheat flour to chopped spinach/palak along with green chilly,garlic cumin and salt to taste.Mix it well to make 12 lemon sized balls.
• Take spinach ball and flatten them on your plam .Before that its better to apply little oil to your palm.now stuff the paneer balls in them.Shape into balls.
• Heat oil in deep frying pan and deep fry all the balls till crisp.Drain and keep aside.

Method of serving

;

• Tips:
• Cut koftas into halves and place on top of tomato gravy.Do not boil koftas in gravy as they may break.
• If the spinach dough is little soggy then you can add some more corn starch to make it little hard.

Limbiya kanchi/Salted lime with green chillies and ginger

Every year during summer my mom used to make variety of pickle but i have always been afraid to make any sort of pickle especially without oil .I first tried this when my son was ill few years back He was very fussy about the food so thought of some salted lime which is available through out the year unlike mango for which we have to wait for one whole year.Actually my son and husband both love this pickle as it is mild and less spicy and zero oil pickle.This is the reason i thought of making this pickle.Earlier my mom used to send me this pickle .But that year  i prepared it all by myself and it was just like my mom's.In konkani we call this pickle "Kanchi".This goes well with our Boiled rice pyej/rice kanji

  

Ingredients:
Lime or lemon -10
Salt-2cups
Green chilly-5-6
Ginger-2(1")pieces

Method:

• Wash the lime thoroughly .wipe dry with a clean cloth and leave on a clean cloth to dry for some time.Once it is completely dry chop each lime into 5-6 pieces.Same way cut the chillies into 1" pieces and ginger into juliennes. 
• Now dissolve salt in 4cups of water and add lime,green chillies and ginger and bring to boil.Let it cool completely.
• Now transfer this into sparkling clean container preferably ceramic jar or glass jar or any non-reactive container will do.
• Leave it as it is for 10 days.You can either refrigerate or can store in a cool dry place to pickle.
• Remember to stir once in 2days.Normally i refrigerate my pickle so i hardly touch for 10-15 days.
• The self life of this pickle is a year but i prefer making  this in small quantity.Sothat every 6 months i make fresh batch of pickles.

Tip: Always use fresh thinner rind lemon for this pickle.