Goan inspired Minced Meat Ball Curry

 

Goan food falls into the rich tradition of the Konkan coast, happily complicated and enriched over the years by two very different invasions: first the colonial Portuguese and then the hippies. For all that, it’s not one blended cuisine: Konkan Hindu and Goan Catholic have their distinct dishes, the former typified by the heavy use of coconut and fish, the latter by vinegar, pork and beef
Today i am here with a special goan style meat ball curry which i learnt from my friend Leena Fernandis who is from goa itself a passionate cook and a lovely human being ...<3

Try this juicy meat balls cooked in a coconut milk based Goan curry and let the magic of Goan food take over...

Ingredients:

For the Meatballs:

1. 1/2 kg Minced meat (mutton or beef or pork)
2. ½ Teaspoon Pepper
3. 2 tsp red chilly paste or powder 
4. 1 Teaspoon Garam masala
5. ½ Teaspoon Turmeric powder
6.  2 Green chillies chopped
7. 1 Teaspoon Ginger Garlic paste
8. ½ Teaspoon/ goan coconut vinegar or white wine Vinegar
9.  3 slices of Bread
10. 1 tablespoon maida
11. 1 egg white

For the Curry paste

1. 5-6 kashmiri red chillies 
2. 1 onion
3.  2 Tomato
4. 1 Tablespoon Ginger Garlic paste
5. ½ Teaspoon Turmeric powder 
6. 1 Teaspoon Coriander seed
7. 1 Teaspoon Cumin
8.  2 sticks  cinnamon
9. 5-6 cloves
10. 5-6 black pepper

for the main curry:

• 1 medium Onion
• 1 fresh green Chilly
• 2 cups Coconut milk
• Pinch Salt
• Fresh Coriander leaves or mint for garnish (optional)

 

Method:

For the minced  meatballs,:

•  Combine all meatball ingredients listed. Use only  egg white because otherwise the texture of the mass turns very wet and that amount is more than enough to make it stick together. Mix the whole content to a smooth paste in a blender. Keep aside and let rest for some time.

 For the masala paste:

• Heat the oil in a pan and add in cinnamon,cloves onion and stir fry until soft and translucent.Then add the diced Tomatoes and stir fry for another 2 minutes until soft, then add the red chilli , ginger garlic paste, turmeric powder, coriander seeds,pepper and cumin. Stir fry for a minute,cool and grind to smooth paste.

For the main curry:

• Heat oil in a pan add onions and fry for couple of minutes till translucent.
• and then add the ground paste and season with Salt. Mix and let simmer covered for 5-7 minutes. 
•  Now add coconut milk,the Curry will have changed into a gorgeous bright orange. Now form your meatballs by pressing and turning them into round balls and place them into the curry. Let cook for 10 minutes and turn the meatballs in the curry so that they get equally cooked. Cover with a lid and simmer for another 3 minutes before removing the curry from the heat.
• Garnish with freshly chopped Coriander (which I left out this time on the pictures).

Goan chorizo pulao

Goan Sausages are an essential ingredient of Goan cuisine .These sausages are spicy compared to other sausages, as it is prepared with spicy chillies ,ginger garlic and some local goan spices. It is quick to prepare, inexpensive and without the need of a cupboard full of spices or the skills of a chef.They have a unique aroma and are full of flavour.When cooked, the whole house smells divine and my kids love the aroma. I got this lovely sausages from one of my goan friend Michelle from whom I've learnt so many goan dishes...thank you so much.

Ingredients

• 3 cups Basmati rice
• 4 -5 Tomatoes,chopped
• 3-4 Onions,sliced
• 10 Cloves
• 3-4 ( 1 inch) Cinnamon sticks
• 2 Star anise
• 10-12 Peppercorns
• 4-5 Cardamom
• 2-3 Bay leaves
• 2-3tsp Kashmiri red chilly powder
• 1tsp Garam masala powder
• 2tbsp Ginger -garlic paste
• 1tsp Turmeric powder/haldi
• 3 Maggi cubes ( chicken)
• 1tbsp Oil
• 3-4 Slit green chillies

Cooking Directions

Add caption

1. Wash and cut the strings from the sausages . Now cut into 2-3 inch long pieces.Some prefer it without casing as its a bit hard to chew. If you don't like to keep the outer casing then just open up the sausage outer covers and empty the sausage meat into a bowl.But i prefer it with the casing.So I've only removed the string.
2. Now heat oil in a pan.Add the whole spices ( cloves, pepper,cinnamon, bay leaves ,cardamom and star anise )and let it splutter.
3. Add in sliced onions and fry till soft.
4. Then add the tomatoes and ginger garlic paste and saute till the tomatoes are soft and mushy.
5. Put in the chopped sausages and stir fry on high heat for 4-5 minutes.
6. Now add chilly powder,garam masala powder and turmeric powder,stir it well.
7. Add the washed rice, salt and crumbled maggi cube and stir till rice is well coated with the masala.
8. Pour in 6 cups of boiling hot water and bring to boil.Then simmer on low flame till the rice is cooked well.
9. Keep it covered for 30 minutes before serving.

sukkale sungata panna upkari

sukkale sungata (dried prawns/shrimps) Panna upkari

Recipe by Preethi baliga

Sukkale sungat means dried prawns in konkani and panna upkari is a dry spicy dish in which we use whole lot of chilly powder or chilly paste and balance it with tamarind pulp.This is a signature dish of Mangalore and enjoyed specially during the rainy season

Prep time: 15mins
Cook time: 15 mins
Total time: 30 mins
Ingredients

• 2 cups Dried prawns/shrimps
• 2 cups Chopped onion
• 1tbsp Red chilly powder
• 1 lemon sized tamarind ball
• 1tbsp oil

Cooking Directions

• Clean and soak dried prawns for about 10-15 mins in 5 cups of water( if you are using shrimp then you have to dry roast for about 3-4 min and then clean and wash it with clean water no need of soaking)

 

• Heat oil in a kadai/pan,add chopped onions and fry till it changes to pink and translucent.
• Now add red chilly powder and saute for 5 mins on medium low flame.
• Then add tamarind pulp( soak tamarind in warm water for 10 mins and make smooth paste or just squeeze and take out the pulp).Mix it well with the masala.
• Drain the soaked prawns and add along with a cup of water,Cover it with a lid and cook for 10-12 mins. Make it semi dry and serve hot with rice or roti

Crispy fried bread fruit/Jivkadgi podi/Gigujje

Recipe by Preethi baliga

Breadfruit is widely available in south canara and goa region.We call it jivkadgi and in kannada it is known as Gigujje orThis is a seasonal fruit which belongs to jackfruit family available during month of April to October.We konkani's enjoy this most.We prepare many type of delicacies with this spongy fruit.Today i am here with a simple konkani style podi .We prepare podi with many vegetabale.Usually podi means fried vegetable,marinated with chilly powder,asafoetida and rice flour.Some grind chilly along with soaked rice ( i prefer ground paste for my podis).But this is short cut method and many konkani's follow this version,which is easy and quick to make.

Prep time: 15mins
Cook time: 15mins
Total time: 30 mins
Ingredients

• 1/2 Breadfruit/jivkadgi
• 2tsp Chilly powder
• 1/2tsp Asafoetida powder
• 1/2cup Rice flour

Cooking Directions

1. Peel the breadfruit and cut into 1/4" thick pieces .
2. Now apply salt,chilly powder and asafoetida powder and leave it to10 mins.
3. Now heat oil in a kadai/frying pan,dip each pieces into rice flour and fry till golden brown.

Miskut ..A goan stuffed mango pickl

This is a typical Goan style pickle prepared in every household when summer makes way for mangoes. One of my friend from goa introduced me to this pickle....This Pickle is different from the rest in its preparation as the mangoes are Stuffed with the "Pickle Masala" specially prepared using fenugreek, asafoetida and mustard which gives it a nice aroma and the flavour.

Ingredients

• 20 green tebder mangoes( small variety)
• 3/4 cup Chilliy powder
• 1tbsp Fenugreek/methi seeds
• 2tsp Asafoetida/hing
• 2 cups Crystal salt
• 3 cups ground nut/ veg oil
• 1cup Mustard seeds( use smaller type)
• 2tsp Turmeric powder

stuffed goan style mango pickle "Miskut"

Cooking Directions

1. wash and wipe the mangoes well.
2. Slit them into lengthwise leaving the seeds inside
3. Now stuff each mango with salt and arrange this in a big plastic bowl and cover it with a plate and keep some heavy weight for 4 days.Do not forget to mix it daily gently with a spatula.
4. On the forth day dry roast half of the mustard and fenugreek separately, Then add turmeric powder and asafoetida powder and mix all together when it is still hot. let it cool down then pound it to powder.
5. Heat the oil till smoke appears over the oil and switch off the gas.In that add remaining mustard seeds and allow it cool completely.
6. Now open the lid from the bowl and collect the water that settled in that bowl.
7. Now mix the chilly powder and pound spices using that water collected from the mangoes and keep aside.
8. Now wear plastic gloves and remove the seed from the mangoes and stuff the masala into each mango and secure it with a thread/twine.
9. Arrange all the mangoes in a sterilized jar and gently pour boiled and cooled oil over the mangoes.The oil level should be an inch above the mangoes.
10. The pickle is ready to eat after a month.

Miskut

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.

Goan fish curry with sichuan pepper(teppal or thriphal in hindi)

I just love goan cuisine whether its sannas or goan pork curry or its fish curry it has its own flavor  and  very unique by other cuisines.Goan fish curry is similar to our  mangalorean fish curry.This curry can be prepared with any fish.I have used coconut oil to give that extra punch.Normally in goa people have it with red boiled which is a great combo.


Ingredients:-
Fish(any variety)-1/2kg
coconut-1/2(grated)
red kashmiri  chilly-10
coriander seed-2tsp
jeera-1tsp
Teppal(thripal or sichuan pepper)5-6
garlic-6-7cloves
ginger-small piece(optional)
green chilly-4-5 (slited)
tamarind-1(marble sized ball)
onion-2small chopped or sliced
coconut or any other oil-1tbsp


Method:-

• clean and cut the fish into small cubes or slices(depending on the fish)
• Marinate the fish with salt and green chilly.
• Grind coconut, red chillies coriander  seed,jeera(cumin),garlic,ginger and tamarind to a smooth paste.
• In a sauce pan add coconut oil and fry onion till its turns to light pink color.Now add masala paste and teppal and bring to boil.
• now add the marinated fish and cook till 10min or till done.
• Serve hot with boiled rice.

 

Sannas( a goan dish)

Goan sannas are my all time  favorite.In Manglore normally Bunts or shettys and chirstians  used to eat this. They prepare this with toddy(sooru).In goa they serve  sannas with sorpotel or any other goan dishes like vindaloo or chicken xacuti.With both the dishes it tastes yum.The sannas  which u get in goa are sweet when compared to mangalore sannas .I use little less sugar for my sannas.

                         



Ingredients;

1. Boiled rice(ookda tandul or cutsambar in konkani,kuchallkki in kannada , parboiled rice, dosa idli rice)-2 cups
2. white rice(surai in konkani,belthigey akki in kannada )-1/2 cup
3. Active dry yeast-1 heaped spoon
4. surar-1tsp (for making yeast solution)
5. sugar -2tsp(for the batter)
6. coconut milk-1cup

Method:

• Soak both the rice for about 12hours or overnight.
• Next morning grind to smooth paste.Normally for idli batter we grind rice little coarse but for sannas the batter should be like dosa batter but thinner than that.
• Now add coconut milk, sugar2tsp and salt .Mix it well till sugar dissolves.
• Now take 1tbsp warm water for making yeast solution.Add a tsp salt and active dry yeast and mix it nicely till yeast dissoleves completley.
• Keep it for 10mins or till you see the froth over the yeast solution that means its mixed and fermented.we use sugar because it helps yeast to dissolve faster.
• Now mix the solution properly and add this to the batter,give it a nice stir .
• keep the batter in a warm place to femenant.Normally it takes about 2hours to ferment.But in winter season it will take little longer so keep till the batter rise to top.
• Always use bigger vessele because the batter rises 3times .
• After 2hours keep the idli steamer filled with water over the fire.
• Grease the gindals (gindals means idli moulds in konkani) or any small size bowls also will do.

• 

   here i have used different  size bowls

  Fill the idli cups half full so when it steams it rises  and  becomes nice fluffy.Always remember not to stir the batter once its fermented.So take batter from the top and start filling the gindals without disturbing the rest of the idli batter.Carry this procedure very gently.
• Now steam this for  about 15minutes .Open the lid and take out the idli bowls and let it cool before taking it out.If it is hot then sannas  will break up easily.
• serve hot  with any curries.



           

Black Pomfret Reacheado

Reacheado Paste

Ingredients:
For the paste:
Red chilies-15
cloves-4-5
cinnamon-2,1" pieces
cumin seeds-1/2tsp
garlic-1 big pod
black pepper-1/2tsp
ginger-2"piece
vinegar-3/4cup or as required  for grinding
cardamom-3-4

For the masala: 
1finely chopped onion
sugar or goan jaggery 2tsp
1tbsp oil


Main dish:
This masala can be used for many types of fishes especially flat type like mackerel,pompret or salmon.But today i have prepared it with black pompret. Actually in Portuguese Reacheado means stuffed ,so  basically this masala  is used for stuffing the fish and then the fish is shallow fried over a low fire.In this recipe i have just applied this masala directly to the fish and then shallow fried.In this recipe i have used 1kg of black pompret

Method of making Reacheado paste:-
Soak all the red chilies ,cloves ,pieces of cinnamon,cumin seeds,garlic,black pepper and ginger in brown goan vinegar.Then grind it to a smooth paste. You can store this for couple of months if refrigerated.Use it when required. 


For the masala: 
Heat the oil in a pan.Add chopped onions and saute untill it changes to light pink,now add sugar or jaggery  and switch off the fire.Now add the  prepared  Reacheado paste and mix it  well.Now its ready for stuffing


For the main dish( if you are using pompret or other flat fish then clean and slit open the fish on both the sides,marinate with salt and vinegar on both inside and out side and leave it for 10 mins.after that stuff the fish with reacheado masala and keep aside for at least 2hours in fridge.
            Heat the oil in a pan.Add the fish and shallow fry for 5-6 mins on both the sides.Serve with goan bread or pav or rice.