Chikoo Shake with Coffee punch !!

Chikoo/Sapodilla/sapota is very beneficial fruit.As it contains good amount of antioxidant vitamin like vitamin  C, vitamin  A .Vitamin A is essential for vision.It  is also required for maintaining healthy mucus membranes and skin.Vitamin C helps body develop resistance against infectious agent.
         Fresh ripen fruits are good source of minerals like potassium,copper,iron and vitamins like  folate and niacin ,pantothenic  acid which is essential for optimal health as they involve in various metabolic processes in the body as cofactors as the enzymes .
                        Apart from all the benefits chikoo is a good source of dietary fibre and there fore acts as a good remedy to curb constipation.The anti- inflammatory effects properties of  chikoo is helpful for  problems like gastritis and bowel disorders.
                       As i said earlier summer fruits are my favourite i  make sure at least i have one seasonal fruit  in my daily diet.Today i have prepared simple yet tasty milk shake for my kids who love to have this as soon as they come back after their exam.This chilled shake is excellent to Beat The Heat

Ingredients:-
Chikoo-4(cut into pieces)
Milk-3cups
Ice cubes-10
Instant coffee powder-1tsp
Sugar-1/2 cup

Method:-

• Blend all the ingredients together in a blender and serve chilled.
• You can sprinkle some coffee before serving

Hyderabadi Mutton Dum Biryani!

 

Hyderabad is famous for its Dum biryani.One of them is kacche ghost ka biryani which i have tried several times and it really come out well.It is very simple and easy to make.I got this recipe from one of the TV shows in which they clearly mentioned the step by step recipe.So i too started following that exact recipe and we all loved the  end result.
              Normally in other types of biryani precooked meat is used but in hydrabad they cook meat along with rice.That means the mutton cooks  in its own juice  which is also known as kacchey Ghost ka biryani. Mutton is cooked on slow fire in the steam which know as Dum( steam).The procedure of making this  biryani is very interesting.To make it  more simple  i have  clearly mentioned the steps with the pics.So lets start with the ingredients.

1st step

2nd step

                

3rd step

4th step

5th step

6th step

7th step

Ingredients:-

Basmati rice-1/2kg

Mutton-700gm

Onion-4(sliced)

Mint leaves-2 cups

Ginger-2 pieces

Garlic-1 big pod

Cloves-10

Cinnamon-4 big pieces

Cardamom-6-7

Coriander seeds-1tsp

Jeera(cumin)1tsp

Bay leaf-3

Green chillies-10

Chilly powder-1tsp

Curd-1cup

Oil or ghee-1cup

Kesar/saffron -a pinch mixed with a tbsp of milk

                  or 

saffron color-1/4 spoon mixed with a tbsp of milk

Method of marination:-

• First make masala for marination with 1 cup of mint,ginger,garlic,5 cloves,2 cinnamon,3 cardamon, jeera,coriander seeds,6 green chillies and curd.Grind all the ingredients to smooth paste. 
• Now marinate the mutton with this paste along with salt and chilly powder for about 1 hour.

1st step:-Fry onions  in 1/2 cup ghee till golden brown .Just before taking it out.add the chillies and fry along with onions for a few seconds or till raw smell goes.

2nd step:-Boil about 2 litre  water in a  wide  big hundi or sauce pan along with Bay leaf, remaining cloves,cinnamon, cardamom.and salt to taste .when water comes to boil add the washed rice and cook exactly for about 10 mins(if you are using kohinoor charminar basmati) on high flame or till 3/4 done.Now strain the water.

3rd step:-Transfer the cooked rice to a tray or wide plate.Let it cool for a while.


4th step:-Now start making layers for which you need 4 litre thick bottom vessel or the Pressure cooker( i have used pressure cooker) and  a thick lid which exactly fits to that handi/cooker.First put the layer of marinated mutton and then spread some fried onion on top and some chopped mint leaves.The same way finish the layers with the remaining rice.At last sprinkle some safron mixed in milk.


5th step:- Make soft dough using 1 cup of wheat flour.Now seal the handi with this dough as shown in the picture.


6th step:-Now seal the handi with a lid properly make sure it is tightly closed.


7th step:-Now cook it over the low flame for about 45 mins.After 45 mins swithch off the gas and  let it stand for about an hour so that let the rice absorb all the flavours .

                                                                                                                                                                   

Serve hot with salad or special biryani chutney or with mirch ka salan as traditionally served in Hyderabad.

Banana Parata with Dalitoy... a GSB konkani cuisine

Banana parata with dalitoy

Parata is my favourite breakfast and it is easy ,healthy and good choice for kids lunch box. Here is one tasty banana flavoured   konkani parata in this i have used over ripe bananas .My kids love this  Parata a lot,instead of plain parata i prefer this banana parata for my kids lunch box as it is healty and  remains soft .Dali thoy( manglorean dal) makes very good combo ,even in local hotels they serve dal with this parata.

          

Ingredients for  the parata:-

Multi grain Wheat flour-2cups

Banana-2(small)

Salt to taste

Sugar(optional)-1tsp

Ingredients for the Dalithoy(dal):-

Toor dal/spilt pigeon peas/yellow lentil -1cup

Green chilly-4

Red chilly-2

Mustard-1/2tsp

Asafoetida-1/2tsp

Salt to taste

Curry leaves-1spring

Oil-1tsp

Method of making parata:-

• Mash banana well with salt and sugar.
• Now add Multi grain wheat flour and little water for kneading soft dough.
• Knead  dough well until it is soft and keep covered for 30 mins.
• After 30 mins make10 lemon sized balls and roll into a small circle.
• Now sprinkle some flour and brush some ghee, fold this into triangle and roll it again .
• Heat  tava/griddle and dry fry or apply some ghee  and serve hot with dalitoy.

Method of making Dali thoy(Dal)-

• Pressure cook dal till tender or about 3 whistle.
• After a its completely cool down take it out from the cooker and transfer into a sauce pan.
• Now add slit green chillies and salt to taste.
• Bring to boil until green chillies are cooked well.
• Now heat a tsp of oil  for tempering in a pan.Now add mustard and let it crackle,then add red chilly pieces followed by curry leaves and Asafoetida and pour this over the dal and dali toy is ready to serve.

Note:-You can  serve this dal along with rice too.

Banana parata and Dali thoy

Melon-papaya slush

Beat the heat with Melon -papaya slush.After the hot and dusty summers here is a chilled  seasonal fruits slush whch you wont have to sweat over .

Ingredients:-

Frozen Water melon pieces -2 cups

Papaya-1 cup(cut into pieces)

Sugar-2tbsp

lemon juice-1tsp

Crushed ice-2cups

Salt a pinch

Chilled water-1cup

Method:-

• Place water melon ,papaya and crushed ice into a blender.Pour in lime juice,sugar and salt.Blend until smooth.

Note:- you can replace the water with lemon flavoured carbonated beverage.

Banana pith and flower vada(bondi- gabbya ambado)

Every part of the banana plant is useful. Apart from banana fruit we use almost all the parts of banana plants as well ,like raw banana is used for preparing  variety of dishes like  fritters ,curries and some dry dishes also,banana leaves(kele paan)  are used for raping dosas and used as plates .Normally in marriages and in temples especially in south india where they serve food on banana leaves which tastes awesome, darkish red flower of the plant is also used for  preparing many  tasty dishes,which is healthy too,the dry brown outer part of  banana stem used as a tread(kele vayu) for making garlands and last one is Gabbo(konkani)/banana pith/stem interestingly many people  are not aware of its use and medicinal property .We south indians  use this  for preparing  different variety of curries and fritters,which is very tasty like koddel,gabbo upkari and other dishes.It is very useful  for kidneys,obesity,urinary stones and other ailments according to ayurveda .

                         Somedays back i got this plantain pit and flower from my backyard and i prepared some tasty vadas,which is very easy and quick to make.I never tried this combination before.

Ingredients you need 

1. Banana flower-1
2. Banana pith- 2 cups(chopped finely)
3. Rice flour-1cup
4. Urad dal powder-2tsp
5. Besan(gram flour)-1tbsp
6. Chilly powder-2tsp
7. Asafoetida-1tsp
8. Salt to taste
9. Oil for frying

Method:-

• First remove the 2-3 layers of the flowers and finely chop the remaining flower and keep aside.
• Now finely chop the white coloured plantain pith .
• Now mix all the ingredients to make vada batter by just adding 2-3 tsp of water if necessary . 
• Now make take a lemon sized ball and give it a vada shape .
• Now heat the oil in a kadai and start frying on medium flame till brown and crisp.

 

Mudganey(Gram payasam).. A konkani delicacy

Ugadi feast,PODI(kele,karathey,jivkadgi,Banbaley kele),Patrode,Ambya (mango )gozzu,i(bibbya /bebbe upkari)

Mudganey is typical GSB konkanis  payasam/dessert.It is prepared on many festivals and served in temples too.It is a gram cooked with coconut milk and Jaggery.A traditional Konkani dish. Normally people prepare this  on Ugadi day at least once a year.
                                  Mudganey is one of them  favourite konkani dessert So i want to start my new year with this.I love to have this  with lots of tender cashew nut  and raisins and i am going to have this with my Ras vodo which is another konkani delicacy which we prepare on the ugadi day.
                       Mudganey  is a very simple and easy to make.Actually my mom used to add fresh coconut milk  which she used to collect it from by  grinding grated fresh coconut and then she used to strain the ground paste to collect the milk instead of coconut milk  i prefer adding  coconut paste  which really tastes good.

Ingredients :-
Bengal gram-1 cup
Jaggery -21/2 cup
Coconut-1/2(grated)
Rice flour-1tbsp
Cardamom-5-6
Cashew nut-1/2cup
Raisins-1tbsp

Method:-

• Pressure cook Bengal gram till soft .
• Now grind coconut along with cardamom and rice flour to smooth paste.
• Remove the cooked Bengal gram and boil this again in a big heavy bottom sauce pan along with Jaggery .Add a cup of water and boil till Jaggery dissolves completely.
• Now add the coconut paste and a cup of water to dilute the coconut paste.
• Cook over a low flame stirring all the time till its thick.
• Serve hot or at room temperature. 

PODI(kele,karathey,jivkadgi,Banbaley kele)

Tomorrow is ugadi/samsar padvo (new year) and my kids are eagerly looking forward for the yummy dishes thai i  prepare specially on that day, for this we have to wait whole year because many of them are prepared wth seasonal vegetables .

                   Today i want share one more konkani special PODI which is similar to fritters.We prepare many types of podis on ugadi day but i managed to prepare only four types.As many of the vegetables are not available in here but in mangalore (home town) we get almost every thing which is needed for the podis.Anyway let me start with ingredients

Ingredients needed for bitter gourd,bread fruit and raw plantain:-

Bitter gourd/karate/karela-2

Raw plantain/banbaley kele-2

Bread fruit/jivkadgi-1/2

Raw rice-1cup

Kashmiri red chillies-15

Asafoetida-2tsp

Salt to taste

Oil for frying

Ingredients for the ripe banana/nendrabale/kerala banana podi :-

Kerala ripe banana-2

Rice flour-1/2 cup
Semolina-2tsp

Salt to taste.

 

Method:-

• Soak rice for an hour and then grind it to smooth paste along with chillies ,asafoetida and  salt and keep aside.The paste should not too thick or watery.
• Mix rice flour and semolina and keep aside.
• First cut bitter gourd to thin round slices and apply salt and keep for at least 1hour.
• Now peel the raw plantain and ripe banana and cut into 3"pieces legthwise.
• Then peel the bread fruit with help of a peeler and cut into triangular pieces about 1/2cm thick pieces.
• Squeeze the water from Bitter gourd and keep aside.
• Now apply rice paste about 2tbsp each to to bitter gourd,Raw banana and to bread fruit and finish all the paste.
• Now sprinkle little salt to ripe banana pieces and roll all the pieces in rice flour and fry till golden brown
• Now deep fry all the remaining  podis till crisp and  golden brown.
• Serve hot as side dish or as a snack in the evening.

Patrode.(steamed colocasia leaves)

Only two days left  for our Samsar padvo/Ugadi....
.As i am posting some  authentic GSB Konkani  dishes from past few days that we me during ugadi festival,
I would like to add one more dish very much liked by konkani's on that day.Almost all our festival  is incomplete without this dish.

                     This is one more favourite dish i would love to prepare on Ugadi day. All most all konkanis love this dish so much so that it  is not only prepared in festivals but also whenever we feel like, especially during rainy season.In rainy season you get to see this leaves in abundance. But you have to be very careful while choosing the leaves becaue it can cause itchiness and irritation so make sure that you choose a good quality green color leaves and cook it properly with lots of tamarind or bilimbi./bimbul.

                                                                                                                                                                                   
The ingredients may differ from region to region as in mangalore we use whole green gram or green gram dal where as  kerala GSBs use raw rice.Even in udupi and other part they use rice as the main ingredient.So i started using both together for my patrodey .

 

Ingredients:- 

Colocasia leaves/arbi leaves/patrode paan -20

Green gram dal -1/2cup

Raw rice-1/2 cup

Coconut-1/4(grated)

Red chillies-10-12(roasted in coconut oil)

Tamarind-1 big lemon sized ball

          or 

Bilimbi/bimbul-15

Asafoetida-1heaped tsp

Salt to taste

Method:-

• Soak green gram and rice together for about 4-5 hours.
• Now grind all the ingredients together to a coarse paste  it should be semolina consistency.The batter should be thick so that it should not drip while  steaming.
• Wash colocasia leaves and let it dry for sometime.
• Then trim all the thick veins from the leaves.
• Now select the largest leaf  and keep upside down or non shiney leaf facing up. 
• Now smear the  thin layer of the masala paste  all over the leaf and then keep one more leaf on the top of the 1st leaf and again spread the masala on that 2nd leaf like a sandwich.The same way make at least 8-10 layes 
• Now fold the both the sides and then roll the leaves together to make cylindrical shape ,like a thick roll .while folding apply some masala again so that the leaves sticks properly.
• Now boil some water in the steamer and start placing rolls one by one.
• Now cover the steamer with a lid and steam for about 45 mins.
• Serve hot with coconut oil on top or with Ghashi a aromatic coconut gravy with roasted urad dal and methi.

Cashew -lemon delight!!

I just love summer fruits ,they have  a unique taste and flavour.One of them is cashew fruit .Many people hate this fruit because of its distinct flavour and taste.But i love this fruit.I still remember my summer holidays at my uncle's place .We all kids used to climb the tree just for this fruit.At those times we used eat this with pepper and salt.Even now i eat the same way 

                                 yesterday i tried this juice with only salt and pepper but some what i didn't like the taste .So my hubby asked me to add lemon juice and the taste was much better.So today i  just added both lemon and pineapple juice along with some sugar and it was really good.I think this is the best drink to beat the heat.

Cashew-lemon delight

Ingredients:-
Cashew fruit-1
Pine apple juice-1/2cup
Lemon juice-2tsp
Sugar-1tbsp or to taste
Salt a pinch
Crushed pepper 1/2tsp
5-6 ice cubes
Chilled water-1glass


Method:-

• Blend pieces of cashew fruit,lemon juice,pineapple juice,salt and sugar in a blender along with some ice cubes.
• Now strain the juice and serve with crushed ice and sprinkle some pepper.

Neat cashew juice

Panaka/panakam..

Panak /nimbe panaka/panakam is a Sanskrit word.It  means juice or diluted sweet water.This drink  is basically served in our hindu temples. The name itself  is so divine . This drink  contains pepper and ginger along with jaggery and lemon .when you gulp this drink you can feel the sharp taste of these  two spices and  it also rich in vitamin C and iron ,that's the reason its healthy and  a very good home remedy for the common cold. For me this drink is an absolute delight !   
                I really used to miss this drink a lot. At last i got this recipe from my friend.In summer i make 2-3 bottles of  this and refrigerate for couple of days.       

Ingredients:-
Jaggery- 2cups
Water- 1litre 
Lemon-2
Pepper corns-1tsp
Ginger-1"piece
         or
Dry ginger powder -1tsp
Cardamom-1
Crushed ice-1cup

Method:-

• Pound pepper,ginger and cardamom well.
• Now blend water, jaggery,lemon juice,pound pepper-ginger mixture ( if you are using ginger powder then mix instead of fresh) and crushed ice in a blender.
• Strain the juice and serve chilled.

variation:- you can use dry ginger powder/saunt powder as well

Stuffed Capsicum( Microwave)

This capsicum dish is very simple and easy to make.As it is a microwave dish it takes only few minutes to cook.  In this dish i  hav used a drop of oil , which makes a perfect diet food and for those who doesn't like  spicy food. 

           Come summer and i start hunting for simple and quick  recipes,so that i don't waste too much time in the kitchen.

Stuffed capsicum

Ingredients:-

Capsicum- 8(medium)

Potato- 4(grated)

Carrot- 1(grated)

Paneer(cottage cheese)-1/2cup(grated)

Chilly powder-1/2tsp

Sambar powder-1/2tsp

Asafoetida-1/2tsp(optional)

Garam masala-1 tsp

Salt to taste

stuffed capsicum before cooking

Method:- 

• Micro the grated potatoes for 3mins using 1tbsp of water in a micro safe bowl covered with a lid
• In the mean time clean and cut the capsicum from the top. Remove all the seeds and preserve the caps of the capsicum  for later use.
• Now take out the potatoes  from the micro and mix some grated carrots,chilly powder,sambar powder, garam masala powder,asafoetida,grated paneer and salt to taste.Mix all the ingredients well and  keep aside.
• Now stuff all the capsicum with this stuffing and cover it with cap
• Arrange  stuffed capsicum in a microwave safe bowl and microwave on high for about  7- 8 mins or till done.
• serve hot with rice or roti.

Note:- Same dish can be steamed in a steamer for about 15 mins or till done.

Ambya (mango )Upkari. konkani

Come summer and we started dreaming about mangoes and different types of mango dishes.  I love almost all the sweets and desserts prepared with mangoes.Especially our 3-4 dishes like ambya upkari,gozzu,sasam and aam ras.Almost all the functions has one or two dishes prepared with mangoes.

                        This ambya upkari is unlike our other typical veggie upkari,it is totally different. This dish sweet and little spicy with lot of sauce/gravy.

 we prepare this dish on our ugadi /samsar padvo(new year)day  apart from tender cahsewnut upkari and other curries.When i was a kid this  dish was my favourite . For this dish we use a special type of mango called goint* mangoes a fibrous variety which can be easily dipped into the gravy.  and easy to suck the gravy/sauce .So for this dish sucking variety  mango is the best option.

 

Ingredients:-

1. Mango-6-7 (fibrous variety)
2. Jaggery-1-11/2cup(depending on the sweetness of  the mango)
3. Green chillies-4-5
4. Red chillies-2(cut into small pieces)
5. Rice flour or maida-1tbsp
6. Mustard-1tsp
7. Curry leaves-2springs
8. Coconut oil or any veg oil-2tsp
9. Salt to taste

Method:-

• Wash and peel the  mango skin and put the peels in a big bowl to collect the juice from the peels.
• Now put some water into the peels and nicely squeeze the peels  to collect all the juices.
• Now discard the peels and pour the juice back to the mangoes.

• For 6-7 mangoes the sauce should be almost 11/2liter.
• So if you want some sauce then add about extra 1cup water  and keep the mangoes for boiling.
• In that add jaggery,slit green chillies and salt to taste.
• Cook on low flame till it comes to boil.
• Mix maida or rice flour in 1/2 cup water to make a smooth paste.
• Now add the paste into the boiling mango upkari/sauce  to thicken.
• Keep stirring untill the gravy thickens.
• Now switch off the gas.
• Now prepare the tempering.
• Take a small tempering pan(panna kayli)and put some coconut oil or any veg oil.
• Let it heat for a while ,then add mustard seeds followed by,red chillies and  curry leaves.
• Now pour this over the mango upkari and its ready to serve.

Tender cashew nut upkari(bibbya /bebbe upkari).. A konkani cuisine

Tender cahewnut upkari ... a GSB delight.Almost all our function is not complete without this upkari.It is very popular in Goa and some parts of Karnataka.This upkari is prepared specially for our Ugadi(new year) day.This is the season when tender cashew nuts are available in the markets.

                I remember how my dad used to buy tender cashew nuts   in bulk and my mom used to dry them for later use.So whole year we used to enjoy this delicacy.

                   Even now i buy about 1000,as prices are gone high. I just to use my cashew nuts on some special occasions only.But last year i could not able to buy. As the season is already started i am looking forward to buy in bulk  this time. Yesterday  my hubby got some from mangalore to prepare this bibbe upkari on this coming UGADI.

        The recipe is very simple and requires only 3-4 ingredients yet tastes superb.  

bibbe upkari

Ingredients

1. Tender cashewnuts with skin-1/4kg
2. Mustard-1tsp
3. Red chilly-3(cut into pieces)
4. Asafoetida-1/2tsp(optional)
5. Coconut grated-1tbsp
6. Coconut oil-2tsp
7. Salt to taste

Method

sun dried cashew nuts

• Soak tender cashewnuts in water for about 5-6hours or overnight.
• Next day peel off the skin and cut into half.
• In a pan heat coconut oil and put some mustard.Let it crackle some time then add red chilly pieces and saute for few seconds followed by asafoetida.
• Now add cashew nuts, 1/2 cup of water  and salt to taste.
• Cover and cook till tender.
• At last add grated coconut and mix it well and switch off the gas.
• Serve hot for lunch or as a evening snack(sanje kapi ottu)

khotto/kottigey/gundu/idli batter steamed in jackfruit leaves..

WE GSB konkani's love this kotte idli(khotto).Actually it is made from the same batter from which we make idlis but still it has got a lovely aroma and taste of those jackfruit leaves. It is  an art  of making these kotto cups  though it look very  simple but unless you try it for at least quite a few time you won't be master in making  jackfruit leaves cups/basket  or khotto(as we call it).It goes well with our hinga chutney.I also love to have it with my manglorean chicken curry.

                       The reason behind posting this today is only few days left for our new year " ugadi " so i thought of posting all special dishes that we prepare on our ugadi day and this kotte stands 1st in my list because  we start our day with this kotto for breakfast on that day.

Method of making kotto basket:-

1st step- wash and clean the fresh jack fruit leaves . You many need at least 40 leaves big sized leaves for making 10 kotto.i e 4 leaves  for each kotto.

2nd step-nicely spread it on the clean cloth to dry.

3rd step-Be ready with some bamboo stick or tooth pick or broom stick(clean one) to join the leaves.

4th step-Start joining 4 leaves of same size together as shown in the below picture.

Once you done with all the leaves.once again dip all the water and arrange this in big tub and cover it with damp cloth to used it in the morning ( you have make it ready the previous evening)

Ingredients for  the batter:-

Parboiled rice( ukdo tandul)-3 cups

Urad dal-1cup

Salt to taste

jackfruit tree

fill kotto cups

steam for about 30-40 mins

Method :-

• Soak rice and dal separately for 6-7 hours.
• 1st grind dal to smooth paste.
• Then grind rice to coarse paste.The texture should be of semolina or rava.
• Now mix both the batter together and salt to taste.
• Then  keep  the batter for fermenting at least 7-8 hours or overnight.
• Next day morning put some water to boil Into  idli steamer and then start  filling the  kotto cups as shown in the picture for steaming.
• Steam for at least 30 -40 mins.
• Let it cool for sometimes before serving.
• Serve hot with any chutneys or sambar or with any curries of your choice

triangle shaped kotto prepared with 1leaf..for a change