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Chutney powder

chutney pitto is a must in all konkani households. It can be used like a pickle along with food, with idly-dosas, with bread and ofcourse comes in very handy when you dont have the time/patience to grind chutney. I know about 4 varities of chutney piTTo that my mother makes and the one which I have written here about is the most common one and my favourite. So here goes.

Ingredients

• 1 coconut - finely grated
• Hurigadale (putani, dalia split) - 100 gm (about 2 cups)
• Red chillies - a big handful
• Tamarind - the size of a small lemon
• Curry leaves - one cup
• Asafoetida - to taste
• Salt to taste

Method

• Use a thick bottomed pan for this purpose.
• On a low flame, roast the grated coconut till it starts turning golden brown. Now transfer this to a separate plate.
• Similarly roast the other ingredients till it gives out a nice aroma (for about 10 mins).
• Let all the ingredients cool. Now grind to a smooth powder.
• Add salt to taste and store in an air-tight container.

The proportion of the ingredients can be varied according to individual taste. I prefer more curry leaves and more asafoetida.

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Radish fry

The phodis are eaten as a side dish with rice and any curry. The phodis can be made with virtually any kind of vegetable like potato, raw banana, brinjal,okra etc etc. Earlier I had posted about bittergourd phodi . Traditionally rava will be added to make the phodis crispy. But in this mulangi phodi I have not used rava. And believe me even people who dont like radish will love this phodi.

Ingredients

• 2 Radish
• Red chilli powder - 1 teaspoon
• A pinch of turmeric
• Oil for frying
• Salt to taste

Method

• Peel the outer skin of the radish and cut vertically into long slices.
• Now add salt, chilli powder and turmeric. Mix well.
• Shallow fry on a pan with little oil on both sides (on a low flame) for about 10 minutes.

Preparation time: 10 minutes

I wish all my readers a very Happy Sankranthi !!!

chikki

If you have a sweet-tooth like my husband, then chikki is probably the most easy-to-make and tasty-to-eat sweet ….yummy :) Here I have used only groundnuts. Cashews, almonds and a mixture of all the above can be used.

Ingredients

• Groundnuts - one and half cup
• Sugar - about one cup
• Ghee - 2 teaspoons

Method

• Roast the groundnuts in a kadai on a medium flame.After it cools, rub off the skin and crush lightly with hand
• Grease a plate with ghee and set aside
• Melt the sugar in a thick bottomed kadai over a very low flame.
• When it has melted and turned slightly golden, remove from the flame and add the nuts while stirring briskly.
• Quickly pour into the greased plate and cut into small squares

Preparation time: 15 minutes

_kheeri_ I would say this kheeri (cheppe kheeri) is a sweetless payasam. It is usually eaten with pickles. It is a must-prepare for the Navaratri pooja. My mother regualarly prepares it at home as we grow turmeric leaves and also due to the abundance of coconuts :) _Ingredients_ * Rice - 1 cup * Grated coconut - 1 cup * Turmeric leaves - 2 small _Method_ * Cook rice till it is soft. * Grind the coconut adding sufficient water and keep aside the coconut milk obtained by draining it. * Tie the turmeric leaves into knots and set aside. * To the cooked rice, add the coconut milk, a little water and the turmeric leaves. Cook for about 10 minutes on a low flame till you get a nice aroma of the fresh turmeric leaves. * Sprinkle a little salt when eating. Serve with pickles and any other randayi (konkani curry) Preparation time: 30 minutes

_pineapple sidedish_ This sasam has a sweet-sour taste and I absolutely love it. It is one more of the typical konkani dishes. Aambya sasam is made with mangoes, ananas-aambya sasam is made with a combination of mangoes and pineapple. Here I have used only pineapple, hence ananas sasam. _Ingredients_ * Pineapple cut into small pieces - 1 cup * Grated coconut - 1 cup * Red chillies - 4 to 5 * A pinch of tamarind * A little jaggery * Salt to taste _Method_ * Grind the coconut, chillies, tamarind and jaggery with a little water (to the consistency of chutney) * Now add salt to taste and the pineapple. (If the pineapple is very sour, add more jaggery) * Serve chilled with rice and curry. Preparation time: 10 minutes Grapes (both white and black) can be added to enhance taste and colour. Green chillies can also be used in place of red chillies. In that case, add sugar instead of jaggery.

beans sidedish

Valasangi is very widely used by the konkanis. It is called alsande kaayi in kannada and yardlong beans in english. I took photo of this beans, made the dish but forgot to take the picture of the ‘finished product’ :(

Ingredients

• Valasangi cut into small pieces - about 2 cups
• Green chillies - 3 to 4
• Mustard - 1 teaspoon
• Grated coconut - half cup
• Curry leaves (optioal) - a few
• Oil
• Salt to taste

Method

• Heat some oil in a kadai.
• Add mustard. After it stops sputtering, add the curry leaves and the beans.
• Add some salt and fry on a low flame for a few minutes
• Now add sufficient quantity of water (about a cup) and cook till the beans are soft.
• Just a few minutes before all the water drains, add the grated coconut and mix well.
• Serve as a sidedish with rice and curry.

Preparation time: 10 minutes Cooking time: 15 minutes

chakli

I guess chakkuli/chaakli/chakkli needs no introduction. There are many ways of making chakklis. The conventional method of making chakklis is quite elaborate. However if you get a craving for chakklis, here is a method of making instant chakklis. I did not go to the trouble of making round shapely chakklis though, which saved me time all the more :)

Ingredients

• Rice flour - 2 cups
• Hurigadale powder (putani, dalia split)- 1 cup
• Maida - half cup
• Butter (optional) - quarter cup
• Salt to taste
• Red chilli powder - 1 teaspoon
• Sesame seeds/til - 1 teaspoon
• Oil for frying

Method

• Mix all the flours, salt, sesame seeds, chilli powder, melted butter (alternatively you can use heated oil).
• Now add some water and knead it into a soft dough (the more you knead, the better it is).
• Heat oil in a kadai.
• Fill the dough into chakkli press and press the chakklis in the kadai.
• Deep fry on a low flame till they turn golden brown.

Preparation time: 15 minutes Cooking time: 5 minutes