Konkanirecipes.com

After contemplating for a while, I finally decided to start a blog section here. Keeping in mind the main purpose of this website, I want to blog about Konkani customs and cultural practices, temples, religious ceremonies, historical places, songs and just about anything that comes to my mind.

karate phoDi

Unlike most people I really love karate. My mother was with me this weekend and I asked her to make karate fry for me. It tastes yummy with rice and daal or any other curry.

Ingredients

• 2 Bittergourds ( cut into long slices)
• Red chilli powder
• Tamarind pulp
• Salt
• Rava - 1 teaspoon
• Oil for frying

Method

• Apply salt to the karela and set aside for atleast one hour. The longer you marinate, the less bitter it will be.
• Drain all the salt water from the karela pieces by taking a handful and squeezing tightly.
• To this apply the tamarind pulp, red chilli powder and rava.
• Shallow fry on a tava on a small flame with sufficient amount of oil.

Marination time: 1 hour Cooking time: 20 minutes

Gherkin and Potato Sidedish

Gherkin is called tenDli in Konkani and tonDekaayi in kannada. It is widely used by konkanis in preparing a variety of sides and is also used in curries. Another variation of this tendli ani batata upkari is to use tender cashewnuts instead of potatoes.

Ingredients

• 1 cup tendli ( cut into long pieces)
• 1 medium sized potato cut into long pieces
• Red chillies - 3
• Mustard - 1 teaspoon
• Curry leaves
• Grated coconut - 2 tablespoons
• Oil for seasoning
• Salt to taste

Method

• Heat oil in a kaDai.
• Add mustard. After the mustard stops sputtering, add the chillies cut into bits and curry leaves.
• Now add the tendli and potato pieces, salt to taste and fry on a small flame for a few minutes.
• Now add about half a cup of water (add more water if it is not enough), close the lid and cook the upkari till the water evaporates and the kaDgi is cooked.
• Finally garnish with grated coconut.

Tips

• Tendli takes longer to cook than most other vegetables. So to speed up the cooking, this upkari can be prepared in a cooker.

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Roasted Masala Peanuts

When I was young these masala peanuts were almost invariably present all the time in our home. It is very easy to prepare and we kids used to love it and so my mother would always stock it.

Ingredients

• Groundnuts - 250 g
• Red chilli powder - 3 teaspoons
• A pinch of hing / asafoetida
• Salt to taste
• Gram flour - 2.5 tablespoons
• Oil

Method

• Mix the chilli powder, salt and hing in a bowl.
• To this add some water (about 2 tablespoons) and make a thick paste.
• To this paste add the peanuts and mix well. Now add the gram flour and mix well again
• Heat oil in a kadai and deep fry the peanuts on a low flame till they just start turning brown.
• These peanuts can be stored in an air-tight container for many days.

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Tomato Saar

I just love this saaru and it is very easy to cook also. There was a time when I used to ask my mother to make this saaru everyday for lunch.

Ingredients

• Juicy Tomatoes - 2
• Green Chillies - 3 to 4
• Garlic - 10 to 12 cloves
• Oil
• Salt to taste

Method

• Cut tomatoes into small pieces and set aside.
• Heat some oil in a pan. To this add the garlic (crushed) and saute till it starts turning light brown.
• Now add the tomatoes, green chillies slit into two and salt to taste.
• Cover the pan with a lid and cook on a small flame till the tomato is cooked. (for about 4 mins)
• Now add about 3 cups of water and bring to a boil ( add more water if the tomatoes are big) and the saaru is ready.

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Breadfruit sidedish.

jeev kaDgi is yet another favourite vegetable for the konkanis. I just came to know that it is called Breadfruit in English. A variety of dishes are made with this jeev kaDgi and I hope to blog sometime about all of them.

Ingredients

• 1 medium sized jeev kaDgi
• Green chillies - 4
• Mustard - 1 teaspoon
• Grated coconut - 3 tablespoons
• Oil for seasoning
• Salt to taste

Method

• Peel the outer green skin of the breadfruit and cut into small pieces.
• Heat oil in a kaDai.
• Add mustard. After the mustard stops sputtering, add the green chillies slit into two.
• Now add the kaDgi pieces, salt to taste and fry on a small flame for a few minutes.
• Now add about half a cup of water (add more water if it is not enough), close the lid and cook the upkari till the water evaporates and the kaDgi is cooked.
• Finally garnish with grated coconut.

Tips

• Be sure to coat your hands and the knife with edible oil before cutting the kaDgi.
• You can put these pieces into water if you are not going to cook immediately to prevent the blackening (like potato)

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Cabbage sidedish

This spicy cabbage dosa goes very well with rice and daal.

Ingredients

• Shredded cabbage - 2 cups
• 2 onions
• Grated coconut - 1 cup
• Rice - 1 cup
• Toor daal - half cup
• Tamarind - small piece
• Red chillies - 7 to 8
• A pinch of asafoetida (hing) powder
• Oil
• Salt to taste

Method

• Wash and soak the rice and aal for half an hour.
• Cut the onion and cabbage into very small pieces and set aside.
• Grind together the rice and daal, coconut, red chillies, tamarind and hing to the consistency of a thick paste.
• To this mixture, add the onions and cabbage and salt to taste.
• Now on a tava, make small dosas out of this mixture with your hand. ( At a time about 5 such small dosas can be made)
• Fry with sufficient oil on both sides on a medium flame.

Preparation time: 45 mins

Potato and onion sidedish

This is one of my favourite dishes. All the ingredients needed for this will be commonly available at home.

Ingredients

• 2 potatoes
• 2 onions
• Grated coconut - 1 cup
• Tamarind - small piece
• Red chillies - 7 to 8
• Salt to taste

Method

• Cut onion and potato into small pieces and set aside.
• Grind coconut, tamarind and red chillies like a chutney.
• In a thick bottom pan, take the onion potato pieces, to this add the ground mixture and salt to taste.
• Add a little water, cover the pan and cook on a small flame for about 20 minutes till the vegetables boil and the water evaporates.

Tips If a banana leaf is covered on the pan, it adds to the flavour and tastes much better.

Preparation time: 30 minutes