Stuffed Eggplant/Brinjal (konkani style)

August 14th, 2010 by User | No Comments | Filed in Indian Food

Brinjal/Eggplant/Badnekai/Vayangana/Goola. I have already put up Gulla bajji, Vangi Bhaath and Brinjal masala before and now comes one of the most popular (among the konkani people at least) of Brinjal dishes – Gulla Sukkhe/Bharwa Baingan. Some people prefer to add onions to the masala as well as seasoning, whereas some never use onion at all. I prefer to use onion since it gives a wonderful taste for the dish. Both in the seasoning and in the filling, the taste could be unique.

What you need to have:

1. Small Brinjal – 15

2. Chopped onion – 1/4 cup

Fresh Small Brinjals

Ingredients of Wet Masala:

1. Fresh grated coconut – 3/4 cup

2. Red chillies – 4-5

3. Bilimbi – 2-3

4. Coriander seeds – 2 Teaspoons

5. Fenugreek seeds – 1/6 th Teaspoon

6. Turmeric powder – 1/2 Teaspoon

7. Chopped onion – 1/3 cup

8. Salt – To taste

8. Cooking oil to fry the masala and for seasoning – 2 Tablespoons

Ingredients of Wet Masala

What you do with what you have:

1. Wash and just mark horizontal on one side of Brinjal and vertical on the other side of each Brinjal and keep it aside. Wash, peal and chop onions as well fine.

2. Place a spatula on medium flame with 2 teaspoons of cooking oil in it on the flame. When heated just fry red chillies in it and keep it aside. In the same oil adding a little more oil add fenugreek seeds and when about to be fried add coriander seeds to it and when fried switch off the flame and add turmeric powder to it and stir well.

3. Grind fresh grated coconut, fried Red chillies, coriander seeds, fenugreek seeds-turmeric powder mix, Bilimbi, salt in the mixer adding water in steps to a medium fine consistency. Add chopped onions from step 1 to the masala.

Chopped onion mixed to the ground wet masala

4. Mix masala with the chopped onions well and fill the same in Brinjals from step 1 to it and is as shon in the image below.

Ground wet masala filled in Brinjals

5. Place a skillet with 3-4 teaspoons of cooking oil in it on medium flame. When heated add chopped onions to it and also a little salt to it , so that it does not get burnt and fry it till it turns transparent.

Chopped Onions being fried in the seasoning

6. Place the masala filled Brinjals in it and cook it till soft. Add very little water to it and let it cook on low flame. Close it with a lid.

Masala filled Brinjals being cooked

7. Just open the lid to see if cooked. It will be done in 15 minutes since they are very tender. Enjoy with chapati or even with dal and rice. Yummmmmm !

Brinjal masala with Chapati

How long it takes: 45 minutes

Number of servings: 4-5

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: Konkani dishes, lunch side dish

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Batate Vagu

July 23rd, 2010 by User | No Comments | Filed in Indian Food

Alu is a popular veggie and loved by one and all. Its a bit unhealthy maybe, but indispensable nevertheless. We prepare Alu tikkies, Alu-onion bhaji, Alu parota and frankly, uncountably large number of items with Alu being among the must-have ingredients. Today I would like to put up a dish which is a side dish for lunch as well as for roti and chapati. It is a simple dish with few and commonly used ingredients. Here it is:

What you need to have:

1. Cooked & chopped potatoes – 1 and 1/2 cup

2. Choppes Tomato – 1/3 cup

3. Cashews – A few

4. Chopped coriander leaves – A handful

5. Mustard seeds – 1 Teaspoon

6. Cumin seeds – 1/2 Teaspoon

7. Asafoetida powder – 1 Teaspoon

8. Turmeric powder – 1 Teaspoon

9. Chilli powder – 1 Teaspoon

10. Dhania-Jeera powder – 1 Teaspoon

Ingredients of Potato spicy dish

What you do with what you have:

1. Wash, peel and cook potatoes in the cooker till smooth. On cooling cut it into bite size pieces as shown in image 1. Wash and chop tomatoes, coriander leaves fine and keep it aside.

2. Place a skillet with 3-4 teaspoons of cooking oil in it on the flame. When heated add cumin seeds to it. When it starts sputtering add mustard seeds to it. Add cashews and fry till it turns light brown in colour.

Seasoning in progress

3. Add chopped tomatoes and required quantity of salt to it and stir till it turns mushy. Add all the powders in a row.

Tomatoes being cooked in seasoning

4. When done add cooked potatoes from step 1 to it and also required quantity of water and bring it to boil.

Batate Vagu being cooked

5. Transfer the dish to a serving bowl, check for salt and add chopped coriander leaves.

Ready to serve Batate vagu

6. Enjoy with chapati.

Ready to serve Batate-vagu with chapati and a salad

How long it takes: 30 mins

Number of servings: 2-3

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: lunch side dish, Side dish for Rottis

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Lemon Pickle

July 17th, 2010 by User | No Comments | Filed in Indian Food

Pickles is one of the favorite dishes among Indians. However, due the excess salt content (a preservative), it is not regarded as a healthy option as a side dish and is only recommended in lower quantities. This by the way is the first pickle on this blog. And the lemons, well, are from our own tree in my kitchen garden.

What you need to have:

1. Round ripe Lemons chopped - 2 cups

2. Table salt – 1/4 cup

3. Chilli powder(Byadgi) – 7 Teaspoons

4. Mustard Dal – 3 and 1/2 Teaspoons

5. Fenugreek seeds – 1/3 Teaspoons

6. Asafoetida (soft) – Size of a peanut

7. Sugar – 2 Teaspoons

8. Turmeric powder – 1 Teaspoon

9. Safola oil – 6-8 Teaspoons

Lemon Tree with Round Lemons

Salt being applied to chopped Lemon

Ingredients of Pickle masala

What you do with what you have:

1. Dry roast Table salt in a skillet till it moves free with the spatula and allow it to cool.

2. Wash and wipe Lemons with a clean cloth and chop them into pieces as shown in the image 2. Apply salt from step 1 to it and also 2 teaspoons of sugar and keep it aside for 24 hours.

3. Place a spatula with a teaspoon of cooking oil in it and when heated fry soft asafoetida in it and when half done add fenugreek seeds as well in it and fry together till done as shown in the image below. Remove the same from it and keep it aside.

Asafoetida and fenugreek seeds being fried in oil

4.In the same spatula add little more oil heat it and switching off the flame add mustard dal and let it just warm up upon stiring it in hot oil. Keep it aside.

Mustard dal being warmed up

Fried mixture of fenugreek seeds, asafoetida and mustard dal

5. Add some more oil in the spatula and warm up chilli powder, turmeric powder in it.

Chilli powder being warmed up

6. On cooling run all fried ingredients in the dry mixer to a fine consistency. On cooling mix it to the salted lemons. Place a spatula with 1 teaspoon of cooking oil in it on the medium flame. Add mustard seeds to it. When it sputters also add a pinch of asfoetida to it. On cooling add it to the masla mixed lemon pieces. This masala mixed pickle will be ready for consumption only after 3-4 months.

Pickle masala powder being mixed to the chopped lemon

7. Bottled pickle is as shown in the image below.

Ready to serve Lemon pickle

How long it takes (Masala): 30 minutes

Note: 1.Wash and wipe lemons and make sure that it is absolutely dry else pickle will spoil in no time.

2. Always add masala powder to salted lemons on cooling.

3. Store it in dry bottle with air tight lids. Sugar is added for extra flavour.

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: lunch side dish, Pickles

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Bell pepper-Alu stir fry

July 6th, 2010 by User | No Comments | Filed in Indian Food

Bell pepper and alu both need no introduction. This is a very simple dish good for starters as well. I have already put up Alu-Capsicum Masala which is among the most poplar posts on this blog. Alu and Bell pepper is also a very good combination. In this dish I have used Bengal gram dal as an additional ingredient to give a further boost to the dish. Here goes:

What you need to have:

1. Bell pepper (green) – 2 cups

2. Potatoes chopped – 1/4 cup

3. Bengalgram Dal – A handful

4. Salt – To taste

Ingredients of Bell-pepper Alu stir fry

Ingredients of Seasoning:

1. Chopped onions – 1/2 cup

2. Chopped tomatoes – 1/3 cup

3. Cumin seeds – 1 Teaspoon

4. Turmeric powder – 1 Teaspoon

5. Chilli powder – 1 Teaspoon

6. Garam Masala powder – 1 Teaspoon

7. Dhania-Jeera powder – 1 Teaspoon

Ingredients of Seasoning

What you do with what you have:

1. Wash and chop Bell pepper lengthwise, wash, peal and chop alu as well lengthwise as shown in image above.

2. Soak Bengalgram dal in water for about an hour and grind it in the mixer to a coarse consistency. Wash, peal and chop onions and tomato and keep aside.

3. Place a skillet with 3-4 teaspoons of cooking oil in it on medium flame and when heated add cumin seeds to it. When it sputters add chopped tomatoes from step 2. When it turns mushy add chopped onions and also required quantity of salt to it so that it does not get burnt. When done add chopped potatoes as well, lowering the flame and all the powders one after the other in a row and mix well. Close it with a lid for a few minutes till potatoes turn a little soft.

Seasoning in progress

4. Add ground Bengalgram dal from step 1 to it and lower the flame till it is cooked.

Ground Bengalgram dal being cooked in seasoning

5. When ground dal is cooked add chopped Bell-pepper from step 1 to it and let it cook till done on low flame. When done decorate it with chopped coriander leaves.

Ready to serve Bell pepper-Alu stir fry

6. Enjoy hot with either roti or chapati.

Bell pepper-Alu stir fry with chapati

How long it takes: 30 minutes (other than soaking of dal)

Number of servings: 2

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: lunch side dish

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Raw Sweet Jackfruit Stir fry

June 4th, 2010 by User | No Comments | Filed in Indian Food

For those of you who are not familiar, Kadgi is Raw jack/Halsinkayi. I have already put up the popular Konkani dish Kadge Chakko, a coconut based gravy dish, Jackfruit Dosa, Jackfruit Sweet Idlis and Jackfruit Pudding. What I am putting up today though is a stir fry and hence a much simpler dish. It should take less than 25 mins if you have cut jackfruit ready.

What you need to have:

1. Chopped raw jack – 1 cup

2. Chopped Tomato – 1 Tablespoon

3. Chopped onions – 2 Tablespoons

4. Chopped garlic pods – 1/2 Teaspoon

5. Chilli powder – 1 Teaspoon

6. Turmeric powder – 1 Teaspoon

7. Dhania-jeera powder – 1 Teaspoon

8. Cumin seeds – 1 Teaspoon

9. Chopped coriander leaves – A handful

10. Cooking oil – 1 Tablespoon

Raw jack being halved

Outer skin being pealed

Chopped fine raw jack

Ingredients of raw jack stir fry

What you do with what you have:

1. Cut, peal raw jack and chop fine as shown in the images 1, 2, and 3. Wash, peal and chop onions and garlic pods fine. Also wash and chop tomatoes, coriander leaves fine as shown in image 4 and keep it aside.

2. Cook chopped jack in the cooker adding little salt till done. (Cooked raw jack is as shown with the ingredients in the above image.)

3. Place a skillet with 3-4 teaspoons of cooking oil in it on medium flame. On heating add cumin seeds to it. When it sputters add chopped garlic pods from step 1 to it and fry till done. Add chopped tomatoes to it and when it turns mushy , add chopped onions also from step-1 to it together with salt required to the dish and stir well. When it turns transparent, add turmeric powder, Dhania-jeera powder, chilli powder one after the other.

Seasoning in progress

4. Stir in cooked jack from step-2 to it and mix well.

Ready to serve raw jack stir fry

5. Add chopped coriander leaves from step-1 to it and enjoy hot with either rice or chapati.

A closer view of the dish

A good combo with chapati

How long it takes: 45 mins ( including cutting jackfruit )

Number of servings: 4-5

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: Konkani dishes, lunch side dish

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Spinach Spicy Gravy (Vali Bendhi)

March 31st, 2010 by User | No Comments | Filed in Indian Food

After Spinach in Moongdal and more recently Spinach Paratha, Spinach makes another appearance this time as Spinach Gravy. This is among the spicy dishes and does not need dal. Very easy and very tasty !

What you need to have:

1. Chopped Spinach – 3 cups

Chopped Spinach

Ingredients of Wet Masala:

1. Fresh grated coconut – 1/2 cup

2. Red chillies -4-5

3. Turmeric powder- 1 teaspoon

4. Onion – 1 small

5. Ginger -1″ piece

6. Bilimbi – 2-3 OR tamarind – A little

Ingredients of Wet Masala

What you do with what you have:

1. Wash and chop spinach fine as shown in image 1. Cook it in the cooker in the cooker as usual for about 20 minutes till done.

Cooked Spinach

2. Place a spatula with 2 teaspoons of cooking oil in it on medium flame. When heated add red chilli to it and switch off the flame and just stir fry in it.

3. Grind all the ingredients of wet masala in the mixer including fried red chillies adding water in steps to a medium fine consistency.

Ground Wet Masala

4. Transfer the cooked spinach to broad based bowl and add ground wet masala from step 3 to it. Add required quantity of salt to it and bring it to boil.

Ingredients of Seasoning:

1. Crushed Garlic pods – 8-10

2. Cooking oil – 3-4 teaspoons

5. Place a spatula with 4 teaspoons of cooking oil in it on medium flame. When heated add crushed garlic pods to it and fry till light brown. Season it to the dish and it is ready to serve now.

Ready to serve Vali Bendhi

Enjoy hot with rice. One can even enjoy it with jwari roti. Yummmm !!!!

How long it takes: 45 Minutes

Number of servings: 4

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: Konkani dishes, lunch side dish

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Stir Fried Cluster beans

March 31st, 2010 by User | No Comments | Filed in Indian Food

Cluster Beans is also one among the green beans available. It is seasonal and available only during 3-4 months of the year and certainly not as popular as its cousin French beans. Cluster Beans is a little bitterish in taste unlike the other green beans that are sweeter. There are a few variety of beans like french beans, broad beans, long Beans (Alasande in Kannada/Konkani). Here is the cluster beans curry ( and the french beans curry if you missed it earlier ). Cluster Beans is Gorikayi in kannada (in Bangalore-Mysore region) “Chavlikodu” in kannada here in south kanara. Midkesanga in konkani as south canara people call it and also Chitmidkesanga in konkani as it is called in North kanara region.

What you need to have:

1. Chopped Cluster Beans – 2 cups

2. Chopped Potatoes – 2/3 cup

3. Fresh grated coconut – a handful

4. Milk – 1/2 cup

Ingredients of Seasoning:

1. Mustard seeds – 1 teaspoon

2. Blackgram Dal – 1 teaspoon

3. Turmeric powder – 1 teaspoon

4. Asafoetida powder – 1 teaspoon

5. Dhania-jeera powder – 1 teaspoon

6. Green chill – 3-4

Fresh Cluster Beans

Ingredients of Cluster Beans curry

What you do with what you have:

1. Cut off the edges of the bean, wash, slit it lengthwise and cut into pieces of required length ( I go for 2” pieces)

2. Wash, peal and chop potatoes as well lengthwise into 2″ pieces as shown in the image 2. Grate coconut as well and set aside.

3. Place a skillet with 3-4 teaspoons of cooking oil in it on medium flame. When heated add mustard seeds to it. When it starts sputtering add black gram dal, turmeric powder, asafoetida powder, dhania-jeera powder, one red chilli piece and curry leaves one after the other.

Seasoning in progress

4. Now add chopped cluster beans and chopped potatoes from step 1 to it. Also add normal milk , required quantity of salt, a pinch of sugar to it and allow it to cook closing the dish with a lid.

Cluster Beans curry being cooked

5. Check for salt and if not done add a little more water and allow it to cook. When you cooked you are ready to enjoy it with rice and dal.

Ready to serve Cluster Beans curry

How long it takes: 45 minutes

Number of servings: 5-6

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: lunch side dish

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Bhenda Sukke (Okra in coconut gravy)

March 31st, 2010 by User | No Comments | Filed in Indian Food

Okra is a veggie available through out the year. Okra in english is Bendekayi in Kannada and Bhenda in Konkani and Vendekya in Tamil. We prepare a number of dishes like the Dry curry. Gojju, Okra fries etc. I have already put up Okra Dosa which has been very well received. Today I would like to put up Bhenda Sukke which is a Konkani delicacy and is the favorite dish of my younger son. It was long over due to be put up. Try using tender okra for this dish.

What you need to have:

1. Fresh chopped Okra pieces – 3 cups

2. Chopped Potatoes – 2/3 cup

3. Chopped Onions – 1 cup

Fresh chopped Okra

Chopped onions and Potatoes

Ingredients of Wet Masala:

1. Fresh grated coconut – 1/2 cup

2. Red chillies (Byadgi) – 3-4

3. Coriander seeds – 3 teaspoons

4. Fenugreek seeds – 1/4 teaspoon

5. Tamarind

What you do with what you have:

1. Wash, wipe okras with a clean dry cloth and chop it into 2″ pieces as shown in the image 1.

2. Wash, peal and chop both onions and potatoes into lengthwise pieces and keep it aside as shown in image 2.

3. Grate coconut and keep it aside in the plate as shown image 3. Place a spatula with 2-3 teaspoons of cooking oil in it on the flame and fry coriander seeds and fenugreek seeds in it. Add red chillis to it and switch of the flame as the chilli fry.

4. Grind coconut and the fried masala items from step 3 and tamarind in the mixer adding water in steps to a medium fine consistency. Ground wet masala is as shown in the image below.

Ground Wet Masala

5. Place a Skillet with 4-5 teaspoons of cooking oil in it on the flame. When heated add muistard seeds to it. When it sputters add red chillies and curry leaves to it.

Seasoning in progress

6. Add ground wet masala from step 4 to the seasoning and bring it to boil adding required quantity of salt.

Masala being cooked in seasoning

7. Add chopped onions from step 2 to the cooked masala and let it cook for a while.

Chopped onions being cooked in Masala

8. When onions turn a little smooth add chopped okra and potatoes from step 1 and step 2 respectively. Close the dish with a lid.

Chopped Okra & potatoes being cooked in Masala

9. When both the veggies cook smooth the dish is ready to serve.

Ready to serve Bhendi Masala

How long it takes: 45 minutes

Number of servings: 4-5

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: Konkani dishes, lunch side dish

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Kadge Chakko (Raw Jackfruit Curry)

March 31st, 2010 by User | No Comments | Filed in Indian Food

Now is the season of the Jack Fruit (Panas in Konkani andHalasina hannu in Kannada ) and get the raw Jackfruit by April/May. We prepare a number of dishes and also we shallow fry it which tastes really great. Today I would like to put up the popular dish Kadge Chakko. People prepare it in two different ways - either a) cut it into bite size pieces, cook it and just crush it in the masala and season it. Or b) it can also be chopped fine and season it in the masala. I prefer the second method since one gets to eat the small pieces with the masala. This dish is a good combo with Konkani dal. Here it is.

Raw Jack

Jack being halved

Skin of the jack being scraped

What you need to have:

1. Chopped Jack fine – 3 cups

Jack chopped fine

Ingredients of Wet Masala:

1. Fresh grated coconut – 1 cup

2. Red chilly (Byadgi) -3-4

3. Blimbi – 4

4. Coriander seeds – 4 teaspoons

5. Blackgram Dal – 1 teaspoon

6. Asafoetida (soft) – Size of a peanut

7. Jaggery – As per taste

8. Salt – To taste

9. Turmeric powder – 1 teaspoon

Ingredients of Wet Masala

What you do with what you have:

1. Cut Jack into half as shown in image 2. Wipe of the sticky white fluid with a chopped lemon ring. Scrape the skin of it as shown in image 3.

2. Chop it to a fine consistency as shown image-4.

3. Cook it in the cooker as usual for about 30 minutes till soft adding a very litle water and salt.

4. Place a spatula with 3-4 teaspoons of cooking oil in it on the flame. When heated fry asfoetida in it till crisp. Keep it aside and in the same oil fry Blackgram dal and coriander seeds in it. Keep it aside and fry red chillis adding a little more oil in it. Add all the fried ingredients to the wet masala. Grind the ingredients in the mixer adding water in steps to a medium fine consistency. Ground wet masala is as shown in the image below.

Ground Wet Masala

Ingredients of Seasoning:

1. Mustard seeds – 2 Teaspoons

2. Blackgram Dal – 1 Teaspoon

3. Red chilli – 1

4. Curry leaves – 2 strands

Ingredients of Seasoning

5. Place a skillet with 4-5 teaspoons of cooking oil in it. When heated, add mustard seeds to it. When it starts sputtering add blackgram dal to it. When fried add broken red chillis and curry leaves to it.

Seasoning of the dish in progress

6. When done add ground masala from step 4 to it and let it cook in the seasoning till it thickens.

Ground Wet Masala being cooked

7. Now add cooked raw jack from step-3 to it and let it be on the low flame till it absorbs all the masala.

Kadge Chakko being cooked

Ready to serve Kadge Chakko is as shown in the image below. Serve with rice and konkani dalithoy.

Ready to serve Kadge Chakko

How long it takes: 1 hour

Number of servings: 5-6

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: Konkani dishes, lunch side dish

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Tamarind Gojju

March 31st, 2010 by User | No Comments | Filed in Indian Food

Tamarind in English (Hunsehannu in Kannada and chinchamba in Konkani) is a must in the preparation of Indian food, especially South Indian food. It is often used as a replacement for tomatos and now in the Tamarind season, we buy it for the whole year’s stock in bulk. Now a days of course tamarind pulp is available in plenty but if you can, fresh tamarind is always a better option. We normally prepare Tamarind gojju during this season when they are available fresh. It goes well with some mild dishes like the Moongdal usli and also Rice/Dal. So here goes.

What you need to have:

1. Fresh Tamarind – 4-5

2. Jaggery – 4-5 tablespoons (depending upon tanginess of tamarind)

3. Green Chilli – 1

4.Chopped coriander leaves – 2

Fresh TamarindIngredients of Tamarind gojju

What you do with what you have:

1. Peal tamarind and soak it in water for about 10-15 minutes so that it turns out smooth to run in the mixer. When smooth run it in the mixer and strain it through the strainer adding required quantity of water.

Tamarind juice

2. Add crushed jaggery, chopped coriander leaves and required quantity of salt to it. Chop green chillis and squeeze it with salt and mix it to the juice.

3. Place a spatula with 2 teaspoons of cooking oil it on medium flame. When heated add mustard, broken red chilli pieces and curry leaves to it. Season the same to the juice. Add finely chopped coriander leaves to it also. Yummy with rice and dal as well.

Ready to serve Tamarind gojju

Good to remember:

1. Quantity of Jaggery depends upon the tanginess of tamarind and once you season the gojju just crush a few mustard seeds in it which gives extra flavor.

How long it takes: 30 minutes

Number of servings: 2-3

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: 30 minutes, lunch side dish

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