Cucumber Sweet Idli / Taushe Idli

Taushe idli is a sweet idli preparation using cucumber and jaggery. Its a traditional konkani recipe.I learnt this recipe from my mom. It is served for breakfast along with some butter or ghee on the side. This recipe has 2 versions. One is sweet, that I am going to share the recipe about. The second variation is a savory one using ginger and green chillies. An advantage of this recipe is that you don't have to ferment the batter and can prepare it instantly.

Ingredients:

1 medium sized cucumber, (preferably seedless cucumber)
1 cup rice, (idli rice or sona masoori)
1 handful of grated coconut
Salt to taste
1/2 cup grated jaggery (adjust according to taste)
1/2 tsp oil, to grease the idli mould.
Butter or ghee to serve on the side

Directions:

Soak rice for 2 to 3 hours. Wash and drain all the excess water. 

Wash, peel and grate cucumbers. Squeeze out all the liquid and reserve it in a cup.

Put grated coconut, jaggery and reserved cucumber water in a blender and grind to a smooth paste. (if you find it difficult to grate the jaggery, you can melt it using little water. Allow it to cool down and then proceed with the recipe)

Add rice and grind till the rice resembles idli rava. The batter should be thick.

Remove it on to a bowl and add grated cucumber and salt. Mix it well.

Grease the idli moulds with oil. Pour the batter halfway through in each mould.

Place it in a hot steamer and steam cook for 15 minutes.

Once done, remove the idli moulds from the steamer and allow it to cool a bit.

Demould using a spoon. Serve hot with some butter or ghee.

Kaarate Kismuri (Bitter gourd dry side dish)

 

 

 

Ingredients:

2 med. sized bitter gourd
3/4 to1 tsp salt
Oil for shallow frying
1 cup fresh/frozen grated coconut
2-3 dry red chillies, roasted
1 tsp coriander seeds
Tamarind pulp, to taste
2 green chillies, chopped
1 small onion, finely chopped

Directions:

Wash and slice bitter gourd. Remove the seeds and chop in to small pieces. Apply salt and keep it aside for 30 minutes.
Heat oil in a pan. Squeeze out all the moisture from the bitter gourd pieces and fry until crispy. Take out on to a paper towel to drain excess oil.
Grind coconut, dry red chillies, coriander seeds and tamarind pulp to a coarse paste by adding couple of spoons of water.
Take out the paste in a bowl. Add fried bitter gourd pieces, chopped green chillies and chopped onions. Mix it really well. Adjust the salt.
Serve on the side with some rice and any curry.

Ivy gourd/tindora stir fry (tendle upkari)

This ivy gourd/tindora stir fry is a simple mangalorean style stir fry dish. It goes really well with some dal and rice or on the side with some chapatis for a healthy and comforting week day meal.
I got this recipe from a malayalam video clip on you tube. When I prepared it for the first time for my family, we absolutely loved this dish. Little bit of heat from the green chillies, tang from the lemon juice and slight sweetness from the use of pinch of sugar makes this dish different from the regular stir fry that we usually make at home.

Ingredients:

500 grams tindora/tendle/ivy gourd
Salt to taste
2 tbsp oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
4 cloves of garlic, slightly crushed
1 tbsp chana dal
1 medium onion, chopped
3-4 green chillies, slit lengthwise
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 medium potato, cut in to strips (optional)
1 tomato, chopped
1/4 cup fresh/frozen grated coconut
1/4 tsp sugar (optional)
1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves

Directions:

Wash the ivy gourd, cut the ends and slit into 4-6 pieces. Discard the ivy gourd if it is ripe and has turned red inside. Add the ivy gourd into a vessel and add some salt and water. Cover and cook until just done. Drain the excess water if any. (If you want to cook it in the pressure cooker, pressure cook by adding 1/4 cup water and salt to taste. Pressure cook for 1 whistle. Immediately release the pressure by lifting the weight slightly with the help of a spoon. Once the pressure goes off, remove the lid and keep the cooked ivy gourd aside)
Heat oil in a wok/kadai. Add mustard seeds, when they start to pop, add crushed garlic and chana dal. Cook until chana dal turns golden brown. Add chopped onions and green chillies and cook until onions turn translucent. Add turmeric powder and mix well. Add potatoes, if using and stir it for 2-3 minutes. Cover the pan cook until tender. Add tomatoes and cook until soft.
Add cooked ivy gourd and mix it well. Simmer and cover for 2-3 minutes until everything comes together.
Add grated coconut, sugar and lemon juice and give the pan a good mix. Finish it off with some chopped coriander and serve.

Ambuli Chutney (Raw Mango Chutney)

Ambuli means raw mango in konkani. This tangy, spicy raw mango chutney gets ready in no time. It requires a very few ingredients. We usually serve this chutney with rice and dal or any other curry. But it goes equally well with idli or dosa. You can substitute green chillies with roasted dry red chillies.

Ingredients

1 medium sized raw mango
1 cup fresh or frozen grated coconut
3-4 green chillies (adjust according to taste)
1 tbsp oil
1/3 tsp. mustard seeds
1/4 tsp. asafetida/hing
Salt to taste

Directions

Peel and chop the mango in to medium sized pieces. Grind it to a smooth paste along with grated coconut, green chillies and salt. Transfer the ground chutney in to a bowl.
Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. When they crackle, add asafetida and mix well. Pour this tadka over the ground chutney. Mix well.
Serve.

Gardudde Upkari (Bottle Gourd Fry)

Bottle gourd known as gardudde in konkani, sorekai in kannada and lauki in hindi is a vegetable packed with nutrients. I got this recipe from a Facebook group couple of months back.
It goes really well on the side with steamed rice or chapati and dal for a quick, easy and healthy weekday meal.

 

 

Ingredients:

1 medium sized bottle gourd
1 tbsp oil
1/3 tsp mustard seeds
1 spring curry leaves
5-6 cloves of garlic
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp red chilli powder (adjust according to taste)
2-3 tbsp fresh/frozen grated coconut

 

 

 

 

Directions:

Wash, peel and cut bottle gourd in to medium sized pieces.
Slightly crush the garlic cloves. ( you can either peel the skin off or keep them on)
Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds.
When they start to splutter, add curry leaves and garlic. Sauté for 30 seconds.
Add bottle gourd pieces and salt and sauté until the gourd becomes tender, around 5 minutes.
Add turmeric powder, red chilli powder and little less than 1/4 cup of water. Bring it to a boil.
Cover and simmer until the bottle gourd gets cooked and all the moisture evaporates.
Finally, add grated coconut and mix it well. Cook for another 2 minutes.
Serve.

 

 

 





Chettinad Egg Curry

We love eggs in any form in our home. It is one of the most versatile ingredient. I make curries, gravies, biryani, scrambled eggs and omelets with eggs very often. This egg curry is a perfect blend of aromatic Indian spices and it goes really well with rice or roti.

 

 

 

Ingredients:

6 eggs, hard boiled peeled and sliced
3 tbsp. oil
8-10 dry red chillies
2 cloves
1/2" piece of cinnamon
2 green cardamom pods
1/2 star anise
8-10 black peppercorns
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp fennel seeds/saunf
1 tsp poppy seeds/ khus khus
1 tbsp coriander seeds
1 cup fresh/frozen grated coconut
4 large cloves of garlic
1" piece of ginger
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 spring of curry leaves
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
2 tomatoes, chopped
Salt to taste
1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tbsp green coriander leaves for garnishing.

 

 Directions:

Heat 1 tbsp oil. Add dry red chillies and roast them until they puff up and becomes crispy. Take out on to a plate and keep it aside.
In the same pan, put cloves, cinnamon, cardamom pods, star anise, black peppercorns, cumin seeds, fennel seeds, poppy seeds and coriander seeds and roast until nice aroma comes out and the spices turn light golden. Add grated coconut and roast until golden. Allow it to cool down. Grind everything to a slightly coarse paste by adding roasted chillies, ginger, garlic and some water.
Heat remaining oil in a pan. Add onions and sauté until golden. Add curry leaves and turmeric powder and mix well.
Add ground paste, chopped tomatoes and salt and mix well. Bring it a boil, cover and simmer until the oil starts to leave the masala.
Add water to get a medium thick gravy. Bring it to a boil and simmer for 5 more  minutes until everything comes together.
Add boiled egg slices and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Switch off the flame and add lemon juice and half of the chopped coriander. Mix well.

Serve hot, garnished with remaining chopped coriander.

 

 



Chickpeas Curry (Chane Ghashi)

Chane ghashi is a classic coconut based konkani dish using garbanzo beans/chickpeas.  It is usually prepared on special occasions like festivals or weddings. You can substitute yam with green jackfruit pieces or potatoes. You can use either black chickpeas or white.

Ingredients:

1 cup chana
1 cup fresh/frozen yam/suran cubes
Salt to taste

For the masala:
1 cup fresh/frozen grated coconut
8-10 dry red chillies, roasted
1 small ball of tamarind or 1 tsp tamarind paste
1/4 tsp mustard seeds

For tadka/seasoning:
1 tbsp oil (preferably coconut oil)
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1 spring curry leaves

Directions:

Wash and soak chana overnight. Pressure cook chana by adding salt for 3 whistles. Add yam/suran and pressure cook for 1 more whistle.
Grind grated coconut, dry red chilles and tamarind to a smooth paste. Add 1/4 tsp mustard seeds and grind for another 30 seconds.
Pour this masala over cooked chana and combine. Add more water to adjust the consistency of the gravy. Bring it to a boil. Cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes.
Heat oil in a small pan. Add 1/2 tsp mustard seeds. When they splutter, add curry leaves and mix well.
Pour this over the curry and mix well.
Serve with steamed rice.




Asafoetida Flavored Coconut Chutney (Hinga Chutney)

This is one of the easy, tasty and popular konkani chutney recipe. This goes really well with dosa or idli.

Ingredients:

1 cup fresh/frozen grated coconut
3 dry red chillies, roasted
1 green chilli
1/2 tsp coriander seeds
Small piece of tamarind
Salt to taste
1 tsp oil (preferably coconut oil)
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
A large pinch of asafetida/heeng
1 spring curry leaves

Directions:

Put coconut, dry red chillies, green chilli, tamarind, salt and coriander seeds in to the blender and grind it to a smooth paste by adding warm water.
Transfer it to a bowl. Add some more water to adjust the consistency.
Heat oil in a small pan. Add mustard seeds. When they splutter, add asafetida and curry leaves. Mix well.
Pour it over the chutney, mix well and serve with dosa or idli.



Sukki Chutney (Onion Coconut Chutney)

This is one of the tasty and easy to make chutney that goes really well with chapati, roti or paratha. I got this recipe from my mom.

 

Ingredients:

1 cup fresh/frozen grated coconut
1 green chilli
2 dry red chillies, roasted
1 tsp coriander seeds
Small piece of tamarind
Salt to taste
1 tbsp onions, roughly chopped
2 small cloves of garlic, peeled

Directions:

Put all the ingredients in a blender and grind it to a fine, thick paste by adding warm water.
Serve.


Hyacinth Beans Curry (Avarekalu saaru)

Hyacinth beans or avarekalu is the most popular beans in Bangalore. It is used in making curries, dosa, rice or upma. I hardly get fresh avarekalu here, so I use the frozen ones available in Indian grocery stores as surti papdi lilva. You can also use valor lilva for making this dish.

Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Serves: 4

Ingredients:

1 pack of hyacinth beans
3 tbsp. oil
4 cloves
1" cinnamon
1/4 tsp. cumin seeds
1 tbsp. coriander seeds
2 medium cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
1" piece of ginger, roughly chopped
1 green chilli, roughly chopped
1 handful of coriander leaves, roughly chopped
1/2 cup of fresh/frozen grated coconut
4 dry red chillies
1 onion, chopped
2 tomatoes, chopped

Directions:

Pressure cook avarekalu by adding salt for 2 whistles.
Heat 1 tbsp. oil and roast cinnamon, cloves, cumin, coriander seeds, ginger, garlic, green chillies and red chillies until they change the color slightly. Add grated coconut and roast until golden. Add coriander leaves and fry till its wilted.
Allow it to cool down and grind to a smooth paste by adding water.
Heat remaining oil, add onions and fry until golden. Add tomatoes and cook until soft and mushy.
Add cooked beans and ground masala. Combine. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 10 minutes until everything comes together.
Serve with chapati or rice.

Malabar Spinach with Black Eyed Peas (Vaali Alsande Biyye Bendi)

Bendi is a coconut based curry with garlic seasoning. You can substitute black eyed peas with white navy beans (tingalavare), red kidney beans (rajma) or pinto beans and Malabar spinach with spinach, yam (suran), green jackfruit (kadgi), yellow cucumber (magge) or potatoes. I have used 5 spicy dry red chillies for the heat and 5 byadgi chillies for color. You can adjust the amount of chillies according to your preference.

Prep time: 10 min



Cook time: 30 min
Serves: 4-6

Ingredients:

1 cup black eyed peas
1 bunch malabar spinach
Salt to taste
1 cup fresh or frozen grated coconut
8-10 dry red chillies
1/2 tsp. tamarind pulp
1 tbsp. oil
5-6 cloves of garlic, slightly crushed

Vaali/Malabar spinach

Directions:

Wash and soak black eyed peas overnight. Wash and roughly chop Malabar spinach leaves and tender stems. Roast the red chillies in 1/4 tsp oil until crisp.
Pressure cook black eyed peas for 2 whistles by adding salt. Add the Malabar spinach and cook till soft.
Grind red chillies, coconut and tamarind to a smooth paste by adding a cup of warm water.
Add the coconut paste to the peas. Mix well and bring it to a boil.
Cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes.
Heat oil in a small pan and add garlic. Roast until golden. Pour it over the curry and combine. Continue to cook for 2 more minutes.
Serve with steamed rice.

Parboiled Rice Pancake (Ukde Tandla Bhakri / Akki Rotti)

Ukde tandla bhakri/parboiled rice Pancake / akki rotti is very tasty and nutritious breakfast recipe.  It goes well with any curry, chutney, pickle or simply, with a knob of butter. Traditionally it was made using a greased banana leaf. But I don't get banana leaves easily here, so I made it directly on the tawa. Alternatively you can use plastic bags or wax paper instead of banana leaves.

Prep time: 15 minutes (excludes soaking time)

Cook time: 5 minutes

Serves: 3

Ingredients:

1 cup parboiled rice/Ukdo rice (I used palakkadan matta rice available in the indian grocery stores)

Salt to taste
2 tbsp. fresh/frozen grated coconut
1 small onion, finely chopped
1-2 green chillies, chopped
Oil for making rotti

Directions:

Soak rice overnight. Next morning, wash the rice in several changes of water until the water runs clear.
Put it in a blender along with salt to taste and some water and grind to a coarse paste (add little water at a time as the batter needs to be very thick)
Transfer the batter in a bowl and add grated coconut, onions and green chillies. Mix well. Keep it aside for 10 minutes. (You can add coconut to the rice while grinding or you can mix it once  the batter is ready).
Heat the tawa (preferably cast iron) in moderate heat and grease it lightly. Once it's hot enough, simmer the heat to lowest.
Place a handful of batter on the tawa and gently start flattening the batter to form a disk with the help of your fingers. Dip your fingers in the water to prevent the batter from sticking and continue to form the rotti not too thick not too thin. Bring the heat back to medium.
Drizzle some oil and cook for 1-2 minutes and flip it carefully as it tends to break very easily.
Cook for another 1 minute until slightly golden.
Serve hot.

Note:



You can also make plain rotti without adding onions and chillies.

Green Peas in Coconut Gravy (Batani Ambat)

Batani, which means green peas and ambat, which means mildly spiced coconut based gravy seasoned with fried onions in konkani. It's a delicious curry which goes really well with steamed rice.

Prep time:10 mins

Cook time: 30 mins

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

1 cup fresh/frozen green peas
1 small yellow cucumber/magge
1 med. potato
2 med. onions
3/4 cup fresh/frozen grated coconut
6-8 roasted dry red chillies
1/2 tsp tamarind pulp
Salt to taste
1 tbsp oil (preferably coconut oil)

Directions:

Roughly chop 1/2 an onion and finely chop the remaining onions.
Peel and dice yellow cucumber and potato. Pressure cook along with peas and roughly chopped onions for 1 whistle.
Put grated coconut, chillies, tamarind, salt and some warm water in a blender and grind it to a smooth paste. Add it to the cooked peas and mix well.
Bring it to a boil, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat oil in a small pan and add chopped onions. Fry until golden brown. Pour it over the curry and mix well. Continue to cook for 2 more minutes. Adjust the salt and switch off the flame.
Serve it with some steamed rice.


Green Coriander Pulao

Green coriander pulao, a delicious one pot meal recipe by Jaya v Shenoy. This is my family's favorite pulao. My mom used to make this for us when we were kids and we absolutely adored this dish.

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 30 mins

serves:4

Ingredients:

1 cup rice

2 cups water
2 tsp. oil or ghee
4 cloves
1" cinnamon stick
4 green cardamom pods
1 tbsp coriander seeds
8 cashew nuts
1" piece ginger, roughly chopped
2 large cloves of garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
3 green chillies, roughly chopped (adjust according to taste)
1/2 bunch of green coriander leaves and stalks, roughly chopped
1 tbsp fresh or frozen grated coconut
2 tbsp oil or ghee
2 med. onions, finely sliced
2 carrots, peeled and diced
1/2 cup chopped beans
1 cup fresh/frozen green peas
1 med. potato, peeled and diced (optional)
Salt to taste

Directions:

Heat a tsp of ghee and add cloves, green cardamon, cinnamon, coriander seeds and cashew nuts and fry for 30 seconds.

Add the green chillies,  garlic, ginger, coriander leaves and coconut and fry for 2 minutes on medium flame.
Allow it to cool down and grind it to a paste using 1/2 cup of water.
Heat oil in a vessel and fry the onions till golden brown.
Put vegetables and salt and mix well. Cover and cook until the vegetables are tender, around 5-7 minutes.
Add ground paste and bring it to a boil.
Add 2 cups of water and mix well. Adjust the salt.
When it comes to a boil, add the rice and mix well.

when it starts to boil, cover cook on medium heat until 1/2 of the moisture evaporates.

Simmer until all the moisture evaporates.
Fluff it with a fork and serve immediately with some raita on the side





Yard Long Beans Dry Curry (Alsande sukke)

Alsande which means yard long/runner beans and sukke, which means dry in konkani is a everyday side dish.Its a typical dish made with coconut at most of the konkani houses. This recipe does not use any garlic or onions. It tastes delicious on the side with some rice and dal for lunch or dinner

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 20 mins

Serves: 4

Ingredients

1 cup Yard long beans

1 med. sized potato

1 cup fresh/frozen coconut

3 tsp. coconut oil

1 tsp. urad dal

6-8 roasted dry red chillies

1/4 tsp. tamarind paste

salt to taste

1/2 tsp. mustard seeds

Directions

Cut runner beans and potatoes into 1" pieces and pressure cook by adding salt till tender.

Fry urad dal in 1tsp oil and fry till light brown and keep it aside.

Grind coconut, chillies and tamarind paste by adding about a cup of warm water to a coarse paste.

Now add the fried urad dal to the ground coconut and grind it to a smooth paste.

Heat remaining oil in a pan and add mustard seeds.

When they splutter add the ground masala to this.

Mix it well and add cooked long beans and potatoes.

Bring it to a boil, cover and simmer till all the water evaporates.





Chana Masala with Coconut

This recipe was given to me by my sister in law. We all simply relish this fragrant curry in our home. A high protein, tangy masala curry for vegans and vegetarians. Goes very well with all indian flatbreads and rice.

Prep time : 15 min.

Cook time : 30 min

Serves : 6

Ingredients:

1 cup chickpeas/chana
Salt to taste
3 tbsp oil
4 black peppercorns
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp coriander seeds
5-6 cloves
1" piece of cinnamon
3 med. onions, chopped
5-6 green chilles (or adjust according to taste)
5-6 byadgi or kashmiri dry red chilles
1/2 cup fresh or frozen grated coconut
1 handful chopped coriander leaves
1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 tbsp chana masala powder
3 medium tomatoes, finely chopped
More chopped coriander leaves for garnish



 Directions:

Soak chickpeas overnight in water and pressure cook by adding 1 tsp salt until soft (for 4 whistles)
Heat 1 tbsp oil and put peppercorns, cumin, coriander, cloves, red chillies and cinnamon. Once they start to sizzle, add 1 chopped onion and chopped green chillies. Fry until the onions turn translucent.
Remove it on to a plate and allow to cool.
In the same pan, put coconut and fry until golden. Allow to cool.
Grind it along with roasted spices and onions by adding chopped coriander leaves and some water.
Heat remaining oil and put 2 chopped onions. Fry until golden brown. Add ginger garlic paste and fry until the raw smell is lost, around 30 seconds.
Add turmeric powder and chana masala powder and mix well.
Add chopped tomatoes and cook till they turn mushy and oil starts  to ooze out.
Now add cooked chickpeas, ground masala and some water and mix well.
Bring it to a boil, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Taste and adjust salt.
Serve hot garnished with some chopped coriander leaves.

Note:
You can substitute the chana masala powder with 1/2 tsp red chilli powder, 1 tsp coriander powder, 1/2 tsp garam masala powder, 1/2 tsp amchur and 1/4 tsp cumin powder.