Snake Gourd Upkari (Poddaley Upkari)

We all have pet peeves in terms of vegetables, drinks, food types et al. Ever since I was able to recognize flavors and tastes I could never muster enough courage to like this vegetable – Snake Gourd. However, as I grew up and sometimes had to cook health and nutrition food I realized the flavor if cooked wisely wasn’t all that bad. Snake Gourd can be used for various curries and side dish. It also goes as side dish and is mostly prepared in the prescribed manner by GSB Konkanis. The nutrition value of Snake Gourd is extremely high and is specially good for women's health. We call this dish Poddaley Upkari. Poddaley or Padwaley in Konkanis stands for Snake Gourd.

Cooking time: 30 minutes
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Serves: 2-3 individuals

Ingredients:
Snake Gourd – chopped - 4 cups
Grated Coconut – 2-4 tablespoon

For Seasoning:
Mustard seeds – ½ t easpoon
Curry Leaves – 5-6 leaves
Green Chillies – 2 (sliced vertically)
Salt – As per taste
Ghee/Oil

Method:
Keep a cooking pot on medium flame, add the ingredients for tempering and stir gently. Be cautious as the oil droplets might spurt on your face. Turn the flame to low, and add the chopped gourd pieces. Keep stirring in between to ensure the vegetable gets evenly cooked. Add salt. Stir well. Keep on flame till vegetable pieces are well cooked. Remove the pot from flame and garnish with grated coconut while serving and cover the lid immediately.

Special Tip: To retain the color of this green vegetable, one needs to cook it on steam with little milk (2-3 tablespoons), which implies that there is no additional water which requires to be added. Once covered the vegetable cooks with the power of steam. However its advisable to stir the dish once in a while while on flame. Thereby we end up using less resources as opposed to more which is water, etc otherwise required for boiling the vegetables.

Potato Gojju (Bataatey Gojju)

Of late its been p0uring cats and dogs in Bangalore. Sometimes I wonder if Mother Earth is heading to dooms day. The weather cycle is getting displaced at an erratic pace. Today when I woke up it was bright Saturday noon and suddenly it was followed by a heavy deluge. Potato Gojju and Paej seemed to be the perfect combination for this day. Paej is a Brown Rice Soup, this rice is available in abundance at Mangalore stores in and around Bangalore. I always like combining Gojju’s with Paej. The combination is yummy and simply delicious.

Preparation time: 20 minutes
Processing time: 10 minutes
Serves: 2-3 Individuals

Ingredients:
Potatoes – boiled and mashed - 3 cups
Green Chillies – 2
Grated Coconut – 1/2 cup
Asafoetida – Just a pinch or two
Room temperature water – 2-3 cups
Salt – As per taste

Tempering:
Coconut oil – 2 teaspoon
Curry leaves – 10-15 leaves
Mustard seeds – ½ teaspoon

Method:
In a mixing bowl, crush the chillies alongwith grated coconut, chillies and salt. Crush vigorously till an even paste is formed and the ingredients blend well with each other. Now add the mashed potatoes to this mixture. In a pot, heat coconut oil on medium flame. Add curry leaves and mustard seeds and allow the seeds to pop. Temper the ingredients with the curry leaves, coconut oil and mustard seeds. Add Asafoetida powder and mix with water to form a good consistency which is not too brothy. Serve with hot Paej.Enjoy your meal.

Mom’s Special Tip – The consistency and taste of Gojju depends on the taste and flavour of coconut used. Suggested usage of Jeevo Narlu(Raw Coconut) brings about a good flavour. This should not be mistaken for Tender coconut. Jeevo Narlu in Konkanis is the one which has plenty of water in it and has ample of fresh kernel which is super white.