Potato Saung (Batate Saung/ Batate Song)

Potato Saung is a popular Konkani dish and has a great spicy kick to it. Yes, that's the actual name of a dish. But certainly a song of a different kind. The nomenclature of the dish never fails to amuse me.

Growing up, we had 5-6 Konkani families as friends and all of us loved to head out on Sundays for family picnics. Together, we explored all the lakes, beaches, temples, creeks, mountains, hills and brooks you could think of. That also explains my love for nature clad, scenic places especially the silent, calming solitude found on a seashore. The best part is since the decision of Picnic was always last minute, the food was prepared either the previous day or early morning on Sunday. Ma was responsible for one dish - Potato Saung which was typically paired with Shevai - Konkani Rice Noodles, served with a splash of coconut oil. Soon, she became an expert and I've never tasted a better one. The plain taste of Shevai goes well with the spicy fiery hot flavor of Potato Saung. The secret of a great tasting Potato Saung is in the usage of Coconut oil.

I like to pair Potato Song with Chapati/ Roti/ Paratha. The base of the Song Masala can be used to make other varieties like Chinese Potato Saung (Kooka Song), Mushroom Saung, etc. Beware, this dish has a fiery edge to it and is certainly not meant for the faint hearted. A day old Saung tastes even better.

~ Potato Saung ~

Preparation time: 30 minutes (includes pressure cooking for Potatoes)

Cooking time: 20-30 minutes

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:

Potatoes (peeled, boiled and cubed) - 4 cups

Onions (peeled and quartered) - 2 cups
Coconut oil
Salt

For Saung/ Song Masala -

Red Chillies (Byadgi variety [6] + Harekala [2] variety) - 8

Coriander seeds -  1 tbsp.

Chana Dal (optional) - 1 tsp.

Grated Coconut - 2 tbsp.

Tamarind - 1 tsp.

Method:

Boil Potatoes in the pressure cooker and peel, cube them and set aside. In a frying pan, heat a teaspoon of coconut oil and roast Red chillies along with Coriander seeds and Chana Dal. Dry roast for couple of minutes and allow to cool. Grind to a paste with little water, tamarind and coconut. 

In a deep bottomed dish, heat coconut oil and fry onions till they are translucent and lightly brown. Once the onions are cooked and browned, add the boiled potatoes and the ground masala, adjust salt as per taste, add water for more gravy and cook on medium flame for few minutes. Let it simmer for 5-8 minutes till the raw aroma goes off. Once cooked completely, turn off the flame and serve hot. This dish goes well with Roti or Rice-Dalithoi. 

Note - Coconut is added for consistency alone. Do not add a lot of it. Brown the onions lightly, this is a crucial step to get the right taste for the dish.

Seasoned Patrode (with Urad Dal and Methi) | Phanna Patrode

Seasoned Patrode with Urad Dal and Methi

Sometimes I get bored of my own cooking. Hence, I like to try different variations of the same base recipe. Recently, I got lucky at Patel's with the fresh stock arrival of Taro leaves, a rare feat indeed! I made Phanna Patrode and the flavor was awesome. The other version of Patrode is Patrode Upkari seasoned with Garlic and Red Chillies, a favorite of the husband.

Patrode Lollo - Patrode Log ready to be steamed

My Ma pairs this seasoned cakes with Paej. The seasoning sticks to the cakes almost creating a crunchy texture. She does it in a cast iron deep dish pan so you get the crust well formed and the seasoning offers yummy surprise of flavors. I cooked them in my iron kadhai and the roll steamed beautifully.

~ Phanna Patrode ~
Preparation time: 30 minutes + 4 hours (soaking time)
Cooking time: 30 minutes (maximum)

Patrode Recipe

For Seasoning -
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Methi (Fenugreek) seeds - 1 tsp
Split Urad Dal - 1 tsp

For Garnish -
Coconut oil

Method:
Prepare Patrode as described in the recipe. In a wide mouthed iron pan, heat few spoons of oil and while its hot, season with mustard seeds, methi seeds and split urad dal. Place each sliced cake of Patrode side by side and add a cup of hot water. Cover with a lid and leave undisturbed for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, flip the cakes over and add 1 or 1/2 cup of hot water and cook with lid on. Once done, scoop each slice and serve hot with Paej. Drizzle coconut oil on each cake before serving.

Note - Add hot water to aid the cooking process.

Harekala Chillies (Dabbi Mirchi/ Dabbi Mirsaang/ Guddi Mirsang)

Harekala Chillies/ Guddi Mirsaang/ Dabbi Mirchi are a popular variety of Chillies available in Southern region of India. It gets its name from the popular village Harekala located in Dakshin Kannada, Karnataka. These chillies are very seeded, non-crinkly, also have a smooth texture and are very spicy as compared to the other popular variety of Chilli, also known as Byadgi Chillies. This variety of Chilli finds lot of importance and use in GSB Konkani cuisine.

Typically, once the harvest season is complete, sacks of these chillies are out for sale and available in local groceries and market places. In Konkani cuisine, they are specially used for getting the most sought after red colour and also to take the heat levels a few notches up. In many households, for any curry and masala, a 1:1 ratio of these chillies and Byadgi chillies are added to balance the flavour, heat and the rich red colour. Apart from regular green chillies, these two varieties of red chillies are always found in any GSB Konkani household.