Mixed Vegetable Pickle (without Oil) - Konkani style

Mixed Vegetable Pickle is a popular Konkani pickle prepared with all winter fresh vegetables you can find. This is the way Ma makes it for us when the fresh bounty of winter vegetables surfaced in the markets. Of late, she has stopped making large batches of pickle because both of them cannot finish the batch and then it just gets wasted. The pickle Ma made was without oil and had lot of pickle liquor (nonche kholu). If there is one item which I refuse to buy from store then its got to be Pickle. I feel the flavor of home made pickle is a sure shot winner and you can also control the amount of sodium and oil content that goes in.

Every time I tell her I making a batch of pickle at home, she reminds me to sun dry the jars or sanitize them crisp and dry in the dishwasher. She even goes the extra mile by storing them in special pickle jars (Bharani) and covers the porcelain jars with tight cheesecloth on top to be used only during the rainy season, next year around. The husband is not a big fan of pickle, so I made a small batch just for me over the weekend. I did not add water so the pickle has a semi-dry consistency. Soon after the jar is ready, I store it in refrigerator after two days. The shelf life of this pickle is 1-2 months and goes well with Dosa, Idli, Paej and Parathas. Check here for elaborate notes on different types of Konkani pickles.

~ Mixed Vegetable Pickle (without Oil) - Konkani style ~

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Processing time: 5 minutes

The measurements are good for 4 cups of vegetables (approx.)

Ingredients:

Cauliflower (chopped into tiny florets) - 2 cups

Ivy Gourd [Tendle] (chopped into thin strips) - 1 cup

Carrot (chopped into thin strips)  - 3/4 cup

Ginger (peeled and chopped into tiny bits) - 1/4 cup

Lime (juiced and chopped into tiny bits) - 1/4 cup

Lime juice - 2 medium Limes

Salt

For Pickle Masala -

Mustard seeds - 1 tbsp

Red Chillies (Byadgi) - 10

Red Chillies (Harekala/ Guddi Mirsang) - 5

Asafoetida - 1/5 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1 tsp

Method:

1. Chop the vegetables and wash them well. Air dry on a cheesecloth or a paper napkin till the water content is gone. Add salt and lime juice, give a good toss and set aside for 2 hours.

2. In a mixer, add the red chillies and grind to a fine powder, add asafoetida now and turmeric powder and blitz for a while to mix it all up. Now, add mustard seeds and run the mixer once to crush it all up to a fine powder. Spread this powder on a plate and allow to cool completely. Once cooled off, mix the powder to the chopped vegetables and adjust salt as per taste (leave for 2 hours undisturbed). 

3. In a dry non-reactive jar, transfer the pickle. After 2 days, refrigerate for further use. Finish within 1-2 months. 

Note: If you live in tropical/ hot terrains, heat 1/3 cup of neutral oil (Vegetable or Canola oil). Allow to cool and pour over the pickle stored to prevent from any bacteria/ fungi attack and store in a cool place. Any kind of moisture ruins the pickle, so store it well.

5 Vegetable Alphabet Soup

5 Vegetable Soup is a soup which Mom frequently made for brunch when we were tiny tots. I simply loved the concept of Soups, so Mom found it easy to trick me into this by adding all vegetables which are finely chopped along with Alphabet pasta which is incidentally also quite popular soup amongst tiny tots in US. She added all colorful vegetables and each spoonful used to be full of proliferated Pasta alphabets. We all had a fun time guessing the letters and of course eating them! Even after growing up, on a rainy day I used to request Mom to make this soup and now after many decades when I am a woman, I insist on her final touch, with some execution from me. This soup is the perfect panacea for missing-mommy syndrome. :)

The Alphabet pasta which are available in US (you can find them at Trader Joe's) are large and little different from the ones you get in India but never mind the flavour compensates for it all the way. Some alphabets are colored, they also add a good texture and flavour to the soup.

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 15-20 minutes
Serves: 4 medium servings

Ingredients:
Vegetables (chopped) - 3 cups
[Onion, Cauliflower, Carrot, Beans, Cabbage]
Alphabet Pasta - 1/2 cup
Ghee/Oil
Maggi Cube (vegetable) - 2 cubes
Salt

Method:
Take a deep bottomed pan; once heated up, add ghee and ensure it coats the bottom of the pan. Saute onions for a while and once they are translucent, add the vegetables one by one. Once all of them are added, add 3 cups of water and bring to a gentle boil. Simmer on low flame, covered, add the Alphabet pasta & Maggi cubes. Check after 5-7 minutes, once completely cooked, turn off flame and serve hot.

Note - Maggi cubes pack in lot of salt, so do not add lot of salt in the soup.

Spicy Gobi Fry

There are days when I want to push the envelope and challenge myself to cook with just couple of teaspoons of fat. This recipe was born out of one such attempt and we both enjoyed it. The taste was amazing with the extra addition of Chaat Masala which gives that zing and tart-tangy flavour. The good thing this recipe serves the purpose of a snack or as a side dish.

The inspiration for this recipe comes from one of my favorite chef - Giada De Laurentiis. While watching one of her cookery shows, I remember the beautiful chef dishing out a simple low calorie entree. She suggests to make the dishes tasty, add one ingredient which provides that zing, you thereby counterbalance the low calorie focus with more flavour and variety of taste.

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

Cauliflower (Gobi)- cut into florets - 4-5 cups

For Seasoning -

Garlic (chopped) - 2-3

Onion (chopped) - 1/2 cup

Cumin seeds - 1/2 teaspoon

Turmeric powder - 1/3 teaspoon

Red Chilli powder - 1/2 teaspoon

Garam Masala powder - 1 teaspoon

Coriander powder - 1/2 teaspoon

Cumin powder - 1/2 teaspoon

Chaat Masala - 1/2 teaspoon

Ghee

Salt

For Garnish -

Coriander leaves (chopped) - 3-4 strands

Method:

Wash and chop the Cauliflower into medium sized florets. Bring hot water to boil and steam cook the florets. Do not completely cook but par boil and run cold water over them. Drain and keep aside.

In a separate pan, heat a spoon of ghee, season with cumin seeds and garlic. Add onions and saute them till they get caramelised. Add the spice powders and saute the entire bit over a low flame else the powders could burn rendering a bitter flavour to the dish. Finally, add the florets and give a gentle stir. Adjust salt and sprinkle little water and cover with a lid and cook for few minutes till the florets are completely cooked. Garnish with chopped Coriander leaves and serve hot.

Plating:

Serve this as a side dish else as a snack. If you prefer chat-pata flavour, then sprinkle some chaat masala and serve.

Cauliflower Semi-Dry Side Dish With Coconut (Cauliflower Bhuthi)

Bhuthi is a konkani style of making vegetable side dish which is semi-dry. This comes very close to Sukke style of cooking vegetables with the infamous Coconut paste. A popular dish for Bhuthi is Mushroom or Alambe Bhuthi. We prefer the Bhuthi masala with Cauliflower as well. The gravy of Bhuthi is very coarse in nature and the sublime flavour of ginger adds the much needed zing. Goes well with Chapathi/Roti or with Rice & Curry as a side dish.

Cooking time: 20 minutes

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:

Cauliflower (florets cut into small sized pieces) - 3 cups

Onion (chopped) - 1/2 cup

Tomatoes (chopped) [optional] - 1/2 cup

Ginger (minced) - 1 tablespoon

Salt

Ghee/Oil

For Bhuthi Masala -

Red Chillies - 5-6

Grated Coconut (fresh or frozen) - 1 cup

Coriander seeds - 1 tablespoon

Tamarind - 1/2 teaspoon pulp

Method:

Wash the Cauliflower and chop them into small sized pieces. Par-boil in water, drain and keep aside. Roast Red Chillies in few spoons of oil, allow to cool. Grind to a coarse paste with Coconut, Tamarind and Ginger. Add salt as desired.

In a deep dish pan, saute onions in few spoons of oil/ghee. Add the ground masala/gravy. Add little or no water depending on the consistency you desire. Add Cauliflower pieces and bring to boil. Simmer on low flame for 10 minutes or till the masala and vegetable is completely cooked. Serve hot as a side dish.