Tomato Saar with Ginger (Alle Tomato Saaru)

In my household, using Ginger/ Alle as an herb for Saaru is unheard of. Saaru is a soupy broth of herbs and condiments, couples well with rice and constitutes as a light and soothing lunch and dinner. Having said that, one cannot undermine the importance of Ginger and its curative properties in Indian food. This recipe is from my Ma's collection, sourced from Kannada magazine - Taranga. Interestingly, this one is a favorite among our household. The flavour of this Saaru has a very soothing effect, hence holds good for kids as well as elderly and senior citizens in the family. I added a stash of red lentils which needed to be used and it added a good texture to the Saaru.

My Ammama - maternal granny, is an octogenarian, a true matriarch of our family, hale-o-hearty woman, however cannot eat boiled or cooked rice and needs a good mash of food before she can eat. She is on dentures, hates to wear them, rebukes them as artificial aid and like a true Konkani, loves her dose of Dalithoi, Upkari and Patrode. Funnily, she enjoys spicy and savoury food and dislikes bland food. If she dislikes what is made for lunch or dinner, she will grab a bite and stop right there. She will pompously declare that the food is no good. She jokes around by saying - Don't give me patient food when I am ok. We all oblige with laughter! Ma makes Alle Tomato Saaru for her on many occasions and she enjoys her lunch with a satiated calmness which only my Ma and Pachi's can read and comprehend. She eats a little bit and then declares with a grin that this food makes her soul happy. I like this recipe for the tenderness and nostalgic memories built around it.

~ Alle Tomato Saaru ~
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 1o-15 minutes
Source: Original recipe from Kannada magazine - Taranga

Ingredients:
Tomato (ripe, chopped and pureed) - 2 cups
Red Lentils (washed and drained) [optional] - 1/2 cup
Ginger (grated) - 1 tbsp
Garlic (grated) - 1 tbsp
Onion (finely chopped) - 3 tbsp
Coriander powder - 1 tbsp
Turmeric powder - 1/3 tsp
Green Chilli (split lengthwise) - 1
Salt

For Seasoning -
Red Chillies (split into two) - 1
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - 3-4
Oil/Ghee

Method:
Rinse the tomatoes and puree them in a blender. Bring this to a boil along with grated ginger and garlic. Adjust salt, add green chilli and chopped onions when semi-cooked. Add 1/2 cup of hot water if desired. Add washed red lentils at this stage. After it comes to a rolling boil, simmer with the lid on for 5-8 minutes. Once done and lentils are cooked, add coriander powder and give a good stir and turn off the flame. In a separate frying pan, heat few spoons of oil/ghee, season with mustard seeds and once they begin to pop add curry leaves and red chillies. Pour this seasoning on the Saaru and cover with a lid. Serve hot with cooked white or parboiled rice.

Snake Gourd Side Dish (Poddaley Upkari/ Padwal chi Bhaaji)

Fall is one of my favorite season primarily because we find the freshest of Gourds in various sizes and shapes, brightest greens and the crisp air makes me reach out to the warm food and slurpy hot soups cooking on the stove. A good bowl of Poddaley Upkari, is comforting and nurturing. As guilty as charged, this was one dish I despised as a kid and today I crave for this super delicious Upkari. The Snake Gourd is known as Poddaley in Konkani, Padwalkaayi in Kannada and Padwal in Marathi/ Kokani.

I know many who still detest this motley vegetable. :) In my home, my Mom had certain rules which we had to obey, one of them being following table manners and guest visit manners. It meant that while we had guests at home and while we visited our friends and family for breakfast/ lunches/ dinners we graciously respect what is served on our plate and never fuss around and most importantly behave in theory and practice. If we disliked something, we were told to take a tiny portion and not offend our guests. If we crossed our boundaries, when we reached home, we got to hear the music for days together!

Since I hated eating this vegetable, she always told me to take one tablespoon of any dish in my plate which I never liked; but I stealthily obeyed and obliged out of love, even if I hated it at that point. Later as I grew up, I began craving for the same vegetable in question. Strange how taste buds evolve and your palate changes over a period of time! Many a times, I used to force Mom to buy the Gourd so that she would use the seeds to make Poddaley Biye Sanna Pole, which taste yummy! The golden rule of one tablespoon lingers in my mind even to this date and I follow it even for the dishes that I dislike.

~ Poddaley Upkari ~
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:
Snake Gourd/ Padwal/ Poddaley (chopped) - 1 and 1/2 cup
Salt
Oil

For Seasoning -
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - 3-5
Green Chillies (slit lengthwise) - 1

For Garnish - grated coconut (fresh or frozen) [optional] - 2 tbsp

Method:
Rinse the Gourd and scrape off the outer dark skin with a knife. Once done, extract the seeds and keep aside. Chop the remaining gourd into tiny pieces and keep aside. Heat a deep dish pan with a few spoons of oil, season with mustard seeds and curry leaves. Add green chillies and give a good stir. Lower the flame and add the chopped vegetables. Add 1/2 cup of hot water, adjust salt as per taste and cover with lid on. Bring to a rolling boil and simmer on low flame for 8-10 minutes. Once water evaporates and the vegetable is completely cooked, turn off the flame and garnish with grated coconut. Serve warm as a side dish.

Cannellini Beans Usal ~ Goan style

Usal and Pao is a staple adored in many homes in Konkan region especially Goa and Mumbai. Pair the fiery rich curry with Roti or the humble Pao sourced from the local Poder, either ways its a match in heaven. I like the buttery texture of Cannellini Beans available in US grocery aisle. The taste of these beans comes pretty close to Tingalore or Northern Beans. The curry flavour comes close to a typical Goan dish made out of beans called as Feijoada, a dish which finds its roots in Portugal and some parts of Brazil. It is a staple and commoner amongst Goan meals. To me, this is a short cut version to eat vegetarian Feijoada version, especially when one does not have the time to grind the masala from scratch. The original dish of Feijoada, is made with Pork and Beans cooked together in a coconut masala gravy. Its relished and paired with Pao and is opined to be the national dish of Brazil.

Cannellini Beans worked well as they do not fall apart easily and hold their shape well when cooked, plus are a rich source of protein. They are very popular part of Tuscany and Italian cuisine and also blend well for stews made with beans and meat.

~ Cannellini Beans Usal ~
Preparation time: 12 hours (soaking time)
Cooking time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:
Cooked Beans (water drained) - 1 and 1/2 cup

Grated Coconut (fresh or frozen) - 1/2 cup
Garlic - 2 pods
Green Chillies - 1
Grind all of this to a smooth paste with little water

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Garam Masala powder - 1 tsp
Jaggery/ Brown Sugar - 1/2 tsp
Oil
Salt

Garnish - Coriander leaves (chopped)

Method:

Soak the beans overnight and pressure cook next day upto 4 whistles and cool. Grind the coconut, garlic, green chillies to a smooth paste. Bring the ground masala to a boil with the cooked beans. Add Jaggery, Turmeric powder and Garam Masala powder. Adjust salt as per taste. You could add 1/2 cup of hot water if gravy is desired or choose to have it semi-dry. Cook with lid on after bringing to a rolling boil, simmer on low flame for 5-8 minutes. Turn off once done and garnish with chopped coriander leaves. Pairs well with Roti/ Phulka/ Pao.

Radish Fritters (Mulya chi Kaap/ Mulyaa Phodi)

A simple fritter made out of Radish/ Mooli which tastes amazing and goes well with cooked white/brown rice. This is very popular in Goa, India and is made during the days when one follows a vegetarian diet i.e Monday and Thursday. I was anti Radish growing up and these tender, succulent fritters converted me to be a Radish lover. Radish is also high in Folic acid, Ascorbic acid and Potassium content. Here in US, they are available as Daikon Radish and are relatively larger, firm and robust in size.

~ Mulya chi Kaap ~
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:
Radish (peeled and cut into 1/4" discs) - 3-8
Red Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Rice Rava - 3 tbsp
Salt
Oil

Method:

Peel the skin off Radish and cut them into 1/4" discs, rinse well in multiple changes of water and pat dry with paper towel. Allow little moisture to be present on the vegetable. Apply salt, red chilli and turmeric powder. Leave aside for 30 minutes. Heat a frying pan and dredge the radish discs one by one in rice rava. Once the pan is hot enough, shallow fry all of them. Drizzle oil on sides of the vegetable; flip them over and fry on both the sides till they get a nice golden brown crust. Alternately, one could sprinkle a handful of water and cook with a lid on and flip them till both sides are done (to avoid oil). Serve hot with cooked white rice and Shengya cho Ros.

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.

Seasoned Patrode (Patrode Upkari/ Alu Vadi Bhaaji)

A quick and easy way to use the crumps left over from Patrode or pretty much use Patrode in a creative way for the next day. This one is very popular in my home, everyone loves the flavour of Patrode crumps seasoned with Garlic and Red Chillies. This dish goes well with Paej.

Patrode tastes better the next day around. In my home, we use them in many ways - plain Patrode pan roasted on frying pan, Patrode dredged in Rava, Patrode steeped and soaked in Ghashi (red chillies and coconut broth with Methi seeds) and finally Patrode seasoned with Garlic and Red Chillies. Many of my cousins who do not have access to perennial Taro leaves, freeze the rolls and use them as per choice to dish out savoury Patrode dishes whenever the heart desires. Since its quick and easy, its siesta time for the cook the next day around after the hard labor. :)

~ Patrode Upkari ~
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes
Yield: 2 servings

Ingredients:
Patrode (steamed and cooked, whole) - 6
Oil

For Seasoning -
Garlic (crushed) - 3 jumbo pods
Red Chillies (Byadgi) - 3

For Garnish -
Grated Coconut (fresh or frozen) - 3 tbsp

Method:

Thaw the Patrode at room temperature for atleast 30 minutes. Crumple them to form pieces. You could use a fork or mash them with hands. Once done, set aside. In a cast iron pan, heat few spoons of oil and once the pan is hot enough, roast crushed Garlic lightly. Add Red Chillies split into two. Add the Patrode pieces now and turn over the flame to high. Keep stirring constantly for next 2-3 minutes till the pieces get a roasted texture. Reduce the flame to a low-to-medium now. Add oil if the mixture goes dry. Once done, turn off flame. Garnish with Grated Coconut just before serving. Goes well with Paej or as a side dish.

Patrode Rava Fry (Steamed Taro Leaf Dredged in Rava)

Recently, I got a huge bargain loot of Taro Leaves (Patrode Paan) from my local Indian grocery. Its a chance opportunity which I grabbed with open arms and weird enough, they were fresh, not bruised and available in plenty. I rejoice Patrode made at home and so does my husband. The only problem is here in US, we don't get them as often as we do in India and I miss them a lot. :(

In India, my parents get a perennial supply of these leaves from a kind friend, neighbour or a close relative. This is a dish which fills me with nostalgia purely because its labor intensive and reminds me of the hours Mom slogged in the kitchen to make these for us. Any Konkani Foodie, either loves Patrode too much or would blatantly hate it because of the itchy sensation it causes in throat upon consumption.

I always tease Mom that if there is a competition to make these steamy goodies, she will win the first prize. The Patrode made by my Mom are divine and hit the taste buds with precision and accuracy which is hard to express. Everyone loves Patrode made by Mom and waste no opportunity when she invites folks for lunches and dinners. I made the conventional steamed Patrode from one roll and froze the rest in my freezer to make Patrode Rava Fry and Patrode Phanna Upkari. Cover the rest of the rolls with tight cling wraps layer by layer and plonk them in freezer bags and enjoy them at leisure.

~ Patrode Rava Fry ~

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: 45 minutes maximum

Ingredients:

Taro Leaves/ Patrodey Paan/ Tere Paan/ Marvala Paan - 8-15

Red Chillies (Byadgi preferred) - 5-8

Rice (Sona Masoori) - 1/4 cup

Grated Coconut - 1 cup

Asafoetida - 1 tiny ball - use the edible gum and not the powdery one
Tamarind/ Bilimbi (any souring agent) - 1/2 tsp

Salt - As per taste

Water - For batter consistency
Rava/ Sooji (Fine) - 1/2 cup

Oil - For pan frying

Contraptions used ~ Idli Steamer/ Pedaavan or Patrodo/ Sanna Steamer

Method:
Follow the procedure provided in Patrode recipe and once steamed and cooked, allow to cool. This takes around 15-20 minutes. Dredge them in Rava one by one. ensure the top and bottom surface of Patrode are evenly coated with Rava. Pan fry on both sides for 5-8 minutes. Drizzle oil on the sides. Once done, they are crisp and get a beautiful roasted brown color on both the sides. Enjoy hot with Dalitoy and cooked Rice.