Chana Poha ( sweet n spicy beaten rice with chicpea sauce)

Chana poha is usually served as an evening snack or as main breakfast dish during the fasting days in Konkani Cuisine. Since this dish is filling and healthy it was prepared frequently among the joint families. At my grandma's place this dish was almost a daily affair as an evening snack. My mother made it a weekly affair during her fasting days( be it Monday or Friday). Thankfully we all liked it during our childhood days and even now. My daughter too adores it. I make it on weekends either as an evening snack or on any other lazy day when I have some cooked chickpeas in my fridge.
I learnt this dish from my mom hence Mamama(grandma)'s Chana-poha for Sakshi.
This dish is for the Event "Cooking for Kids with love" hosted by Pritya.

Poha Chutney(Sweet n Spicy Beaten Rice):
Ingredients:
Thin beaten rice - 2 cups
grated coconut - ½ cup
grated jaggery - 2 tbsp
salt to taste
seasoning:
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
dry long red chillies - 2
curry leaves - 1 sprig
coconut oil - 2 tsp

Method:
Heat coconut oil in a small pan. Splutter mustard seeds, add red chillies and curry leaves and rosat on low flame till nice and brown. Let aside to cool.
In a wide bowl, pour this seasoning and crush well. Add beaten rice, grated coconut, grated jaggery, salt and mix well. Sprinkle little water to moisten the poha. Cover and keep for 5 minutes before serving.

Note: In a jiffy, mix sambar powder to the remaining ingredients and season only with mustard and curry leaves.

Chana (Brown Chickpea sauce)
Ingredients:
Brown chickpeas - ½ cup
salt to taste
grated jaggery - 1 tsp
seasoning:
coconut oil - 1 tsp
mustard seeds - 1 tsp
curry leaves - 4 leaves

Method:
Pressure cook chickpeas with 2½ cups water till soft and done.
Add salt and jaggery and get to a boil.

Season with mustard and curry leaves.

Note: Raw banana or potatoes can be added as bharshi( to get along with in konkani) with chickpeas to give a thicker consistency.

Serve the poha and then pour chana over it or serve side by side. The gravy from the chana soaks up the poha and makes it soft and delicious to relish!!!

Kurle Gashi (Crab in coconut gravy)

This is a konkani dish for non veg lovers. Simple yet delicious and lip smacking. My daughter is a great crab fan and me too. My hubby doesn't have the patience to work on the peeling of crab shells and eat it. So we just buy a little just to satisfy our taste buds.

Ingredients:
Crab - 10
grated coconut - 1 cup
dry red chillies - 6
tamarind - lemon size ball
Onions - 1 medium
salt to taste

Clean and wash the crabs. If the crabs are too big cut them into two. Crush the legs lightly(hammer or pestle) to ensure ease while eating.
Blend coconut, red chillies and tamarind to smooth paste.
Take this masala in a pan/kulle(mud pot). Add salt and get to a boil. Now add crab pieces and chopped onions and cook till the crabs are cooked.


Just before putting off the flame add a tsp of coconut oil and cover with the lid. Kurle gashi is ready to be served with boiled rice or white rice.

Chana Sukke (Brown Chickpea masala)

This is a typical Konkani dish usually prepared during festivals and marriages. This humble dish goes well with any kind of saaru/daals. I made this specially for the event CHICKPEAS.

Ingredients:
Dry brown chickpeas - 1 cup
suran/yellow cucumber or magge - a small piece
Frozen/fresh grated coconut - 1 cup
dry red chillies - 8
urad daal - 2 tsps
coriander seeds -3 tsps
tamarind - marble sized
oil - 1 tbsp
mustard seeds - 1 tsp
curry leaves - 1 sprig
salt to taste

Method:
Soak chickpeas overnight. Pressure cook till done and keep aside.
Chop suran or yellow cucumber into cubes and cook separately till done. Mix the chickpeas and suran and keep aside.
Roast dry red chillies till crisp separately. Now roast urad daal and coriander seeds in ½ tsp oil till brown.
Blend dry red chillies, grated coconut and tamarind to a smooth paste. Finally add roasted seeds and blend further for 30 secs.
Add the blended masala, salt to the chickpea-suran mixture and get to a boil. Simmer for 5 minutes. Heat oil in a small pan/panna kayli add mustard and curry leaves. Pour this seasoning over the chana.
Serve hot with rice and daali.

This dish is off to the Event JFI Chickpeas at Sometime foodie

Birinda saaru (Kokum Soup)

This is a dish that always remains close to my heart as it was our favourite back home. Now its only me who loves it the most so I rarely make it. As kids I remember we sisters used to fight for the last sip even though amma used to make it in a large pitcher. Anyways going deep into the childhood memories makes me nostalgic and a lump in a throat and tears in my eyes.. Say !! Whatever ...Childhood memories are to be cherished!!!
Coming back to this dish, it goes very well with rice and a spicy side dish or just sip on it like a drink!!! And yes it stays good for a couple of days well refrigerated. The taste enhances as time passes and reheated!!!

Ingredients:
Dry Kokum/birinda - 5 petals
green chillies - 2
grated jaggery - 1 tsp
salt to taste
ghee/oil - 1 tsp
dry red chilli - 1
garlic - 8 cloves

Method:
Crush garlic along with the skin (Do not peel).
Wash the dried kokum twice and soak in 2 cups of water for about 15 minutes. Add green chillies and salt and get the mixture to a boil. Cook till it is reduced to 1¼ cup. Now add grated jaggery and cook for a minute. Meanwhile heat a small pan (panna kayli) add ghee/oil when hot, add crushed garlic and saute till light brown now break red chillies into the pan and saute for another 5 seconds and pour the seasoning into the birinda mixture cover and get to a boil. Doing this will enable the garlic flavour infuse into the birinda mixture. Leave aside for 10 minutes. Then sip it warm (discard the kokum and chillies) or serve with plain rice and fish tawa fry or upkari. Simple yet healthy!!!! The shots might not be appealing but I bet you will like it once you taste the sweet n sour Kokum Soup.

Batata Vaagu (Potatoes in spicy masala)

This dish falls into the category of Konkani cuisine/Amgele Randapa which is usually prepared and served at "Tera javana/Pejje javana" in temples during Car Festivals for five days. This course of meal is served in the mornings. Paaj is Rice gruel/kanji/ganji served with delicious side dishes. One among them is batata vaagu. Batata is potatoes and vaagu literally means Tiger probably bcoz of the redness and hotness of the dish. This hot dish goes very well with the bland rice gruel or with steamed rice and daalithoy. Batata vaagu is similar to Batata saung in many ways but only that this is a No onion-garlic dish

Ingredients:
Potatoes - 2
Tomatoes - 1
Dry red chillies - 5-7( I used 5)
coriander seeds - 1 tsp
fresh/frozen grated coconut - 1 tsp
mustard seeds - 1 tsp
curry leaves - 1 sprig
salt to taste
coconut oil - 1tsp + ½tsp

Method:
Wash, peel and boil potatoes in a Microwave oven for 8 minutes HIGH. OR
Pressure cook whole potatoes till done and peel them.
Chop the boiled potatoes into small cubes.
Heat ½ a tsp of oil and fry red chillies and coriander seeds till light brown. Take care not to burn the seeds.
Now blend the fried red chillies and coriander seeds along with grated coconut and tomatoes to a smooth paste. Heat another tsp of oil in a pan and add mustard seeds let them splutter. Add curry leaves saute and add the spicy masala. Saute this masala over medium flame till rawness disappears and the gravy is bright red in colour. Now add salt, ½ a cup of water and chopped potatoes. Cover and cook on medium flame for around 8 minutes. The gravy thickens. Cook till the dish is semi-dry.

Serve hot with rice or chapathi.

Note: I have made a slight variation in the making of this dish. Traditional recipe calls for blending only fried ingredients with coconut. Chopped tomatoes are normally added to the pan after seasoning with mustard and curry leaves and cooked along with the ground paste. I wanted it to finish up fast and hence a shortcut. Its tastes all well anyway!!!!

Urad daal and semolina Idli ( Rulavaan Idli)

Idli, famous south Indian breakfast dish as everybody knows is made with urad-rice batter. It is one of the important Breakfast dish among the Amchis too. But on fasting days like Sankashti, Ekadashi or Panchami we konkanis eat only one meal a day that is rice in the noon. So breakfast and dinner has to be wheat and its products. Neither onion nor garlic. Hence on these days semolina is given uttermost importance. Various kinds of dosas are made using semolina which I will be posting in future. But this particular idli comes out really soft and tasty.

Ingredients:
Urad daal - 1 cup
Semolina - 2 cups

salt to taste

Method:
Soak urad daal for minimum 3 hours to maximum overnight. Grind to a smooth paste using a blender or a grinder. (Grinder gives the best results letting the urad daal to really double up in volume).

Meanwhile semolina has to be steamed/roasted and cooled before adding to the ground urad daal. There are 2 ways. Semolina can be simply roasted over a low flame till aromatic OR wrap up the semolina in a clean cloth (tie a knot neatly so that moisture doesn't get into the semolina) or newspaper (take 2 layers of paper and fold it neatly like an envelope). Now place this wrapped semolina in a vessel in an Idli maker and steam for around 15-20 minutes on medium flame (if using a pressure cooker remove the whistle). Allow the semolina to cool. I personally feel steaming semolina gives fluffier idlis. This part of steaming/roasting semolina can be done well in advance.

Once the semolina is cooled add enough water to make a thick paste ( OR the water used to clean up the blender after taking out the ground urad daal ;)) supposedly not to waste the urad daal sticking onto the bottom of the grinder/blender).

Now add the semolina mixture to the ground urad daal and beat well. let it ferment overnite. Next morning make idlis. Serve with sambar and chutney of your choice or its soulmate daali-thoy.

Also check Shilpa's recipe for rulavaan idli here.

Thingalavare kolombo ( bean Sambar)

Thingalavare in english is French bean is what I assumed. But i am not sure!! Anybody there to help me out ??

This bean is widely used to make many dishes in Konkani cuisine. My amma mainly prepares thingalavare gashi, saar upkari, saung and sambar. We as kids used to relish this with rice as well as dosas instead of chutneys. This bean powder is said to have many medicinal properties.

Ingredients:
Thingalavare/french beans - 1/2 cup
potatoes - 1 small
sambar powder - 2 tsp
onion - 1 small
tomatoes - 1 medium
coriander leaves- handfull
salt to taste

Method:

Soak thingalavare in water overnight. Next day morning drain the soaked water and add 3 cups of fresh water.
Wash and peel potatoes into small cubes.
Pressure cook the bean along with potatoes till done
Wash and chop tomatoes. Peel onions and chop them roughly.
Take the cooked beans and potatoes in a vessel and get them to a boil. Add salt, onions and tomatoes and cook further for 5 minutes or till the tomatoes are cooked.
Now add sambar powder and mix well. Add chopped coriander leaves and boil further till consistent gravy is obtained. Bean sambar is ready to be served along with rice and any side dish of your choice.

Rajma Sambar is also made similarly but using kidney beans (Rajma).

This dish is on its way to the event "My Legume Love Affair, Seventh helping" hosted by
Cooking 4 all Seasons and to The well Seasoned Cook by Susan.

Batate saung ( Potatoes in red gravy)

Potato saung and daali thoy is my hubby's all time favourite. RK doesn't mind eating this everyday and hence this is our favourite now though i don't prepare this everyday...i make it a point to make it atleast once in 15 days.

Ingredients:
potatoes - 2 medium sized
Onions - 2 medium
red chilli powder - 1½ tsp
tamarind pulp - 2tsp
salt to taste
coconut oil or any oil of your choice - 1 tbsp

Method:
Pressure cook potatoes, peel the skin and chop into cubes. OR peel and chop potatoes into cubes and place them in a Microwave-safe dish and add just enough water and microwave for 8 minutes more/less depending on the power of your microwave oven.

Peel and chop the onions to square pieces.

Heat oil in a kadai add chopped onions and saute till light brown. Now add red chilli powder fry for a minute. Soak tamarind in warm water for 10 minutes and sqeeze out the juice or use ready-made tamarind pulp.( i used home made tamarind pulp). Add this pulp to the kadai. mix well. Now add cooked potato cubes and saute for a minute. Add salt and 1/4 cup water. Cover and cook for 5-7 minutes on medium flame or till semi dry. Serve hot with rice and daali thoy

Ivy gourd and raw cashew stir fry (tendli bibbe upkari)

This is another traditional side dish which goes very well with daali. tendli is ivy gourd and bibbo is raw cashews. This is no onion, no garlic dish hence highly used during festivals and vraths. In temples during samaradhanes. These cashews hold a special place in konkani cuisine. These fresh cashews are bought during season and used or dried along with the skin for seven days in a muslin cloth and then stored for use in future. I get it from my amma ready to use. I store it in a freezer and remains fresh for more than 6 months. I soak these cashews overnite, peel and use it for my dishes.

Ingredients:
ivy gourd/tendli - 10-15 tendlis
raw cashews/bibbo - 1/2 cup
potato - 1 small piece (optional)
coconut oil - 1 tbsp
mustard seeds - 2 tsp
whole red chillies - 3
asafoetida/hing - 1 pinch
coconut - 2 tbsp grated.

Method:
If using fresh cashews, peel them and place in water till use. If using dried cashews then soak them for an hour and peel them and use.
Cut the tendli vertically into two and then slice them into 2 or 4 pieces according to the size of the tendli. keep aside. Peel and chop the potato into small cubes. Potatoes are optional but it gives a mushy taste to the dish. This dish is best when cashews, tendli and just done not overcooked. So i prefer making this dish in a small pressure cooker (2 or 3 litre) or cooker pan.
Heat the pressure cooker/pan add coconut oil, when hot enough add mustard seeds. When the mustard seeds splutter break red chillies into the pan and saute. Now add the tendli, cashews and potatoes give a quick stir and add hing powder/water, salt and mix well. Add 1/4 cup of water, close the lid of the cooker and cook for just 1 whistle and let cool. Open the lid, add grated coconut and cook on medium flame till all the moisture is absorbed and upkari is dried up. The dish is ready to be served.

Bitter gourd stir fry (karathe talasani)

This humble vegetable has always been disliked by many inspite of its good medicinal properties like stimulating digestion to treating diabetes. But it is our favourite veggie and this particular dish is prepared every fortnight. Try this recipe and change your attitude towards this green veggie.

Ingredients:
bitter gourd - 2 medium sized
onions -2 medium
mustard seeds - 1 tsp
green chillies - 2 slit
jaggery - 1 tbsp, grated
tamarind pulp - 2 tbsp
salt to taste
oil - 2 tsp

Method:
Halve the bitter gourd vertically, remove the seeds. Now slice horizontally into thin slices. Add salt leave aside for 10 minutes.
soak tamarind in warm water for 10 minutes and sqeeze out the juice or use ready-made tamarind pulp.( i used home made tamarind pulp)
Slice the onions, slit green chillies and keep ready.
Heat a non stick pan and add oil, pop up the mustard seeds, then add sliced onions and green chillies, saute for 3 minutes. Add sliced bitter gourd to the pan and stir fry for a minute. ( sqeeze out the bitter gourd while adding to the pan - this does not give a bitter taste to the dish but we like it bitter;))). Add tamarind pulp, cover the pan and cook on low flame till the bitter gourd is fried well and cooked say about 7 minutes. Do not add water at all. Now and jaggery, mix well. and cook further for 5 minutes. Put off the flame and serve hot with rice and daali.

Daal ( Daali thoy)

Now comes the soul of konkani food without which we amchis just don't survive. Diva of all dishes!!!! Thoyi YES .... Daali Thoy...be it marriage, festivals, satsangs or whatever u just need this dish. Its the backbone of konkani cuisine.
Fond memories of the Car festival in Mangalore lays upon me - first comes the side dishes and then the rice and devasthana saaru, i would opt for very little rice and saar, then cames daali with a special note "thoy thoy" i would finish off the rice or else make place for daali by making a round well of rice to hold daali at the centre and relish it, the thick porridge like consistency of daali would make me feel heaven at temple!!!!
Now coming back to reality ..lets start with the recipe to this daali.

Ingredients: serves 4
Tuvar daal - 1 cup
green chillies - 3
salt to taste
Seasoning:
ghee or coconut oil - 2 tsp
mustard seeds - 1 tsp
red chillies - 1
curry leaves - 1 strand
hing(asafoetida) powder - a big pinch

Method:
For starters, let me give the basic details.

Place daali in a vessel that fits into the pressure cooker or cooker itself if cooking directly.
Wash daali once or twice in water and drain. Add 2 cups of water and soak for 20 minutes if time permits, else simply keep in the pressure cooker and
-bring to pressure on medium heat. Reduce heat and cook for 6 minutes - for hawkins - Futura cooker
-bring to pressure for 3 whistles. Reduce heat and cook for 6 minutes - prestige cooker.
I hope this is clear for all the beginners.

you can also cook daali directly but that will need more water and more time to cook.
Once the daali is cooked, mash it with a back of the ladle or masher or egg beater to get a mushy consistency.
Place it over a medium flame add salt and slit green chillies and get to a boil. The daali is ready.
For seasoning:
Heat oil in a small pan (panna kayli) add mustard, once the mustard crackles lower the flame and add whole red chillies and saute add curry leaves and finally the asafoetida powder ( If using gum asafoetida dissolve a big pinch in 1 tbsp water and add it to the daali directly after the seasoning when the daali is still hot). mix well. Pour this seasoning over the daali. Serve hot with rice!!!