Malabar Spinach Curry / Valli Randayi / Valli Ambat

My husband and I are great fans of Malabar spinach or "Valli" as we call it in Konkani. We find malabar spinach in the chinese markets or at the Indian stores. Sometimes it is also available at the farmers market. I have seen recipes where this vegetable is just chopped and added to sambar or dal. Due to its deep green color it has similar nutritive value as spinach. Both the stems and leaves are added to the curry. When the curry is prepared, the stem absorbs the flavors of the curry. The stem cannot be completely eaten unless it is very tender. So the stem is just chewed and the fibrous part is discarded, similar to eating drumsticks. Read more about malabar spinach here. 

Masolu is a gravy paste made by finely grinding coconuts, tamarind and dried red chili. In South Canara which consists of Mangalore and Udipi region, turmeric is not added while making coconut curries. In North Canara region which consists of Karwar, Murdeshwar, Ankola, Kumta and other towns, using turmeric while making Masolu is very common. Turmeric being a very good antiseptic and anti inflammatory spice, finds a place in lot of curries and subzi's I prepare at home. 

Ingredients
1 bunch malabar spinach or valli (approximately 4-5 cups chopped malabar spinach. The leaves are chopped into 12 inch pieces. The stems are also used in the curry. Chop the stems into one inch pieces.) 
1 cup magge (Konkani cucumber) or raw papaya (optional)
1/2 cup toor dal or pigeon peas
1 cup coconut
3 red byadgi chilies
small piece of tamarind
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 teaspoon oil
salt for taste

for seasoning:
6 garlic pods


or
1 medium onion

or
mustard seeds
asafoetida

Method

Wash the malabar spinach and chop it into 1 inch pieces. Chop both the leaves and stems. Pressure cook the papaya or magge and malabar spinach till soft. Pressure cook the toor dal till soft. Saute the coriander seeds for 3-4 minutes on medium heat. Grind the coconut, coriander seeds, red chilies and tamarind into a fine paste. Mix the toor dal, spinach and coconut masala in a vessel. Get the curry to boil. 


Season the curry with mustard, turmeric and asafoetida. Optionally, crush the garlic pods and fry them till pink. Or a third variety of seasoning, the finely chopped onion can be fried in a tablespoon of coconut oil till crisp. The onion should be fried on medium or low flame for around 10-15 minutes. The onion should not be allowed to burn or the curry may taste bitter. 


Add any one of the above kind of seasoning to the curry and serve hot with rice.

Jackfruit Idli/ Phansa Idli

I always feel that the jackfruit we find in US lacks the flavor of the jackfruit we get in India. My parents visited me last Fall and my mom got me a concentrated paste made from phanas or jackfruit. She pureed the fruits of a whole jackfruit and then heated the paste with jaggery to make concentrate. I made idli's out of this paste and they made me reminisce the memories of yet special dish back home.

Ingredients
1 cup ripe jackfruit puree
1 cup jaggery or as per taste
1/2 cup grated coconut
1 cup sooji or rava

Method

Mix 1/2 cup water with the puree. Grind the puree with the jaggery and coconut. Fry the rava on low flame till you get a good aroma. Cool down and mix 3/4 cup rava with the puree. Leave it aside for 25 minutes. The rava will expand and will absorb the water from the mixture. The idea is to make a batter which is like the consistency of idli batter...it should not be very thick like chappati atta. Add if more rava is needed.
Steam the idli's in the idli stand. I steamed it in a pedavan which is a traditional steamer used in Konkani households. The advantage is that the idli's are of bigger size and it saves steaming time for me...which means I have to make only one batch as opposed to 3 batches on my small idli stand. Serve the idli's hot with butter or honey.

Wasabi Peas

Recently I have been addicted to Wasabi peas. Wasabi peas are green peas coated with wasabi paste. Wasabi has a more pungent flavor than that of radish. When I tried them the first time, I didn't like it as the spicy flavor irritated my nose and throat. The flavor is like that of a pungent radishy flavor which rises into the nose and the throat. But soon I craved for more of the spicy flavor and now I love them now. It makes such a healthy snack combined with the lot of proteins offered by the peas. Trader's Joe's sells wasabi peas without any artificial color or preservatives. Try it out...You will love it.

Nankhatai / Nankatai / Narayankatar

Nankatai or Narayankatar(in Konkani) is another of the recipes passed on by my grandmom. My grandmom did not have a conventional oven. So she would spread sand(collected from beach and washed thoroughly) evenly in a pressure cooker and keep the narayankatar tray on an elevated vessel inside the oven. The narayankatar would be perfect in shape and taste. Here is the recipe.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups flour (makes around 25-30 namkatai)
3/4 cup ghee or clarified butter
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup sugar (1/2 cup if you want it less sweet)
2 teaspoon cardamom powder

Method
Powder the sugar and mix it well with the ghee. Add cardamom powder and baking powder and mix well. Now stir in flour and knead the flour well into the ghee with your fingers. It is not possible to make a stiff dough like chappati atta, but ensure that the ghee is well assimilated into the flour.

Keep aside for 30 minutes. Now make small circles flattening the dough in your palm. Press it well to shape it into a ball and then a disc.
Bake it in oven at 300 degrees for 20-25 minutes. If you want more brown color, bake for 5-10 minutes longer, but keep checking to see that the bottom of the nankatai does not burn. Let it then rest for one hour on the oven rack till it cools down completely, otherwise the nankatai will crumble. Store in air tight container.

How to make ghee

Ingredients
1 kg unsalted butter

Method
Put the unsalted butter in a heavy bottomed pan. Kepp on medium or low flame. Stir occasionally while heating. Heat till you get the pure smell of ghee and a brownish crust is formed at the bottom.

Remove from heat immediately. Don't allow the brown crust to become black or else it will leave a burnt flavor in the ghee. Let it cool down thoroughly. Store only the yellow liquid which floats (or solidifies if the weather is very cold) on top in a airtight container. According to Ayurveda the ghee contains fat which is hot in nature and when taken in small quantities everyday, helps to nourish all the tissues in body. 1/4 teaspoon of ghee eaten in the morning every day can help in weight loss as it kindles the agni or heat in the digestive system. The brown crust which is formed at bottom when making the ghee contains helps to gain weight and strength. The crust part can be separated from the yellow oily ghee and can be mixed with the dough of roti or chappatis. Or it can be mixed with a little milk, cream and sugar to make halwa. It is excellent food for toddles and young children who are very active. 

 I usually make ghee from 1 kg butter and keep only a small quantity required for a month's use. Storing in the freezer helps keep the ghee to retain its flavor over the course of time. 

Tips & Caution: My mom always advises to be "inside" the kitchen when you are making ghee. There have been cases where people have wandered to complete other chores and the ghee catches fire due to over heating. If the ghee catches fire, just switch off the gas and cover the vessel with a lid to cut off the air supply for the fire. Never make the mistake to pour water over the burning ghee as it will splutter and cause serious burns. Ghee should be removed from heat once it is done; especially if you are heating it on a coil heater like in many homes in US.

Alu Tikki Chole Chaat

Alu tikki chole is a popular street food in Delhi. I remember eating this spicy chat when we last visited in 1991. Samosa chat is another popular dish there. After returning from Tahoe vacation after all the snowboarding and snow shoeing adventures, we were craving for hot spicy chaat. We didn't have much energy to go to Fremont to Dana Bazar..our favorite chat place, so I decided to make this alu tikki chaat.

Ingredients
chole as per recipe here
mint chutney as per recipe here
tamarind date chutney as per recipe here

For garnishing:
1 medium onion finely chopped
5 tablespoon coriander chopped

For tikki:
7 medium sized potatoes
1/2 cup paneer
1 medium onion
2 chopped green chilies
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon chili powder
oil for frying
salt for taste

Method
Chop the onion finely. Mash the paneer. Mix all the tikki ingredients except oil together. Make small cutlets and shallow fry in oil till brown on all sides.

To serve:
Place 3-4 tikkis on a plate. Put desired amount of chole on top of the tikki. Add the tamarind and mint chutney as per taste. Garnish with onion and coriander leaves. Add a teaspoon on curd or yogurt on top. Serve hot. The tikki chole can be garnished with sev or pomegranate seeds.