Raw Mango Sabzi

Vegetable Pulao, Masoor Dal and Mango Sabzi

I found great quality raw mangoes at my Indian grocery store this year. The mangoes were very sour like their Indian counterparts, so I made pickles, mango rice and this sabzi many times during this summer season. This khatti chutney or sabzi if you call it makes a great combination with bland dal or varan.

Ingredients  

1 raw mango

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

4-5 methi seeds
1 teaspoon kalonji seeds or onion seeds

1/2 -1 cup cup jaggery or as desired

1 teaspoon red chili powder or as per taste
1/2 teaspoon haldi power

1 teaspoon oil

salt for taste

Method 
Cut the raw mango into 2cm cubes. Remove the mango seed and discard it. Heat oil in a pan and add methi seeds. Fry for a minute and add mustard seeds. When the mustard seeds pop add kalonji seeds, haldi and red chili powder. Stir for a minute and add the cut raw mango. Cover and cook till the raw mango is soft. Add jaggery and salt and cook till the jaggery is mixed well with the mango. Serve hot.

My Mom's Usal

 

We have always had a tradition of having a festive ("gad-da" in Konkani language) breakfast and lunch on Sundays. The breakfast menu would always be idli-sambar-chutney and lunch would start with fish or prawn fry and crab or any seafood curry or chicken biryani or chicken curry with rice. My mom also prepared a curry called "Usal" which goes very well with idlis. I have always preferred this curry to sambar. It is also very healthy as it is made with fresh peas.

But with all the health tips and health articles floating around on the internet advising on eating more of fat free food, we have simplified our food preparation living in US. Also with my hubby being a vegetarian we mostly prepare vegetables freshly bought from our local farmer's market. This weekend I decided to prepare my mom's rich curry which she specially prepares as a side dish to have with idli's. It also goes great with hot rice. This curry is more liquid-ish in nature and has very few vegetables, so it makes a great sauce to dunk hot idlis. It is a great alternative to the humble sambar and its spicy garlic flavor makes a great treat for any Sunday morning. So here is my mom's spicy Usal recipe.

Ingredients
2 cups green peas (frozen or fresh)

2 medium potatoes or 1 large one

2 medium onions

2 1/2 cups grated coconut

10-12 red chilies or as per taste

2 teaspoon coriander seeds

1 teaspoon garam masala

coin sized ball of tamarind

1 whole garlic (10-12 cloves)

salt for taste

2 tablespoon coconut oil or any other oil

Method

Fry the red chilies for 8-10 minutes on low flame till crisp. Then fry the grated coconut for 5-10 minutes till it is slightly roasted and light brown in color. Roast the coriander seeds till light brown. Fry on low flame taking care not to burn the ingredients. Let the ingredients cool down.
Peel the onion and chop it into medium pieces. Peel the potato and chop it into 1 cm cubes. Microwave the peas if they are frozen. Boil the potato, onion and 1 1/4 cup peas in 2 cups of water. Boil till the potato is soft. Keep aside.
Now grind the roasted coconut, coriander, red chilies, tamarind, garam masala and 3/4 cup of peas into a very smooth paste adding 1 cup wate or more if required. Mix this paste with the boiled vegetables. Get the curry to a boil with more water if required. Salt the curry as per taste.

Peel the garlic cloves and crush them very slightly. Heat oil in a pan and fry the garlic on low flame till it is light brown. Add this seasoning to the curry and cover the curry for 10-15 minutes so that the flavor of the seasoning is absorbed by the curry. Serve hot with idlis or with rice.

German Mashed Potato

This post is dedicated to German Bakery in Pune. When I was working in Pune, we would hang out at this Bakery on weekends. One would see people of all origins around here. There were many Osho Ashramites who would visit here for lunch or dinner.The fragrance of their hot garlic bread was just out of the world. They also had an assorted range of pastries and desserts. I particularly loved their dish of mashed potatoes with mushroom. I have tried to make my own version of it. It is a very simple dish to prepare and makes a great brunch on lazy weekends.

 

Ingredients  

2 large potatoes

1 big red onion

10-12 medium sized button mushrooms

2 tablespoon olive oil

3 tablespoon cream 

4 tablespoon milk

salt and pepper for taste

 

Method 

Thinly slice the onion and fry it in olive oil till light brown. Keep aside. Remove the woody stems of the mushrooms and wipe them clean with kitchen paper. Slice them thinly and add them to the same pan in which the onions were sauteed. Saute them for 3-5 minutes and then cover and cook them for 5 more minutes. Add salt and pepper as per taste and remove them from heat and set aside. Boil the potatoes. The potatoes will be done when they fall apart when they are forked. De-skin the potatoes and mash them well adding milk, cream, pepper and salt. 

To serve, make a layer of the mashed potatoes and then add the mushrooms and fried onions on top. Serve hot with garlic bread. I added a sliced apple and "onions in vinegar" on top of the dish.

Sweet Chana Dal Khichdi

Hope everyone had a wonderful Diwali festival week. During the Diwali pooja this year I made chana khichdi as offering for the Gods. Chana khichdi is another sweet dish prepared at Konkani homes. I have heard of broken wheat and dal khichdi, but in my house we make it with rice. Moong or moong dal khichdi is also prepared in a similar manner and is a very healthy dessert. We also add sliced banana slices as topping on this khichidi.


Ingredients 
1 cup chana dal
2 cups basmati rice
2 teaspoon cardamom powder or elaichi powder
2 cups grated coconut
2 cups powdered jaggery (or use 50% jaggery 50% sugar)
cashew nuts and raisins for garnishing
3 tablespoon ghee for garnishing


Method 
Roast the chana dal till light brown and keep aside. Wash the basmati rice well. Cook both the chana dal and basmati rice with 2 1/2 cups water till rice is half done. Keep aside till it cools down completely. Mix jaggery or jaggery+sugar, which ever combination is used, grated coconut in a heavy bottomed pan. Cook it on very low flame till till the jaggery melts and mixes with the coconut. Mix in cardamom powder. Mix the cooked rice and dal into the coconut mixture and heat on low flame for 5-10 minutes till   sweetness of the jaggery is absorbed by the rice. Heat ghee in a pan and fry cashew nuts and raisins. Top the khichdi with the dry fruits. Sliced banana slices can be placed on top as topping. Serve hot. 

Simple Khichidi -2

This is an extremely easy and delicious khichidi recipe I tried recently. Consuming seeds and nuts like til or sesame seeds, flax, peanuts, almonds etc is good during the winter season. This khichidi is extremely light on the tummy and yet good for the cold winters as it uses sesame powder. Vegetables can be optionally used in this khichidi.This is a good upwas recipe as it doesn't use ginger, garlic or onions.

Ingredients  

1 cup basmati rice

1 cup moong dal

1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon grated ginger
1/4 teaspoon cardamom powder

2 tablespoon til or sesame seeds

1/2 cup cut vegetables (choose from potato, carrot,  peas, corn, beans)

1 tablespoon coriander-cumin powder (dhania jeera powder)

1/2 teaspoon garam masala or goda masala powder (omit if you desire less spicier version)

1 teaspoon gur(jaggery or mollases) or sugar
1 tablespoon finely chopped curry leaves

1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder

1/2 teaspoon chili powder or as per taste

pinch of asafoetida

1 tablespoon oil
2 tablespoon grated coconut for garnishing

salt for taste

Method 

Wash the dal and rice and drain the water. Keep aside. Roast the sesame seeds till crisp and grind them into a fine powder. Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. When they start popping add sesame seed powder. Fry for a minute and add dhania-jeera powder, asafoetida, chili powder and turmeric powder. Add curry leaves and ginger. Stir a few times and add the vegetables and cardamom powder. Fry for 3-4 minutes and add the washed rice and moong dal. Saute till the spices blend completely with the rice. Saute on low flame for 5-8 minutes. Add 4 cups of boiling hot water and salt for taste. Cook on low flame till the rice and dal are well cooked. Garnish with ghee, coconut and coriander leaves.

Pathrado / Konkani Patra / Colocasia or Taro Leaf rolls

Patrado is a Konkani delicacy made with Taro leaves or Patharade paan. It is found in abundance during the rainy season and is grown in backyard kitchen gardens in south India. People in Hawaii also consume  lot of taro leaves and the leaves grow there in abundance all year round due to the unique climate.In Bay area you can find taro leaves occasionally at Indian stores. Taro leaves are available year round at the San Francisco farmer's market and at King's Seafood in Sunnyvale. 

There are various different recipes for making pathrado. I use 100% moong dal for the stuffing. Other variations are 1) 100 % whole moong 2) 75% whole moong or moong dal and 25 % rice 3) 50 % toor dal and 50 % rice 4) 50 % chana dal and 50% rice 5) 25 % chana dal 25 % moong dal and 50 % rice. My mom would prepare it with chana dal and rice in the past but of late she prepares it with moong dal and rice as moong is much lighter on the tummy than chana dal. 

Taro leaves can cause itching in the hands while handling them due to the calcium oxalate. This can be avoided by rubbing hands with tamarind juice before handling taro leaves. I didn't get any itching while handling the ones from King's Seafood though I cannot say the same about the ones we get in India. Pathrado is also garnished with coconut oil to prevent itching in the throat. The secret to tasty pathrado also lies in using tender or young taro leaves as opposed to larger taro leaves.

Pathrado makes a great combination with rice and bland dal or dalitoy. When I was a kid I would relish it with "duddh-sheet" (milk mixed with rice in Konkani). These are the photos from when my mom made pathrado during my last India trip. 

 

Ingredients
10-15 patra leaves

2 cups moong dal or use the pulse and rice combination mentioned above

1 teaspoon tamarind concentrate or half lemon sized piece of tamarind

1 tablespoon jaggery or gur

1 cup grated coconut

pinch of asafoetida

10-15 byadgi red chilies or as per taste

salt for taste

coconut oil for garnishing

Method

Wash and soak moong dal or the desired pulse-rice combination for 4-5 hours. Roast the red chilies on slow flame till crisp. Take care not to burn the chilies. Wash and clean the taro leaves. Gently remove the veins found on back of these leaves with a sharp knife. 

Drain the soaked moong dal  or the pulse-rice combination you are using, and grind it into a smooth paste with jaggery, tamarind, coconut, asafoetida and red chilies.  use as little water as possible to make a paste of thicker consistency. Add salt as per taste.

To make the pathrado take the pathrado leaf and keep it back side up on a plate or "taat" in Konkani. Spread the paste on the leaf.



 If the leaf is small you can keep two leaves side by side.




Keep adding leaves and spreading the mixture until you have around 6-8 leaves depending on the size. The idea is to use as many leaves as possible, but also keep room to fold the leaves into a roll.

When the second set of leaves are added on the lower set place them upside down (see the above photo and the one below). It helps to roll the leaves with ease.







 When the mixture has been spread on the leaves it is time to roll the pathrado. First roll the sides towards the center.

 

Then roll it from bottom to top.





 Place the roll in a steamer (Pedavan in Konkani) or the pathrado can be steamed in a pressure cooker without using the weigh.




Steam it for around 25-30 minutes till it is well cooked. Undercooked pathrado can cause itching in the throat. Cut the roll into 1/2 inch slices and garnish well with coconut oil. 




Remaining pathrado can be shallow fried the next day with rice powder mixed with chili powder. This makes great pathrado phodi.