Bharille Bangde (Stuffed Mackerel)

I will be without net connection for a few weeks now. I apologize for being lazy in posting on this blog! I am shifting out of bangalore hence the gap. Will be back after a while.. till then enjoy my fav dish

My Fav fav fav dish. Yummy and very filling. Generally it’s one whole mackerel per person

when I made it, my hands were full with fish and other pastes used. hence i could not take snaps. After i finished, all were so hungry that the mackerels were finished. Well after all it was served with steaming rice and prawn curry :p

Ingredients:
1/2 to 3/4th vaati freshly grated coconut
1 medium onion chopped/sliced
1 and 1/2 tbl spn coriander seeds
1 tea spn cumin seeds
2 green chillies
small piece of ginger
3-4 flakes garlic
a small round of tamarind
1/2 vaati rava
4 mackerels (cleaned)
salt to taste

For frying:
1/2 tea spn turmeric powder
1 tea spn chilli powder
piece of thread (sutt)
oil for shallow frying

Method:

Clean the mackerels, keeping the tail. (Remove the head and fins. )

Slit the mackerels in the middle keeping one side closed, the bone (skeleton) should be visible.
apply salt and keep aside.

Grind together - coconut, onion, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, little turmeric powder, tamarind, green chilies, ginger, garlic and salt to a coarse paste with little water. The paste should remain thick hence don’t add too much water. keep the paste aside. (Adjust spices to taste)

Divide the thread into 4 parts - each part should be long enough to be tied around the stuffed mackerel.
Mix rava, turmeric and chilli powder together.

Heat oil on a tava.

Divide the stuffing paste into 4 parts/rounds. Take a mackerel and stuff it with the paste.
It will look something like this.

Tie the thread around the mackerel to avoid the paste from coming out during frying. Roll this stuffed mackerel in the rava.

Serve along with fish curry - rice and lemon wedges.

Instructions: You can remove the thread just before serving or instruct to be careful about the thread when eating.

* All photos and links are from Google Search. Please let me know in case of any issues with the same.

 

Tikhte

This is a chutney type dish. It’s basically a replacement for dals/veg curries served with rice.
Easy to make and yummy to taste

This is a spicy dish hence the word ‘tikh‘ in the name. ‘tikh‘ means spicy in konkani. You can easily guess that based on the chillies added.

It’s the tephal that gives this dish a real nice aroma and of course a different taste!

Ingredients:
1 vaati freshly grated coconut
1/2-3/4 tea spn chilli powder or around 2-3 red chillies
pinch of turmeric powder
small round of tamarind
4-5 fresh tephal (Sichuan pepper)
salt to taste

Method:
Grind coconut, chillies, turmeric and tamarind to a thick fine paste. Adjust chillies as per taste.

Remove in a vessel. Add little water and cook for 2-3 mins.
Add salt to taste and tephal. Cook for 3-4 mins.

Serve with hot steamed rice and vegetable dish.

Tastes yummy especially if you like chutney’s like I do!

 

Solkadi ( Coconut Milk - Kokum Curry)

Finally, my fav post is here Sadly, I dont’ have a picture of the dish! But ‘googling’ for solkadi will get you the pic

Kokum forms the main part of this kadhi. You can find it in any konkani store.

Here is how I make Solkadi:
Ingredients:
2 cups (vaati) freshly grated coconut
2-3 green chillies
around 2 cups drinking water
4-5 pieces of kokum
salt to taste

Method:
In a bowl, add little water, kokum and some salt.

In a mixie jar, add freshly grated coconut and green chillies. Add 1/2 vaati water and grind for around 30 secs. Take a rounds of the ground mix and using a stainer, stain the juice into the bowl.
Repeat till the juice is extracted, and the mix is dried out. Grind again with another 3/4 - 1 vaati of water for around 30-45 secs. The ground mix will become thin. Strain using the procedure described above.

Solkadi is ready
Add salt to taste to the kadi - taste and then add, as adding more salt will spoil the dish!

Garnish with finely chopped coriander.
Optionally add 2-3 flakes of garlic, finely chopped or pounded - this tastes real yum!

Adjust green chillies as per taste.

Shorcut Solkadi : Use 1 vaati ready made coconut diluted with little water. Add in slitted green chillies, kokum and salt to taste

Here’s a post on Solkadi on Nupur’s One Hot Stove.

 

Shevyancho Saano (Shevai sheera)

Ending this month on a sweet note with my fav breakfast dish. Yes I have a sweet tooth.
I will be on a blogging hiatus for a few months. Till then enjoy the recipes here…

Ingredients:
1 cup Sevai/Shevai/Shevyo
3-4 tbl spn freshly grated coconut
3-4 elaichi
1/3 cup sugar ( as per taste)
1 cup water (approx)
1 tea spn ghee
salt to taste

Method:
Crush elaichi pods to powder. Keep the water for boiling.

Heat ghee in a non-stick pan. Fry the Shevai till it’s light brown.
Add hot water to it. Keep on medium heat.

Add the sugar and salt to taste, stir well.
When the shevai is cooked and the water has reduced, add the coconut and elaichi powder. Mix well. Remove from heat.
Cover and keep for 5 mins before serving.

Serve as snack in the evening or for breakfast

 

Sungta Dangar

This is one of my fav foods. I know I say this about every post here! But can’t help it guys! All foods are so yummy that they become fav

Sungta is Prawns and Dangar means Cutlet. Result ? Prawn Cutlets.

You can imagine the next… delicious prawn cutlets served with humman and hot rice! A truly complete meal for me

Here’s how the dangars are prepared…
Ingredients:
1/2 cup prawns (shelled and cleaned)
1/2 cup freshly grated coconut
1 small onion
3-4 tbl spn of rava
1/2 lemon or 1 tbl spn tamarind juice
1/4 tea spn turmeric powder
1/2 tea spn chilli powder
1/2 tea spn samaar masalo (Recipe given below. I used Chandelkar’s Vegetable Masala)
salt to taste
oil for shallow frying

About the masala:
You can use any Vegetable masala you may have. I have made cutlets without using the samaar masala - only adjust chilli powder to taste.

Method:

Chop the onions finely.

If the grated coconut is thick, grind the coconut with samaar masalo and keep aside. Else directly mix the samaar masalo and coconut (i did it this way).

If the prawns are big, cut into small parts.

Add chilli powder and turmeric to the coconut masala. Add the lemon/tamarind juice and mix well.
Add in 2 tbl spns of rava, onions, prawns and salt and mix well. If the dough remains thin, then add in more rava and mix.
You should be able to roll the dough into a ball without it breaking at the sides.

Keep aside for 10 mins, so that the prawns are marinated.

Take a small portion of the masala and flatten it using your palms. Make them slightly thin so that the prawns are cooked properly.Repeat till the rest of the masala is used.

Heat oil on a tava. Keep the cutlets and fry till they turn dark brownish. Won’t be all sides but you can see marks on the cutlets. (See the pic). The prawns will also turn whitish, implies that they are cooked.

Serve hot with fish curry-rice

For Samaar Masalo: (Adapted from the book ‘Ishtaan’ with ingredient quantity reduced)
Ingredients
1 cup Coriander seeds
2 cups Dry Red Chillies (twice the volume of coriander seeds)
1 tea spn pepper corns
1 tea spn turmeric powder
a little oil

Method: Heat the oil on the tava and roast the red chillies on it. Keep aside. Roast separately - coriander seeds and pepper corns. Dry grind all the spices in a mixer to a fine powder.

 

Vaalichi Bhaji

I had Vaal in my fridge and made this Goan veggie dish for dinner today. Here’s an authentic Goan dish prepared in the microwave for

Srivalli’s Microwave Easy Cooking Event - Side Dish

Ingredients:

1 bunch of vaal/long beans (approx 12-15 )
2 green chillies
1 medium onion (optional)
1 tbl spn freshly grated coconut
1/2 tea spn mustard
1 tea spn oil
a pinch of hing
salt to taste

Method:

Use a microwave safe glass bowl for this recipe as we will use oil. I made this sabji on 100% power. (default mode in my LG microwave)

Chop the vaal and onions. Slit the chillies.

Looks like Goa doesn’t it ?

Dry the bowl ( heat in microwave for 1-2 mins on high) and add the oil in it. Heat at 100% power for 1-2 mins. Now add the mustard and hing. Cover half with a lid, heat for 3 mins or till the mustard splutters.

Now add the onions and microwave for 2 mins. Stir in between.
Now add the green chillies, vaal and salt to taste. Add around 3/4-1 cup water, stir well and microwave for 5 mins. Stir once or twice in-between.

Mix the grated coconut, cover and cook for another 5 mins. Add more water and cook if required as the beans may require more cooking.

Serve as a side dish with rice-dal or with chapati/roti/bread.

Experimenting with the centered layout for this post

 

Tikhat Nevryo (Spicy Karanji)

I forgot to mention the interesting things which happened on my recent trip to Goa.
First, during the security check of my flight to Goa, I saw Rahul Dravid!!!!! Only that it was during the security check and I could not meet him But I saw him
My journey from Goa Airport to home was in our new Silver Swift ( a real devil!). And on my return flight, I saw Roshni Chopra ( Pia from Kasam Se!).
Well my trip was star filled

Now to my favorite nevri! A spicy twist to the common sweet nevri
This was prepared by mom with me just helping in between. The hands in action are of my mom

Adapted from Ishtann
(Makes around 30-40 nevryos! hence vary as per requirement!)

Ingredients:
6 cups grated coconut (dried)/ 1 Packet of dessicated coconut (approx 400gm)
2 cups fine rava
2 cups groundnut powder
6 cups sugar
3 cups wheat flour
2 tbl spn chilli powder
1 tea spn turmeric powder
1/2 cup sesame seeds (til)
a pich of hing (powder)
2 cups maida
1-2 tea spn ghee
oil for deep frying
salt to taste

Method:
Dry the grated coconut in the sun. It will get cripsy. Crush with you hand till fine. Clean using a seive (if it doesn’t appear clean!)
For groundnuts, take approximately 2-2 1/2 cups of groundnut and dry roast on a tava. Remove the skin and grind to a coarse powder in a mixer.
Roast the sesame seeds till they crackle.

Roast the rava using a little ghee till it turns reddish and keep aside.
Roast the dried coconut in ghee till it turns reddish and keep aside.

Add the groundnuts to the rava. Now add the roasted coconut and sugar. Mix well.
Add the roasted sesame seeds. Add chilli powder, turmeric powder and hing. Add salt and mix well.
Adjust the salt and chilli powder to taste.

To 2 cups of maida, add 3 cups of wheat flour and mix with a laddle full of oil/ghee.
Add salt to taste and knead with little water to form a chapati like dough. Set aside for 1/2 hour and knead once again.

Form into small balls. Roll using the poll-paat like a thin puri.

Place a little filling of the coconut on one side of the circle or in the center. Using a little water dampen the circumference of the puri. Fold into a semicircle.

Press the edges to seal and cut semi-circle using a chinnkatne.

Repeat till you have 8-10 nevryos.

Heat oil in a kadai and deep fry the nevryos till golden brown.
Remove on tissue paper.

Cool the nevryo and preserve in a airtight container.

Serves as a anytime spicy snack

 

Amadyachi Karam

Amade is a sweet-sour fruit available in Goa. It’s used for dishes like sweet-sour pickle, udid methi …and last but not the least Karam

I suppose it’s called amado, coz it’s ambat(sour). Based on this fruit, fried round snacks are also called amade like biscuit amade.

Close up of a amado

On my recent trip to Goa, I got the book ‘Ishtann‘ by Padma Mahale. It has got a good collection of all Goan Saraswat Recipes, but didn’t have the recipe for the Karam!

Here it is

Ingredients:
8-10 Amade
1 and 1/2 cup freshly grated coconut
3/4 tea spn mustard seeds
1/2 cup jaggery or sugar
1 tea spn chilli powder
salt to taste

Method:
Skin the amade on the sharp edge of a aadoli or using a knife. Remove few pieces of the amado’s outer cover to expose the fibrous inside. Repeat for other amade.

Take a plastic cover, keep a amado on it and using a pestle, crush the amado so that the juice comes out. Dont’ crush very much. Just flatten it slightly. This will bring in the gravy’s taste to the amado.

Roast the mustard seeds on a tava for a few mins. Do not add oil.
Cut the jaggery into small ribbon like pieces, if hard just use a mortar-pestle and make small pieces.

In a mixie jar put the coconut, mustard seeds, chilli powder and the outer pieces of the amado. Grind to a coarse paste with little water. Adding the amade outer pieces adds taste to the gravy

Heat little water in a pan and add the amade. After the amade turn yellowish ( they are initially green in color), add the ground paste to it. Add very less water.
Mix well. Now add the jaggery and salt. Cook for a 10-15 mins on a low heat.

Karam is ready!

Enjoy the Sweet-sour dish Serve with hot rice and daal or as is!

Tip: If the amade are very sour, the dish can turn very sour. Add more jaggery if required.

Note: You can use pineapple or Torr (Raw Mango, called as Kairi in Marathi) to prepare this dish. I had once prepared this with a pineapple which lacked taste and the ingredients made it wonderful.

 

Chidki-Midki chi Bhaji

Interesting name aint’ it As a kid, i’d eat the sabji just coz the name was cute! Chidki-Midki! (pronounced as : chee-d-ki mee-d-ki)
Cluster Beans are called as Chidki-Midki in Goa.

Since the beans are slightly bitter (as per me!), jaggery is added to this dish.
Was remembering home and this was the sabji in my fridge! Also, the name was interesting… (my motivation!)

Ingredients:
250 gms Chidki Midki Bhaji/Cluster beans
2 tbl spn freshly grated coconut
1 tbl spn jaggery
1/2 tea spn chilli powder/ green chillies
1/2 tea spn mustard seeds
a pinch of hing
a pinch of turmeric powder
1 tea spn oil
salt to taste

Method:
Wash and clean the Cluster beans properly. Remove the edges and divide into small parts. For instructions on cleaning refer to how Madhuli does it!( Could not describe it better myself!)

Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds and hing. After the seeds splutter, add the cleaned beans. Fry for some time. Add coconut, chilli powder, turmeric and salt. Mix well.
Saute for a few mins. Add 1/2 cup water and let the beans cook. (Optional way is to cook the beans in a microwave and then add to this preparation).
Add more water if required and cook the beans.

After the beans are cooked, add the jaggery. Mix well and simmer for 2 mins.

Enjoy Chidki-Midki chi Bhaji with Chapati/roti or dal-rice

 

Paavacho Saano (Goan Bread upma)

Paavacho saano is a preparation similar to the bread upma you may have made. Paav is bread in konkani. Saano is a spicy version of sheera (upma) as I call it, generally prepared in Goa. I dont’ have any idea why it’s called Saano! ( I’ll try to find out soon!)

I had this dish for lunch on sunday! Yeah, I know! it’s a breakfast dish, but had got some stale bread left over so used it up

Here’s how my mom prepares it:

Ingredients:
10-12 bread slices
1 large or 2 small onions
3 green chillies
1 tbl spn freshly grated coconut
1 tea spn of sugar
7-8 curry leaves
1/2 tea spn mustard
1/2 tea spn jeera (optional)
a pinch of hing
1/4 tea spn turmeric powder
a little garam masala (optional)
2 tea spn oil
few strands of fresh coriander
salt to taste

Method:
Make small pieces of the bread slices with hand or cut into cubes with a knife.
Chop the onions, green chillies and coriander.

Take 1/2 cup water. Add a little turmeric powder, sugar and little salt. Mix well. Using a tea spoon, spread this mixture on the bread cubes. Make sure it doesnt’ become soggy. It should remain moist.

Heat oil in a pan. Once the oil heats, add mustard, jeera and hing. Let the seeds splutter. Now add the curry leaves. Fry for some time. Add the chopped onions. Fry till the onions turn pinkish.
Add the green chillies. Fry for some more time. Add turmeric powder and salt to taste - salt will be there in the soaked bread cubes also, hence be careful with it.

Keep on low heat for a few mins. Now add 1/3 of the bread. Mix well with the onion mixture. Add the remaining bread cubes and mix well. Keep on low heat all through now. Mix well for around 5 mins by constantly using a ladle.

Add the grated coconut and garam masala. Mix well. Cover and keep for 2 mins.

Garnish with coriander and serve hot

Tip: This is a milder version. Increase the chillies for a more pungent dish.