Moog Gaathi (Green lentils side-dish)

Finally my most favorite dish during mostly made for any festival or occasion like Ganesh Chaturthi. This is usually served as a side-dish and is pure-veg i.e. without garlic or onion.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup moog/green lentils
1 tea spn jaggery
few pieces of cashew nuts (optional)
salt to taste

For masala:
1/3 cup fresh/frozen grated coconut ( do not use dessicated coconut)
2 red chillies
1/2 tea spn turmeric powder
small piece of tamarind

For Tempering:
1 tea spn of mustard seeds
2 sprigs of curry leaves
pinch of hing
2 tbl spn of oil

Method:
Soak moog for around 4 hours in the evening and keep them covered in a wet cloth for making moog sprouts overnite.

Grind the masala ingredient to a fine paste with water. Be careful with the chillies. Do not make the paste very watery. Keep aside.
Tip: use tepid water for grinding during winter season or when using frozen coconut. Helps grinding the coconut faster.

Wash the sprouts properly removing the green cover as much as possible. Cook the moog sprouts for 1 whistle in a pressure cooker.

Heat oil in a pan on high flame, add the mustard seeds and hing, cover with a lid until the seeds splutter. reduce to low flame and add the curry leaves.
Then add in the masala, heat for a 2 mins and keep stirring. Then add the cooked moog along with water used to cook it. Keep water to 1 cup max. Add in salt to taste and jaggery. Mix well and cook for 8-10 mins on medium heat. Stir in between and add the cashew nuts if using.

Serve with dal-rice, roti or chapati or even goan paav. Optionally garnish with chopped green coriander leaves.

Alami-chane Tonaak (Mushroom-peas Gravy)

During monsoon, Goan markets are flooded with local mushrooms called as ‘Alami‘. This is a seasonal speciality and makes the fav dish of goans The Alamis have a different taste then the generally available button or other mushrooms. The taste is absolutely divine!

Hence, moment this Alamis start appearing, it’s quickly bought ( at a quite high price ofcourse!). The most commonly made as crispy rava fries and the alami tonnak.

This is also my favorite recipe of all !

I prepared this using the normal button mushrooms available here. For a twist I added some green peas as well. And the result ? Finger licking good!

Here’s my recipe:
Ingredients:
10-12 button mushrooms (medium)
3/4 vaati green peas
1 large onion
1 tomato
4 tbl spn grated coconut
2-3 tea spn Oil

For the masala:
3 tbl spn Coriander seeds
2 red chillies
1/2 tea spn turmeric powder
2 cloves
5-6 pepper corns
2 cloves of garlic (small)
1/2 – 1 star anise
1 piece of cinnamon (medium)
1 tea spn of fennel seeds (Badishep)

Method:
Chop onions and tomatoes length wise.
Chop mushrooms into 5-6 pieces each.
Thaw the peas if using frozen ones. I generally get frozen green peas and keep them in hot water to make them thaw fast.

For the ground masala:
Heat a tea spn of oil in a pan and add in the masala ingredients. Fry for 3-4 mins on medium heat. A nice aroma will come. Stir in between. Remove on a plate. I add badishep as my mom adds it whenever onion is added in the masala. Adding star anise gives the dish a nice aroma.

Add little more oil and fry tomato and 1/4th of the onion. Fry till the onion is cooked. Remove on the masala plate.

Now put in the coconut and fry for a minute till it gets a light brown tinge. Frying coconut also gives a nice aroma. Make sure none of the ingredients are burnt.

Put the masala ingredients, onion-tomato and coconut in a blender. Add a little water and grind till a fine consistency is reached.

To make the tonaak:
Heat 2 tea spn oil in the pan, add the remaining onion and fry for a few mins. Now add in the peas and mushroom pieces. Fry for 2-3 mins. Add in the masala paste and 1 vaati water. (Do not add too much water, as it will make the dish watery.) Cover and cookl for 10 mins on medium flame.

Alami Tonaak

Serve with white rice or chapatis or just bread

Generally in Goa, tonaak is eaten with Goan Paav

Alami tonaak with rice and fish fry!

Tip: I added some coriander stems while grinding the masala. Usually these stems are wasted as only the green leaves are used. Reduce the amount of coriander seeds used, if using coriander stems.

Links: Goan Fish Rava Fry

Palak Bhajji ( Crispy Spinach Fries)

There are times when you hate certain vegetables.. and when they lie in the fridge staring back at you.. you just don’t know what to do with them.. ( at that moment you just stare back and close the fridge

Spinach is one such veggie.. I would hate to eat..

But then this version made me love it!!! It’s very simple crispy bhajji which my husband had made few months back.. and I had a pack of spinach leaves lying in my fridge.. so on today’s rainy day in UK I decided to try it out.. motive ? finish the spinach

But I was wrong.. finally i’ve started to like it

Here’s the recipe :
Ingredients:
30 medium spinach leaves
1 cup of Besan ( Gram Flour)
1/2 tea spn turmeric powder
2 tea spn chilli powder
1/2 tea spn coriander powder
Salt to taste
Oil for deep frying

Method:
Wash and clean the palak leaves. Spread on paper for drying.

Take the besan in a bowl, add masala powders and salt. Mix well. Add a little water and mix using spoon. Keep adding little water till the batter becomes a little watery. Don’t add too much water, the batter has to have enough consistency to stick to the leaves. Adjust the spices to taste.

Keep aside for 10 mins so that the lumps can be easily dissolved. Mix well to remove any lumps remaining. For testing the batter, dip a spoon and check the coat on the back of the spoon. The spoon should have a light coat of the batter.

Heat oil in a kadai/pan. Once the oil heats up, dip a single palak leaf in the batter. Coat the leaf lightly on both sides. Lightly put this leaf in the oil. Repeat with 2-3 more leaves. Fry till the bhajjis turn light brown on both sides. The spinach leaves remain greenish. Remove on tissue paper/kitchen roll. Taste this first set and adjust spices in the besan mix as per taste. Now fry the remaining leaves.
Do not fry till dark brown.

Serve with tomato sauce. This is a crispy – crunchy snack and a good tea accompaniment

Enjoy!

No pics as the bhajji’s disappeared as soon as the batches came out! But will post as soon as I make this the next time

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 milk 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.

Kanyachi Bhakri (Onion Bhakri)

Well I am back to blogging, slowly though.

Started my day today with a kanyachi bhakri, which is one of my favorite sunday breakfast/brunch dish.
Kaano means onion in konkani. Bhakri is a kind of roti prepared wholly with hand. It’s not rolled like a chapati, but is placed and layered on the tawa with hand.

Ingredients:
1 medium onion (kaano)
1 vaati besan (indian measurement cup )
1/2 vaati rawa
2 green chillies or 1 tea spn chilli powder
few sprigs of coriander leaves or 1/2 tea spn coriander powder
1/4 tea spn turmeric powder
4 table spn freshly grated coconut (optional)
oil for shallow frying
salt to taste

Method:
Chop onions, coriander and green chillies finely.
Mix together in a bowl. Add the besan, rawa, spice powders and salt to taste. Mix well WITHOUT adding water. Adjust spices to taste.
I didn’t add coconut to this, but my mom does and it taste absolutely awesome

Now add approx 1/2 cup of water to this and form a coarse & sticky batter. Do not make this mixture very watery as we need to place this batter on the tawa by hand.

Take a non-stick tawa and put a tea spoon of oil on it. Keep on low flame. Take a big round of the batter, place it at the center of the tawa.
Dip your fingers in water and lightly pat the batter spreading it on the tawa like a chapati. Keep patting lightly, till the batter spreads on the tawa.

Now place a tawa cover or plate on it, so that the bhakri cooks on the steam for a few mins. Turn around once and cook well till you see brown spots on both side of the bhakri.

Serve with tomato sauce and garam garam chai

Enjoy at breakfast, brunch or evening snack

JFI Entry : Daily Dal

Finally the net connection is up!

Dal is a daily food for us.
First of all it’s Really Easy to make!
Second it’s healthy!!
Third you can eat dal with rice or with chapati and you have a meal ready!!!

This is the dal my hubby prepared for dinner yesterday. So it’s an entry from him to the JFI Toor Dal Event hosted by Linda.

Here it goes…

Ingredients:
1 and 1/2 cup cooked toor dal
1 small onion
2 green chillies
1/2 -1 tea spn ginger-garlic paste (optional)
1/4 tea spn turmeric powder
1/2 tea spn mustard
a pinch of hing
1 spring of curry leaves
1 tea spn oil
salt to taste

Method:
Chop the onions and green chillies.

Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard and hing. Let the seeds splutter. (Hing adds a nice aroma to the tadka!)

Now add in the onions and saute for a few mins. Add ginger-garlic paste, green chillies and curry leaves. Saute till the onions turn pinkish.

Add salt and turmeric powder. Mix well.
Now add in the cooked toor dal.Adjust spices as per taste.
Cover and cook for 5-10 mins till dal is cooked well.

Serve with hot steamed rice and papad! Makes a wonderful meal

Tip:You can use a potato masher to mash the dal.

Some more snaps :

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

Fodni Fov (Kande Pohe)

Fodni Fov is a traditional breakfast dish in Goa. This is also known as Kande Pohe in Maharashtra. Usually made for breakfast or as an accompaniment to tea in the evening.
Fodni means Tadka, hence the name – Fodni (tadka) Fov (Poha).

The important part is cleaning the poha. Use very less water and dont’ soak the poha in it. It will break and turn soggy. The cleaning has to happen in a few seconds. I’ve explained the way we do it below.

We had this for a late breakfast today. I learnt this from my hubby, he makes it amazingly tasty! Here’s his recipe.

Ingredients:
2 or 3 cups of Thick Poha (beaten rice)
2 small onions (optional)
2 green chillies or 1/2-1 tea spn chilli powder
1/2 tea spn mustard
1/4 tea spn garam masala (optional)
1 strand of curry leaves (approx 10)
4 tbl spn freshly grated coconut (optional)
pinch of turmeric powder
pinch of hing
2-3 tbl spn oil
salt to taste

Method:
Add water to the poha till they are completely immersed. With a light hand, clean the poha.
Cover with a lid and drain the water (leave little water in the poha). Leave for 15 mins.

Chop the onions into thin slices or chop them finely. Wash and chop green chillies.

Heat oil in a non-stick pan and add mustard and hing. Wait for the mustard to splutter. (This is the fodni)
Add the curry leaves and fry for some time. Now add the onions. Fry for 2-3 mins. Add the green chillies.
Fry till the onions turn pinkish.

Now add the turmeric, chilli powder (if not using green chillies), and salt. Fry till the onions are cooked.

Keep on low heat and add the poha. Add the grated coconut ( if using). Mix well. Cover and cook for 5-6 mins.

Serve on a plate and garnish with fresh coriander, grated coconut (if not added already) and lemon wedges. You can add sev to give a crispy taste.

I didnt’ add coconut while preparing, hence added it while serving. This is how it’s done in Maharashtra. While in Goa, we add the coconut while preparing the pohe.
Also, Saraswats dont’ add onions and add a little sugar to the preparation.

Enjoy this tasty breakfast

Tip: Add a tomato (chopped), after frying the onions for a different version.

Batatyache Kalvan (Maharashtrian)

First an update. I had promised chicken and some authentic Goan dishes when mom would be here. But my brother had got jaundice, hence we were on a light diet. Will put up the recipes after getting them from mom and trying them out myself.

Now back to the recipe….

I learnt this from my Mom-in-law. This is a tasty gravy dish which goes with rice or roti and is real easy to make.
While the Goan version would generally use coconut as a standard ingredient, this one uses peanuts which is a standard ingredient in rural maharashtrian food.

Here’s her recipe:
Ingredients:
2 medium potatoes
1 medium onion
1/2 cup peanuts
1 tea spn chilli powder
1/4 tea spn turmeric powder
5-6 strands of green coriander
3-4 pods garlic
1 tea spn oil
salt to taste

Method:
Dry roast the peanuts on a tava. When they are roasted they will crackle and turn blackish. Remove from tava and cool. Remove the outer cover and keep aside.

Chop potatoes into small rectangular pieces. (not tiny, just good enough for cooking directly)
Chop the onion finely.

Coarse grind peanuts, coriander and garlic in a dry grinder without using water. (dont’ make this fine)

Heat oil in a pan and add the onions. When the onions turn slight pinkish, add the potatoes and fry for a few mins.
Keep on low heat and add the ground peanut mix and fry for a few seconds.

Add in the chilli powder, turmeric and salt. Mix well. Adjust the spicy taste by using more chilli powder if required.

Now add around 1 & 1/2 cup of water, keep on medium heat, cover and keep for 10 mins. ( I usually adjust the water depending on the potatoes used, hence add more water if required.) Check if the potatoes are cooked, add more water if required.

This is a gravy dish, hence adjust the water to need. Dont’ over cook the potatoes.
The peanut-coriander-garlic gives it a nice taste

Serve hot with Chapati/roti or hot steamed rice!

Enjoy Madi !

This is my entry for “Suganya’s Vegan Ventures“