Moong and Pumpkin curry - Mooga Ghashi

Contrary to popular belief the konkani cuisine has a wide range of vegetarian dishes. The amazing permutations and combinations they create are delicious and healthy. Using a few basic tempering and ground masala, they create a wonderous feast. Here I have taken the common and delicious Mooga Ghashi ( coconut based sprounted mung beans curry) , chopped up a cute looking Disco pumpkin ( a fist size little pumpkin)  and the result was just yumm.

Ingredients
1 cup medium sized pieces of pumpkin
2 cups washed sprouted moong beans
1/4 cup fresh coconut
4 dry red chillies ( adjust according to taste, for a milder flavour use kashmiri chillies)
1 tsp corriander seeds
4-5 cloves garlic peeled but kept whole
Salt to taste
2 tsp Oil for tempering
4-5 curry leaves
1/4 tsp mustard seeds

In a vessel heat 1 tsp oil. Add mustard seeds and when the splutter, add curry leaves. Add in the pumpkin pieces and moong beans. Add 1 cup water add salt, cover and cook till the pumpkin is just about cooked.vdo not let the pumpkin get mushy. Grind together chillies, corriander, coconut , till its a fine paste. Add to the vegetables and cook over a low flame for 5 mins. Adjust the gravy consistency and salt accordingly.

Heat oil in a heavy bottommed vessel . Fry the garlic and pour over the gravy.

Ambadi Udda methi

1 tsp oil, 1/4 tsp mustard seeds,1 tsp urad ( split and husked horsebean) , 1 and 1/4 tsp methi dana (fenugreek seeds),1/2 cup grated coconut,2 dry red chillies, 1 tsp dhania ( dry corriander ) seeds , a pinch of hing ( asafoetida) , gud ( jaggery ) size of a small lemon ,1/4 tsp turmeric powder, 4-5 Ambade ( hog plums). salt to taste.

Thinly peel the ambade.Heat a little oil in a small pan and when hot add the urad dal and fenugreek, coriander and dry red chillies.Roast it on a slow flame till it gives out a toasty fragrance .Mix with the coconut, add turmeric and grind to a smooth fine paste. Heat a tsp of oil , when hot add mustard seeds . When they splutter, add hing. Next, add a little water and the ambade. Add the jaggery and salt.When the ambade feel soft to the touch, add in the coconut paste and bring to a gentle boil on slow flame. Remove from heat.

This uddamethi can also be made from raw mango ( thinly peeled and cubed), or just using slit fat green chillies which are not very hot.

Serve hot with rotis, dosas or steamed rice.

Three Layer Pasta

Three layer pasta

1 cup fussilini/ macaroni/ cappelini/ farfelle

2 cups mixed vegetables of choice, chopped ( carrots, beans, mushrooms, peppers, broccoli, )

2 cups milk

4 tblsp oilve oil

2 tomatoes , deseeded and finely chopped

1 cup of cottage cheese or mince

1 big onion

a few sprigs of basil

salt , pepper to taste

½ cup Cheese grated.

Boil the pasta in a pot of hot boiling water, with 2 tsp of salt. Cook till al dente. Drain, keep warm. Make a roux with 2 tblsp butter and 1 tblsp flour. cook till the flour turns a little pink. slowly add the milk  so that no lumps are formed. Mix well till the sauce thickens. Add salt n pepper to taste. Add it to the pasta. Steam the chopped vegetables with a little salt. heat olive oil, fry the onions till soft and translucent. Add chopped garlic and tomatoes. add in chopped basil . crumble in the mince or the cottage cheese , season with salt and cook the sauce till the mince is done.o assemble. Place the pasta along with the sauce in the bottom of the casserole. cover with the vegetables. Lastly pour over the mince / cottage cheese sauce and evenly spread it till the pasta and vegetables are completely covered.

Sprinkle the cheese over the sauce and cook in a hot oven for about 10 minutes.

Corn and Vegetable Pasta

This is made from the fancy coloured pasta available in stores today. Here I have used a corn and vegetable pasta, great for people who do not use refined flour or wheat based pasta.

The recipe is generic . The basic white sauce , I have just added a bit of basil for taste.Apart from that this is a vegetarian dish which uses no onions, garlic or root vegetables. Hence can be served in a Jain meal.

1 cup pasta , vegetables of your choice. 2 cups milk, 2 tblsp flour, basil leaves ground to a paste, about 1 tblsp of the paste, salt to taste, 2 tblsp oilve oil.pepper to taste.

Heat oil , quick cook the vegetables till they are still crunchy. take out the vegetables. Mix milk and flour to a smooth paste. Add the basil pesto till oil separates.Add the milk paste, mix well and cook on a slow flame till the sauce thickens. Add in boiled pasta, vegetables. Serve hot.

Tavsali

Saraswats love using fruits like vegetables and vegetables like fruit , hence this traditional dish.Tavsali or Dhondas is basically a steamed cucumber cake. In the west people relish cakes / muffins made with vegetables like carrots and zucchini. Here is our very own traditional counterpart. The cucumbers used are the large variety , the seeds to be carefully avoided.

2 cups grated cucumber/kheera/kakdi,1 and 1/2 cups grated jaggery or sugar,1 and 1/4 cup rava/sooji/semolina,1 cup dessicated or finely  grated coconut,2 green cardamoms ground,2 tbsp chopped cashews,

pinch of salt.

Roast rava (dry or in 1 tsp butter/ghee) and cool.Mix all the rest of the ingredients and beat well , pour the batter in a 8 x 8inch baking pan.Preheat oven to 350 F / and bake the cake in the oven for 30 minutes till cooked .Cool and cut into squares.Can be served hot or at room temperature.

Kelphoolachi Bhaji

This is one vegetable, I could never bear the smell of. It is sickly sweet and all pervading. Yet this preparation is one of my favourite exotic things to eat.My mother turns this ugly looking, smelly flower of the banana trees , into one delectable morsel. Kelphool, or Banana Blossom is actually many bunches of flowering bananas. These bunches, hidden inside layers of thick brown leaves grow to become the bananas we eat. The Banana Flower or blossom is found at the bottom of a clump of several bunches of bananas. It is a special treat in kitchen southwards of  and around Maharashtra. It is cumbersome to clean and prepare this vegetable and a huge looking blossom usually yeilds a small amount of useable vegetable. Yet it is worth the trouble ( In my case ,since someone else takes it :) )
Here is my mothers special recipe.

1 banana flower
1 cup black vatana , soaked over night
3 tblsp oil
1/2 tsp black mustard seeds
a generous pinch of asafoetida
8-10 garlic smashed but not broken
1 large onion chopped fine
1/2 tsp each of turmeric powder, red chilli powder
1 tsp each of coriander powder, cumin powder, garam masala powder
1 small lump of jaggery , size of a large marble
salt to taste
1/4 cup fresh dessicated jaggery


Pull apart the leaves and remove the small thin pods , Remove the  long stem and thin membrane , wash the pods and chop them fine .  Soak it in a mixture of 1 cup water and 1 cup buttermilk, overnight. At the same time soak 1 cup black mattar ( kala vatana). Next morning
Drain the vegetable and cook under pressure for 3 whistles. Cook the black mattar under pressure for 3 whistles.In a pan heat oil, add mustard and asfoetida. take the garlic and fry them till brown. remove, saute  onion till brown, add the cooked black mattar, garlic, turmeric, red chilli powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, and garam masala. cook for 2-3 minutes. Add salt and jaggery, then the cooked vegetable. stir well then cover and cook for 5 mins.Once the vegetable is dry,add dessicated fresh coconut and serve.

Best served with Roti, Phulkas or with Dal Rice.

Kobichi Bhaji - Cabbage Chana Dal vegetable

Cabbage is amongst my favourite vegetables.I love it in salads, snacks, pakodas, parathas, a semi cooked vegetable called sambharo ( gujarati style) and in vegetables like an Upkari ( konkani style: see my earlier post). I like combining it with potatoes, peas, capsicum, channa dal or sometimes as a vegetable kheema. I can eat cabbage anyday.

This one is a simple everyday preparation with least amount of oil or spices.
2 cups shredded cabbage,
2 green chillies- slit,
6 curry leaves,
2 tsp oil, 
1/4 cup channa dal soaked, ( optional)
1/4 tsp mustard seeds,
1/4 tsp turmeric,
1/2 tsp coriander powder,
chopped green coriander to garnish.
Fresh dessicated coconut to garnish

Heat oil , add mustard, chillies, curry leaves.Add dal and roast till pink.add 1/4 cup water , cover and cook till dal is almost cooked.dry out the water is any and add the cabbage. Mix well , add turmeric, coriander powder, and salt. cook for 2 mins . The cabbage should be just done and not too limp. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and fresh coconut and serve with rotis.

Cauliflower Tikka Masala - jain

I married into a Vaishnav household, where onions and garlic were not consumed. As a young bride , not only was I not trained in cooking , but I had not encountered such strict dietary restrictions. My Gujarati Jain lineage not withstanding , we used onions and garlic freely at home. As a matter of fact , my dad was more of a Saraswat than a Gujarati Jain. Though at my mothers home, my Ajji ( grandmother) abstained from using onions and garlic on certain special days. Food thus cooked was called Shivrak.I was too young to have noticed this , hence my total apprehension about vaishnav cooking.
I eventually learnt some and experimented some, with various vegetables and gravies, to create some options apart from paneer.

Cauliflower Tikkas, can be served as appetizers and can be cooked in a rich gravy and served as a main entree.

Grilling the tikkas on a non stick girdle

Staring with the ingredients for the basic Tikkas
500 gms fresh , white cauliflower broken into florets.4 tbsp yoghurt, 1 tbsp grated ginger, 1 tsp red chilli powder, 1 pinch orange food colour, 1 tsp mustard oil, salt to taste. 
Onion slices, chat masala and lemon wedges to garnish
Soak the florets in hot salty water.Drain and let dry.Mix together yoghurt, chilli powder, salt, ginger, oil and food colour. Add in the florets and keep aside for an hour, occasionally turning the florets to ensure even coating.Brush a non stick girdle with oil.arrange the florets , tightly packing them in. Cover n cook for 5 mins on a low flame. Turn over the tikkas and cook for 5 mions on the other side.Just before serving, toss them around ojn high heat and serve garnished with onion rings, lemon wedges and a sprinkling of chat masala.

The Tikkas ready to be served as appetizers. A sprinkle of Chat masala gives it a nice tang.

The Gravy:1 tbsp ghee, 1 tsp cumin ( jeera), 1/4 cups tomato puree, 2 tbsp cashew paste, 4 tbsp yoghurt, 1 tsp red chilli powder, 1 tsp coriander powder, 1 tsp garam masala, 2 tbsp cream/ malai . Chopped coriander leaves to garnish.

Use the tikkas as cooked above, omitting the garnish and the chat masala. Heat the ghee, add cumin seeds. Add in tomato puree, chilli powder and  coriander powder . Beat the yoghurt and add to the mixture. Cover and cook for 5 mins. Add in the cashew paste and salt to taste. Mix well , add in the tikkas and 1/4 cup water.Adjust salt . Add in the cream just before serving. Garnish with coriander leaves.