Drumstick leaves curry

Here is a delicious accompaniment for boiled rice, with the leaves of ‘magical tree’, the drumstick tree with all its goodness.

Ingredients

1 cup separated, washed, and drained drumstick leaves

Salt to taste

2 cups water

To grind:

1 cup grated coconut

3 flakes of garlic

1/3 tsp turmeric powder

1/3 tsp cumin seeds

1/3 tsp coriander powder

¼  tsp red chilli powder

To temper:

1 tbsp oil

½ tsp mustard seeds

2 red chillies broken to two

Instruction:

-          Grind all the ingredients with a little water to a smooth paste

-          Heat oil with mustard seeds. When they splutter, add the broken chilli pieces.

-          Add the drumstick leaves and sauté for two minutes. Now add the water. When it boils, reduce the flame, cover and cook for ten minutes.

-          Add the ground masala and mix well.

-          Simmer for two minutes and remove from fire. 

Kathal(tender jackfruit) sabzi Konkani style

This recipe I got from my neighbour, who was a great cook, in Manipal in the 1980s. I just love this preparation and make it every year during the season of tender jackfruits.

Lemon rice with tender jackfruit sabzi and curd

                        

Ingredients

1 small tender jackfruit skinned and diced, pressure cooked for 4 to 5 minutes with one glass of water. Don’t throw away the water in which it is cooked

Salt to taste

To grind:

½ coconut grated

3 Red chillies lightly fried in a little oil

Again fry 1 teaspoon each of coriander seeds, udad dal, and fenugreek seeds till aroma comes

 A small ball of tamarind

1 ½ tabsps of jaggery

To temper:

 2 tbsps oil

½ tsp mustard seeds

1 bay leaf

Instruction

-          Take out the jackfruit pieces in a big vessel.

Grind all the ingredients using part of the water in which the jackfruit is cooked.

-          Put this into the vessel with jackfruit pieces, add salt and pound them together. The pieces will get sort of mashed.

-          Heat the oil with mustard seeds, when they splutter add the bay leaf, then add the mashed jackfruit and the remaining water in which jackfruit was cooked.

-          Mix well, keep on low fire for about 5 minutes and remove from fire.

-          It is a great accompaniment for boiled rice.

Kathal (tender jackfruit) Do Pyaza

 

This is a delicious preparation that is awesome with chapatti, but is good with boiled rice too.

Ingredients

Cut the tender jackfruit  horizontally into two and vertically into four pieces. You need to smear the knife and your hand with oil to prevent the sap from sticking. Remove the skin and the central hard core and cut into large pieces. Pressure cook these pieces with water, salt and a teaspoon of oil for about 5 minutes. Cool, open, drain the water. These pieces can be stored in the refrigerator for 4, 5 days and used to make different preparations

3 cups of this boiled tender jackfruit cut into smaller pieces.

2 large onions peeled and thinly sliced

2 tbsps mustard oil

½ tsp mustard seeds

1 bay leaf

3 cardamoms

½ tsp pepper corns

3 red chillies, each broken into 2 or 3 pieces

1/3 tsp turmeric powder

1/3 tsp red chilli powder

1 tsp coriander powder

¼ tsp garam masala powder

1 cup water

Instruction

-Heat the oil with mustard seeds. When the seeds splutter, add the chopped onions and reduce the flame. Keep stirring in between.

- When the onion is slightly cooked and transparent, add the bay leaf, cardamoms, pepper corns, broken red chillies, the masala powders and salt. Mix well.

-Add the cooked jackfruit pieces and water. 

Bring to boil and reduce the flame. Simmer for 10 minutes and remove from fire.

Kathal do pyaza served with kerala barotta, gooseberry pickle, peanut dil sabzi, and curd. 

Mango Ginger Chutney (Manga manjal inchi chammanthi)

 

Mango ginger (Curcuma amada) is an effective spice that helps treat many health issues. In Malayalam we call it Manga manjal inchi and I remember the taste of its chutney from childhood. Though it looks like normal ginger, it is not really ginger and has the rich, sweet flavour of raw mango. This spice actually belongs to the same family as turmeric, but unlike turmeric’s rich yellow colour, it has a pale yellow core. Many refer to it as White Turmeric.

Mango ginger is rich in antibacterial, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant properties, and it helps pacify all three doshas in the body, including vata, pitta, and kapha.

You can make dry chutney that is served with rice, or make it more liquid and temper, to serve with dosa/idli.

Ingredients

1 cup coconut grated

1 green chilli

Salt to taste

1 tbsp cut onion

2 tbsps peeled, sliced mango ginger

½ mustard seeds (for thick chutney)

2 tbsps putani (roasted Bengal gram) (for liquid chutney)

Water

Instruction

-          Grind all the ingredients, adding sufficient water according to the type of chutney you want to make- dry or wet.

-          Season the wet chutney with mustard seeds, broken red chillies and curry leaves.