Konkanirecipes.com

rice noodles

Shevai is a very popular dish among konkanis. It is also made in a lot of other communities. The basic ingredients will be the same, however the proportions vary. Since preparing this shevai is a time-consuming process, it is considered as a treat when prepared. At home we normally prepare this for breakfast in a large quantity and hence have it for lunch as well :) A special shevai-press is available just to make this shevai. However it can also be made with the normal chakli-press. But it requires a little more effort.

Ingredients

• Rice - 3 cups
• Boiled rice (Red/White) - 1 cup
• Grated coconut - 1.5 cups
• Salt to taste

Method

• Soak the rice (both the types) for about 4 hours
• Now grind the rice with the grated coconut to a smooth paste (like dosa batter)
• Steam this batter in little moulds like idlis. Infact, it can be cooked exactly like idlis.
• Now grease the shevai-press and press the shevai when the batter is hot. If the batter gets cold, it becomes very hard to press.

This shevai is usually eaten with chutney or mango pickles. In this case, coconut oil is added to the shevai. If you have a sweet-tooth, shevai can also be had with goDa - rossu.

For the Rossu,

Ingredients

• Coconut - 1
• Jaggery
• Cardamom powder

Method

Make coconut milk with the cocnout by grinding it several times and straining. Add jaggery to taste and cardamom powder.

Preparation time: 30 minutes

gherkin fry

I simply love this tendli-fry. The speciality of this fry is that the tendli is crushed rather than cut. This allows the spices to enter the inside and also gives a unique taste as each tendli can be eaten whole.

Ingredients

• tendli - about 15
• Chilli powder - 1 teaspoon
• Salt to taste
• Oil for frying

Method

• Crush each of the tendli with a small weight (crusher) so that the tendli is flattened out and breaks.
• Now add salt and set aside for 2 minutes. Now squeeze the gherkins to get rid of the excess salt water.
• Add chilli powder to taste and spread evenly.
• Shallow fry on a tava with generous quantity of oil on a very low flame. Tendli takes a little longer to cook compared to most of the other vegetables. Serve with daal and rice.

Preparation time: 30 minutes

curry with daal and vegetables

daaLi ambaT is the traditional konkani vegetable curry. It can be made with any combination of vegetables, but typically potato, brinjal and beans.

Ingredients

• Mixed vegetables
• Toor daal - 2 cups
• Coconut grating - half cup
• Red chillies(byaaDgi) - 10 to 12
• Corainder seeds - 1 teaspoon
• Tamarind - to taste
• A pinch of asafoetida / hing
• Mustard
• A strand of curry leaves
• Salt to taste

Method

• Cook the daal and vegetables and set aside.
• Roast the coriander seeds and red chillies with a little oil for a few minutes on a low flame.
• Grind this roasted mix with coconut and tamarind.
• Add this paste to the cooked daal and vegetables. Add a little water, salt to taste and cook well.
• Season with mustard, curry leaves and hing.

Preparation time: 30 minutes

dosa with coconut

soyi in Konkani means coconut grating. This is a very easy-to-make dosa and is usually made if the coconut is a little tender. However it can be made with the regular coconut also. Traditionally it is eaten with ‘paataL goDa’ ie liquid jaggery. But I like it with chutney.

Ingredients

• Rice - 2 cups
• Coconut grating - 1 cup
• Salt to taste

Method

• Soak rice overnight.
• Grind with coconut and enough water in the morning, add salt to taste.
• Prepare dosas with this batter and serve hot with chutney/jaggery.

Preparation time: 30 minutes

I usually do a lot of experimental cooking but never bothered to write about them in this blog as I wanted to write mostly about konkani food. But isnt it good to drift now and then from the main theme? And again this would be the best source if I want to look up the recipe which I had conjured up. To begin with, I posted the bhindi-fry recipe and from now on I definitely will be posting most of the recipes I try out :) And to keep up this spirit I have given a new look to this site. Hope you all like it.

crispy bhindi fry

I tasted this dish in our office canteen and made a mental note to try it out sometime. I guessed the ingredients that might have gone into this dish and made it for today’s lunch. And believe me, it was yummy. An excellent side-dish for rice and daal.

Ingredients

• Bhindi (Okra) - About 15
• Gram Flour - About 4 tablespoons
• Red chilli powder - 1 teaspoon
• Asafoetida - to taste
• Salt to taste
• Oil for frying

Method

• Cut the bhindi into thin long slices and set aside.
• Mix together the other ingredients with a little water (make it a thick paste)
• Now add the bhindis to this and deep fry on medium flame till it is crispy (starts turning brown)

Preparation time: 10 minutes

cold macaroni salad

It is very hot in Bangalore nowadays. So I fixed this quick, cold, refreshing, tasty and definitely nutritious salad as an evening snack for us. The recipe was a figment of my imagination. It was a hit and I am planning to prepare again tomorrow ;) For this dish I have used MTR macaroni of different shapes, English mustard and Salad dressing (as I had them in my fridge) for flavouring. I thought it was a good idea to put a picture of those as well. The only time consuming part of this dish is boiling the macaroni.

Ingredients

• Macaroni - 1 cup
• Cucumber (cut into small pieces) - half cup
• Tomato (cut into small pieces) - 1
• Sweet corn - half cup
• Spring onion (finely cut) - a handful
• Vinegar
• English mustard - 2 teaspoons
• Salad dressing - 2 teaspoons
• Salt and pepper to taste

Method

• Boil the macaroni for a good 20 minutes, drain and set aside.
• In a large bowl, add the 2 sauces and vinegar and mix well.
• Now add all the other ingredients one by one and toss them.
• Add salt and pepper to taste and serve.

It would be a good idea to refrigerate the boiled macaroni for a while if you want the salad to be cold.

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Chutney powder

chutney pitto is a must in all konkani households. It can be used like a pickle along with food, with idly-dosas, with bread and ofcourse comes in very handy when you dont have the time/patience to grind chutney. I know about 4 varities of chutney piTTo that my mother makes and the one which I have written here about is the most common one and my favourite. So here goes.

Ingredients

• 1 coconut - finely grated
• Hurigadale (putani, dalia split) - 100 gm (about 2 cups)
• Red chillies - a big handful
• Tamarind - the size of a small lemon
• Curry leaves - one cup
• Asafoetida - to taste
• Salt to taste

Method

• Use a thick bottomed pan for this purpose.
• On a low flame, roast the grated coconut till it starts turning golden brown. Now transfer this to a separate plate.
• Similarly roast the other ingredients till it gives out a nice aroma (for about 10 mins).
• Let all the ingredients cool. Now grind to a smooth powder.
• Add salt to taste and store in an air-tight container.

The proportion of the ingredients can be varied according to individual taste. I prefer more curry leaves and more asafoetida.

Preparation time: 30 minutes