KOOK/CHINESE POTATO PICKLE

CHINESE POTATO/KOOK PICKLE

WHAT YOU NEED:


Kook/Chinese potatoes, cut into cubes, 1/2 cup. (Wash  kooks and remove its skin)
Red chillies 8-9, fried in little oil
Asafoetida, size of a small pea
Turmeric, a pinch
Tamarind, a size of gooseberry
Salt to taste
Oil to fry

FRIED PIECES

FOR THE SEASONING:


Mustard seeds 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves 5-6

KOOK PICKLE,  CAN SEE SOME KOOKS NEARBY..

HOW TO MAKE:


Apply salt to the kook and keep aside for half an hour.


Heat kadahi with oil. When it is hot, take a handful of cook pieces and squeeze well to remove its salt water and put in hot oil. (put all the pieces in the hot oil removing its salt water).  Reduce the heat and fry till it becomes crisp.
Keep aside.


Grind fried red chillies, tamarind, turmeric, asafoetida  with little water to a fine paste.


Transfer this paste to a bowl. Add fried kook pieces and mix well. Check the salt, if it is less add little salt and mix. Here the kook pieces were already in the salt for half an hour.


Heat a small pan with 2 tsp oil, when it is hot add mustard seeds, then curry leaves.


Pour this seasoning on the Kooka Pickle.


A side dish, it enhances the taste of your meals.

KOOK / CHINESE POTATO SAGLE

This is a GSB recipe. Very simple coconut based curry. Now the Chinese potato/ Kook season has started. I use big size for Upkari and small ones for masala curries, because removing its skin is a messy job and it takes long time to remove the skin of small ones. So I pressure cook the whole kook with skin for 10 minutes, once cooled it is easy to remove the skin.

CHINESE POTATO / KOOK SAGLE

WHAT YOU NEED :


Kook or Chinese potato  (whole)small size - 1 1/2 cup

Coconut - 1/2, grated

Red chillies - 6-7, fried in little oil

Coriander seeds - 3 tsp

Tamarind - a small gooseberry size

Salt to taste

KOOK/CHINESE POTATOES, FOR THIS CURRY I USED SMALL ONES.

FOR THE SEASONING:


Mustard seeds 3/4 tsp
Curry leaves  6-7

KOOKA SAGLE

HOW TO MAKE :


Pressure cook chiense potatoes for 10 to 15 min. 
When it cools down, remove the skins of Kook. and keep aside.


In a small pan add a tsp of oil and heat. Add coriander seeds and saute till it becomes crisp or it changes the color.


Grind coconut gratings, tamarind, fried red chillies to a rough masala. Then add fried coriander seeds and again grind just a minute more.


In a vessel, add boiled Kooka, some water and salt. 
Keep on the fire. 
Add ground masala and cook on law heat till bubbles appear. Add required water...

A CLOSE VIEW...

SEASONING:


Heat a small pan, Put a tsp of oil.
Add mustard seeds, when it splutter add curry leaves. saute.


Pour this seasoning on the Kooka Sagle.


A side dish, tastes nice with hot steaming rice

PUMPKIN SOUP

PUMPKIN SOUP

WHAT YOU NEED:


Pumpkin, Pieces 1 cup
Onions 2  chopped roughly
Garlic 3 cloves, chopped
Milk 1 1/2 cups
Salt 
Pepper
Celery, chopped 1 tbsp
Butter 2 cubes

A PIECE OF PUMPKIN

HOW TO MAKE:
Heat kadahi,  put butter.
Add garlic and saute till brown. 
Then add onion and fry for few mins.
Add Pumpkin pieces and saute again.


In the same kadahi, put chopped celery and fry for a minute.
Keep aside.

A HEALTHY N TASTY PUMPKIN SOUP

Pressure cook Pumpkin, onion and garlic for 10 mins.
Let it cool down naturally. Open the lid and take out the boiled pumpkins.
Blend it to a very smooth paste.
Transfer this paste to a kadahi and keep it on the fire.
Add salt and pepper powder. Stir well.
Add milk and stir again.


Serve this hot soup in serving bowls and garnish with fried celery.

MALTA LEMON /EED / BADGAPULI PICKLE

MALTA LEMON

Malta lemon is basically very bitter in taste. When I was small my grand mother had prepared its pickle for my grand father as he was ill and he had just recovered from fever. My granny thought this lemon would help him get back his taste. My grand father never liked this fruit, but granny used to force him to have this. I always wondered why he was so reluctant to have this pickle. I got to know when I licked  my finger dipped in this pickle.
Now I have tried Malta lemon's pickle, but it is not that bitter. It really enhances the taste of your lunch or dinner. This pickle goes especially well with Paje.

CHOPPED MALTA LEMON

WHAT YOU NEED:


Malta/wild lemon 2
Crystal Salt 1 cup ( small tea cup)
Red chillies (whole) 55 nos.
Mustard seeds 1 tbsp
Hing/ asafoetida 3 pieces (3 kabuli chana size)

MALTA LEMON PICKLE

HOW TO MAKE:


Wash malta lemon and wipe with clean cloth.
Cut into small pieces. Then apply salt and keep in a vessel for 2 days, in between shake the vessel so that the salt will completely dissolve in it. 


Powder red chillies, mustard seeds and asafoetida. 
Mix chilli powder and Malta lemon pieces very well. Add little warm water and mix again.

BANANA HALWA

BANANA HALWA

WHAT YOU NEED :


Bananas 2 very ripe ones
Sugar 3/4 cup
Ghee 1/4 cup


HOW TO MAKE:


Peel off the skins of banana and make a smooth paste of it.


Transfer this paste in a nonstick kadahi. Keep on the fire and keep stirring for few minutes.
Reduce the heat. Add one tbsp of ghee and continue stirring till the paste changes to blackish color.
Add sugar and ghee. Keep stirring till the paste become bit hard.

KEPT FOR COOLING

NENDRA BANANA HALWA

Spread some ghee on a plate and pour halwa mixture. 
Apply some ghee on the spatula and spread evenly.
Cut with knife to your desired shapes.
Allow it to cool down.

MIXED VEG IN COCNUT MILK / VALVAL

This is one of the popular dishes from Konkani household. This is my father-in-law's fav curry.  He had requested me to prepare this many times and I had obliged too. When I prepared this yesterday, we all remembered him very much as he left us an year ago. Whenever he had it, he always used to say...'Wah! What a curry..' I hope you also will say Wah!!!!

MIXED VEGES IN COCONUT MILK

WHAT YOU NEED:
Pumpkin 3/4 cup
Long beans(Alasnado) 3-4 (cut into 2' long)
Yam , 1 inch cubes, 4-5
Potato, 1' cubes, 4-5
Sweet potato 1"cubes, 3-4
Bottlegourd, 4-5 cubes
Tender cashews 7-8
Green chillies 4
Curry leaves 5-6
Asafoetida a little, dissolved in little water
Salt
Coconut 1/2( Prepare 1 cup thick and 1/2 cup thin coconut milk)

VALVAL

VALVAL, MY FATHER-IN-LAW'S FAV.

HOW TO MAKE:


Wash all the vegs and cut all in one inch cubes.
Put all the vegs in a vessel and add slit green chillies and salt.
Pressure cook these vegs without water for 10 minutes. Allow it to cool naturally. Or you can cook all these veggies in thin coconut milk till done.


Take out the veges and keep on the fire in thin milk. Stir the veges  carefully. Then pumpkin pieces will become like paste and the curry becomes thick. The curry should be a little thick, but see that not all the pumpkin pieces dissolve in the curry.
Add thick milk, asafoetida, curry leaves and stir carefully. Switch off the burner.


A side dish

BUTTER PANEER MASALA

BUTTER PANEER MASALA

WHAT YOU NEED:

Paneer cubes 1' about 12-15
Onion 1 big
Tomatoes 2 big
Corinader powder 1 1/2 tsp 
Cumin/jeera powder 1 1/2 tsp
Turmeric a little
Dried fenugreek leaves 1 tsp
Ginger paste 2 tsp
Garlic paste 1 tsp
Red chilli powder 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Butter 2 tbsp
Cream 1 cup
Water 1 cup 

SOFT PANEER CUBES IN BUTTER MASALA

HOW TO MAKE:

Keep paneer cubes in warm water for sometime. 


Chop onion and make a smooth paste of it.
Wash tomatoes, chop and make paste.


In a kadahi put 2 tabsp of butter and melt.
Add ginger and garlic paste in a melted butter and saute for few mins.
Add onion paste and fry till it changes the color.
Put coriander powder, jeera powder, haldi powder and mix well.
Add tomato paste and cook for few minutes.
Then add paneer cubes, mix well with the masala and add red chilli powder, salt and 1 cup of water.


Cover the lid and let it cook for nearly 5 to 10 minutes or till paneer become soft.
Add fresh beaten cream, mix and cook for few more minuts.

Garnish with dried fenugreek leaves.


Very good combination with Fried rice. It can also be eaten with chappati or phulkas.