Category: Home made spice

Tamarind Pickle:

February 25, 2017

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Tamarind has a very important place in the Indian kitchen and it has loads of health benefits as well as it is a treasure of anti-oxidants and dietary fibres.

Indians love its tangy and sweetish taste and enjoy this in chutney, relish, digestive candies, pickles and more.

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From childhood, I used to enjoy tamarind pickle and never knew about the recipe. Thanks to my brother-in-law who sourced the recipe and made it possible for me to enjoy this relish after so many years.

This is a family recipe of one of our friends from Mangalore and speciality of the local Jain community form coastal region.

Ingredients:

Tamarind- 100 grams

Dried red chillies – 200 grams (Byadagi variety)

Jaggery – 250 grams

Salt – 8 to 10 teaspoons

Water – 3 to 4 cups

Fenugreek /methi seeds – 1 tea spoon

Cumin – 2 tea spoon

Gingelly oil – 1 to 2 table spoon.

Mustard – 1 tea spoon

Garlic – 5 to 6 cloves (crushed)

Curry leaves – 1 spring

Method:

  • Soak tamarind and grated jaggery in water for some time.
  • When it becomes soft, nicely squeeze out and sieve the liquid.

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  • Discard all the roughage and fibres.
  • Dry roast methi and cumin.
  • Roast red chillies by putting very little oil.
  • Powder all the roasted items by using dry mixer jar.
  • Now keep one thick bottomed vessel on the gas stove, put oil and do seasoning.
  • When oil is hot, splutter mustard seeds, then add crushed garlic and curry leaves.

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  • Pour tamarind and jaggery concentrate, salt, ground masala powder and boil.
  • After boiling it for some time, upper layer of the mixture will look glossy and it is the sign for its doneness.
  • Switch off the gas, cool this mixture completely and store it in dry glass bottles and keep outside for two days to set and afterwards keep it in the fridge.

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  • It will stay up to one year if you store it in the fridge.

 

 

Alasande- Hesaru kaalu Jeerige Bendi:

February 5, 2017

It is nothing but Yard long beans and whole green gram with cumin flavoured coconut gravy.

This is an age old combination and a traditional recipe from Mangalore. Jeerige Bendi is very mild, flavourful and not spicy. It can be enjoyed with hot rice, Whole wheat Roti’s, Dosa or Rice rotti.

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Ingredients:

Yard long beans / Alasande – 250 grams

Green gram – 1 cup

Coconut – 1 bowl

Cumin – 1 teaspoon

Dried Red chilli – 2

Salt

Jaggery – ½ teaspoon

Red chilli powder – ½ teaspoon

Tamarind – peanut size.

Seasoning: Coconut oil – 1tsp, mustard – 1 teaspoon, Red chilli -1, curry leaves – 1 spring.

Method:

  • Wash green gram and soak it overnight.
  • Next day, wash yard long beans and make one inch pieces.
  • Cook Soaked green gram with sufficient water, salt, jaggery and red chilli powder.
  • When it is half done, add chopped yard long beans and cook.

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  • Meanwhile, grind coconut, red chillies, cumin and tamarind into a smooth paste and add this paste to cooked vegetable and boil.
  • Check for the salt and add seasoning.
  • For seasoning, heat oil, add mustard, red chilli. When mustard starts spluttering, add curry leaves and pour this into boiled curry.

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  • It can be enjoyed with hot rice, Whole wheat Roti’s, Dosa or Rice rotti.

Home-made Turmeric powder :

January 17, 2017

Turmeric is one of the most important spices we use in everyday cooking. It has so many health benefits and is commonly used to heal Cold and cough in infants. When my kids were small and when I started to give them turmeric milk to heal their sour throat, I was really thinking about making homemade turmeric powder as I was very uncomfortable using readymade powder, after hearing about it being adulterated.

So I started growing turmeric at home. Every year, usually at the time of June, fresh turmeric will start sprouting and we should plant them at that time .It will take six months to grow and when it is ready, the plant will start wilting and leaves will become yellowish brown and become dry. This happens during end of December and is then ready to harvest.

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This method is what my maternal grandmother used to follow-

Method:

-Take fresh turmeric rhizomes, remove mud, extra roots etc. Wash it several times until it is clean.

-Now slice those rhizomes.

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-Take one cooker vessel and put all these sliced pieces and steam cook (without cooker weight) in a cooker or idly steamer for 10 to 15 minutes.

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-Remove this and dry under the sun for 2 to 3 days or until it is crisp. Usually it takes 2 to 3 days.

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-When it is crisp, take small mixer jar and powder it.

– Sieve this and collect fine powder and repeat this process until all the dried slices are powdered.

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-Store this in a dry airtight container.