vegetable sambar

Basale bendi / Malabar spinach and jack seed curry :

May 15, 2022

I have shared some Basale / Malabar spinach recipes and jack seed recipes in my previous posts. If you are interested in finding out more Mangalore-based recipes, such as basale Chutney and basale with raw papaya curry, the method to preserve jackseed, hummus, the side dish with coloured cucumber, dry curry with bamboo shoot and Rasam. Please click the hyperlink and check it out.

As we all know, basale is rich in iron, fibre, and vitamins and low in calories. When combined with jackseed, natural plant protein is an added benefit; cooked jackseed is creamy in texture, tasty to the palette and healthy for our bodies.

Here is the most amazing Malabar spinach and jack seed recipe from my family to yours, which is a perfect pair with Hot Rice or traditional red rice rotti or Rotti using rice flour.

Ingredients:

Malabar spinach – 250- 300 grams

Jack seeds – 12 to 15 ( crushed and shelled) OR Soaked black-eyed peas (white)

Onion – 1 sliced (medium)

Turmeric – 1tsp

Salt – as required

Jaggery – ½ tsp (optional)

Red chilli powder – 1tsp

Tamarind – small gooseberry size, soaked in water.

For the Masala Paste:

Grated fresh coconut – 1 cup

Red chillies – 4 to 6 ( Byadagi)

Coriander seeds – 1 tbl spoon

Cumin – 1 tsp

Garlic – 2 cloves (optional)

For the seasoning:

Coconut oil – 1 tbl spoon

Mustard – 1 tsp

Red chilli – 1

Crushed garlic – 8 – 10

Curry leaves – 1 spring.

Method:

-If you use Pieces of stems from the Malabar spinach, cook those stems with salt in a pressure cooker for 2 to 3 whistles. Add Jack seed or Black-eyed peas and chopped Malabar spinach greens, tamarind water, salt, jaggery, and red chilli powder when the pressure releases.

-cook further in an open vessel or close the lid of the pressure cooker and give one whistle.

-Now, make masala. Heat a coconut oil, coriander, cumin, garlic, and red chillies, and fry until crisp. Now, grind these fried items with coconut and make a smooth paste.

-Add the ground masala to cooked veggies, boil, and season.

-For seasoning, heat coconut oil, splutter mustard, add crushed garlic and red chilli, and fry until it turns light brown; add curry leaves and pour it over the curry. Enjoy with Dosa, Rotti, or rice.

Badanekai Gojji Sambar/ Brinjal Dal :

March 18, 2022

Our Native Brinjal has its charm and a fan base. People who like it relish it in many ways. I have already shared the palya, and this dal is one more item, which is our family favourite and mild at the taste. Here, we use either Gulla or a native variety of big green brinjal.

It needs hardly any ingredient but tastes fantastic and soothing in the summer heat. It is No coconut, vegan curry.

Ingredients:

Brinjal – 1 ( big)

Toor dal – 1 cup ( cooked with turmeric and mashed)

Green chillies – 5 to 8 ( slit)

Salt – as per taste

Jaggery – as per taste

Roasted methi powder – ½ to 1 spoon

Tamarind – small lemon sized

coriander leaves – 2 tbl spoon (Chopped)

Seasoning: Coconut oil – 1 tbl spoon, Mustard – 1 tsp, Hing – peanut size ball, red chilli – 1, curry leaves – 1 spring.

Method:

-Here, we use full brinjal, even its stalk. So, the chopping procedure is, Halve the brinjal, even the stalk. Make four slits lengthwise. And dice it. Remove the inner woody part of the stalk and discard.

-Put those brinjal pieces in water and immerse.

-Now, take one vessel, Boil tamarind, 2 cups of water, salt, jaggery, slit green chillies. When it starts boiling, add brinjal pieces by draining the immersed water.

-When brinjal pieces turn soft, add mashed dal, roasted methi powder, adjust the salt and, jaggery and chillies according to your taste.

-Boil nicely, garnish with coriander. Do the seasoning by heating oil, splutter mustard, hing, red chilli and curry leaves.

-Enjoy with hot rice and papad.

NOTE: You can check the quantity of all the essential ingredients in the Above picture.

Bendekai Kayirasa / Ladies finger coconut curry:

August 17, 2021

Kayirasa is one of our almost extinct dishes, which can be seen only in our rural houses and found only in our community / homely recipe. It is coconut-based, slightly sweetish, and pairs well with hot boiled red rice or white rice.

Like Sambar, we always use a light green or purple coloured heirloom variety of Bhindi to make Kayirasa. I have never tried Kayirasa with any other types of Bhindi. It is my childhood favourite, and I used to ask my ajji / Grandmother to prepare whenever I visited her. Her preparation tasted like heaven, and I could never replicate that taste even if I used clay pot like her. Grandmothers are ultimate, and they have a magic wand in their hand to dish out such a delicious meal.

Ingredient:

Bendekai / Ladies finger – ½ kg

Tamarind – big gooseberry size.

Salt

Jaggery

Red chilli powder – ½ tsp

Fresh coconut – 1 big bowl

Urad dal – 1 tablespoon

Dried red chillies – 3 to 4

Seasoning:

Coconut oil – 2 tsp

Mustard – 1 tsp

Red chilli – 1

Curry leaves – 1 to 2 springs

Method:

–Soak tamarind, boil with little added water, salt, jaggery, red chilli powder.

-When it starts boiling, add chopped Bhindi. Allow cooking on a low flame.

-To avoid sliminess, don’t close the lid or put a spoon to mix while boiling Bhindi.

-In the meantime, prepare the masala: heat coconut oil, fry urad dal, red chillies. Grind into smooth paste by adding coconut and water.

-Add the ground masala to cooked veggie, boil nicely by adding sufficient water to adjust the consistency.

-Do the seasoning and serve with hot rice.

Gujje Huli menasu / Tender jackfruit curry:

April 8, 2021

In our region, Raw jackfruit curry relished in every possible way and every possible stage of its growth. Huli Menasu is nothing but tamarind and dried chillies. The speciality of this sambar is no frying or roasting the masala. It is no fuss masala but, the flavour is unthinkable. It is an experience by itself. It is one of our family favourites, and today, sharing it with you all.

I have many raw jackfruit recipes in my blog, including “how to chop” the young jackfruit for beginners.

To get an authentic taste, one should use coconut oil and fresh grated coconut for this curry.

Now we will see the recipe part.

Ingredients:

Raw jackfruit cubes – 1 bowl

Salt

Red chilli powder – 1 teaspoon

Fresh coconut – 1 bowl

Red Byadagi chillies – 3 to 5

Tamarind – gooseberry size

Turmeric powder – ½ teaspoon

For seasoning:

Coconut oil – 1 tablespoon

Mustard – 1 teaspoon

Red chilli – 1

Curry leaves – 2 springs

Garlic – 10 cloves (crushed)

Method:

-Cook Raw jackfruit pieces in a sufficient amount of water. Add salt and red chilli powder, turmeric as well.

-In the meantime, grind smooth masala by putting coconut, tamarind, red chillies.

-When jack pieces are soft/ cooked, add ground masala, adjust the consistency and boil.

-When the mixture boils nicely, switch off the gas.

-Prepare seasoning, heat oil, splutter mustard, add garlic, red chilli, curry leaves.

-When garlic becomes deep brown, add the seasoning over boiled gravy.

-Keep this closed for a while before serving to absorb all the flavours.

-Serve with hot rice.

Bendekai sambar/ Okra sambar:

August 28, 2019

Sambar is a very essential part of south Indian meal. In Mangalore region, we normally use freshly roasted and ground coconut masala for vegetables as well as each vegetable has its own suitable masala recipe.

Normally, the main ingredients will be the same and here and there some additional ingredients or frying techniques will be different.

In this particular recipe, we don’t use coconut as it is. Masala is fried as well as coconut and made into powder form and added. It is very flavourful and tasty.

We normally use heirloom variety of Bendekai/ ladies’ finger /Okra for sambar. This masala tastes very good even with small variety dark green bhindi as well.

Ingredient:

Bendekai/Bhindi /Okra – ½ kg

Toor dal – ½ cup

Tamarind – size of a small lemon

Green chillies – 2

Salt

Jaggery – 1 tsp

Methi – ¼ tsp

Coriander seeds – 1 tablespoon

cumin – 1tsp

Urad dal – 1 ½ tsp

Dried Red chillies – 2 to 3

Curry leaves – 1 spring

Coconut – ½ to ¾ cup

For the seasoning:

Coconut oil – 1 tsp

Mustard – ½ tsp

Red chilli – 1

Curry leaves – 1 spring

Method:

-Cook toor dal and keep aside.

-Soak tamarind, boil with little added water, salt, jaggery, slit green chillies.

-When it starts boiling, add chopped bhindi. Allow to cook in a low flame.

-To avoid sliminess, don’t close the lid or put a spoon to mix while boiling bhindi.

-In the meantime, prepare masala. Heat coconut oil, fry methi, add coriander, cumin , urad dal, red chillies and fry until all the spices are roasted.

-Next add curry leaves, coconut ,turmeric and fry until you get a nice aroma.

-Cool and make a powder of roasted coconut mix and keep aside.

-When bhindi is cooked, add dhal, masala powder and boil nicely by adding sufficient water to adjust the consistency.

-Do the seasoning and serve with hot rice.

Malabar spinach and Raw papaya curry:

February 25, 2019

Malabar spinach is commonly known as Basale in our coastal area. It is a common creeping vein in the backyard of every household.

Its leaf is very rich in iron, fibre, antioxidants and vitamins and low in calorie. Malabar spinach is a go getter veggie at any given point of time. You can harvest, as soon as the main stem is growing and spreads all over. Snip the leaves and use the stems as well.

On the other hand, raw papaya is also a power house of nutrients and it is a natural cleanser of intestine and colon.

Like Malabar spinach, Papaya tree also plays an integral part in our garden. May be because of the easy availability, we have a couple of traditional dishes with Raw papaya and one curry is this. Our elders had so much knowledge to include all the goodness in their cooking. One such recipe is Raw papaya and Malabar spinach with a freshly ground coconut masala. It can be relished with Boiled rice or white rice. It is an overall package of health benefits from both the veggies.

Ingredients:

Malabar spinach – one small bundle

Raw papaya – 1 small

Onion – 1

Salt

Jaggery (optional)

Red chilli powder – 1 tsp

Toor dal – ½ cup

For Masala paste:

Coriander – 1-2 tablespoon

Cumin – 1 tsp

Methi – ½ tsp

Dried red chillies – 5 to 6

Tamarind – 1 tsp

Coconut – 1 to 1 ½ cup

Seasoning:

Coconut oil – 1 tablespoon

Mustard – 1 tsp

Red chilli – 1

Small onion – 1

Curry leaves – 1 spring

Method:

-Wash Malabar spinach leaves, chop them and keep them aside. Cut it into 2 to 3-inch pieces if you are using its stem.

-Chop Raw papaya by removing the outer skin and the inner seeds. Dump in a water bowl to remove all the oozed latex and drain.

-Wash Toor dal; if you have chopped Malabar spinach stem, combine it and cook with dal by adding turmeric and salt.

-When toor dal is ready, remove the lid, add a little water, salt, jaggery, red chilli powder, Papaya pieces, and chopped leaves. Cook for one whistle.

-Now prepare masala by roasting methi, coriander, cumin and red chillies in a little oil. Grind into a paste by adding coconut, tamarind and water.

-Add the ground paste to cooked veggies, adjust everything, boil and add seasoning.

-To season, heat oil, splutter mustard, red chilli, curry leaves and chopped onion. When the onion becomes brown, add it to the curry.

-Serve with Hot rice.

Tiffin Sambar:

January 29, 2019

Tiffin usually depicts south Indian breakfast. Normally Idli, Dosa, Pongal. This particular sambar is very good combination with Idlies or dosas as well as goes very well with mini idlies which normally known or served as 14 idlies, mini idlies or button idlies at restaurants.

In this sambar, we don’t use any coconut and basically a seasoned mixed dhal with sambar powder as well as baby onions, tomatoes and with or without drumstick pieces.

Ingredients:

Toor dal – 1 cup

Moong dal – ½ cup

Green chillies – 2 (slit)

Baby onions /shallots – 20 (halved)

Tomato – 1 (chopped)

Drum stick – 1 (Cut into 2” pieces) (optional)

Tamarind – 1 tsp

Salt

Jaggery – 1 tsp

Turmeric – 1 tsp

Sambar powder – As needed

Chopped coriander leaves – 2 table spoons

Seasoning:

Oil – 2 table spoons

Mustard – 1 tsp

Cumin – 1 tsp

Hing – ½ tsp

Curry leaves – 1 string

Method:

-Wash and cook toor and moong dal in a pressure cooker. Mash and keep aside.

-Take one tawa, do seasoning. Heat Oil, splutter mustard, cumin, hing and curry leaves.

-Fry onion until it is transparent. Add turmeric, green chillies, tomato and drumstick pieces as well as salt and fry until tomato cooks.

-Add Sambar powder toss for 2 minutes and pour tamarind water, jaggery and boil.

-Add Cooked dal and adjust the consistency and boil nicely.

-Garnish with chopped coriander and serve as a side dish for any south Indian breakfast items.

-If you are serving with Button idlies/ mini idlies Pour one to two serving spoons of sambar, place 14 idlies and once again pour some sambar over those idlies and serve.

Gujje kadle gashi / Tender jackfruit and whole black chickpeas curry:

April 27, 2018

Tender jackfruit is an integral part of our traditional cooking. Till now I have shared a couple of recipes and today I am going to share one more tender jack recipe which is prepared by pairing it with protein rich black chickpea, which is also known as kala chana, black chana in India.

Tender jackfruit is a super food, which is high in vitamins, minerals and dietary fibers and at the same time, less in calories, salt and fats. Now a day, it is available in almost all parts of the globe as fresh or frozen.

This curry is double beneficial because of additional benefit by adding black chickpea. Which is also known as Bengal grams, Garbanzo beans or Kala chana which has darker skin and thick outer cover and has high roughage.

DSC07426_Fotor

Ingredients:

Tender jack or Gujje pieces – 1 bowl.

Black chick peas/chana – 1 cup

Salt

Jaggery – 1 tea spoon

Red chili powder – 1 tea spoon

Coconut oil – 1+2 tea spoon

Masala:

Grated Coconut – from half coconut

Coriander seeds – 1 tea spoon

Urad dal – 1 tea spoon

Methi – ¼ tea spoon

Hing – one pinch

Red chillies – 3 to 4

Tamarind – ½ tea spoon

Season:

Coconut oil – 1 tea spoon

Mustard – 1 tea spoon

Red chilli – 1 (optional)

Curry leaves – 1 or 2 springs

Method:

-Wash and soak Black chana overnight. Drain the soaked water the next morning.

-Take one pressure cooker, cook chana by adding sufficient water. It requires around 4 to 5 whistles.

Ribbet collage

-Add Tender jack pieces into cooked chana, if needed some water, salt, red chilli powder and jaggery and cook in an open fire, until jack pieces are soft.

-In the meantime, prepare masala:

-Take 1 tsp of coconut oil in a tawa, fry methi, add coriander, hing, urad dal, red chillies and fry until urad dal becomes red. Next add coconut and fry until it emits fragrance.

Ribbet collage 2

-Cool the mixture, add tamarind and grind into little rough paste by adding water.

-Add the ground masala into cooked veggie mixture, boil.

-Add seasoning, heat coconut oil, splutter mustard, add red chilli (optional), curry leaves into oil and pour the mixture over boiled curry.

DSC07427_Fotor

-After adding the seasoning, add 2 tsp of raw coconut oil and keep it covered until u serve. This is to get an authentic taste.

Temple Style Vegetable Sambar:

March 17, 2018

Usually people ask me regarding recipe of sambar, which is served in Coastal Mangalore temples. In our coastal temples, prasadam is served in the form of afternoon lunch. It is a simple lunch, served on a plantain leaf. which usually includes palya, rice, Rasam, sambar, payasam and buttermilk. Speciality of this lunch is, taste of the Rasam or sambar will linger in your mouth even after some time.

Commonly used vegetable for this kind of sambar is Ash gourd, sweet pumpkin or Coloured cucumber. You can take any one of these above-mentioned veggies and make. Here freshly roasted and ground masala has been used and onion or garlic is a taboo ingredient in prasadam lunch.

DSC_4627_Fotor

Here I have used home grown Sweet pumpkin –

Ingredients:

Sweet pumpkin – ½ kg (you can use coloured cucumber or Ash gourd as well)

Salt

Jaggery – 1 to 2 tea spoons (adjust according to your taste)

Red chilli powder – ½ tea spoon

Coriander seeds – 1 table spoon

Cumin – 1 tea spoon

Methi – ¼ tea spoon

Hing – pea nut size (hard hing) or ½ tea spoon of powdered hing.

Urad dal – 1 tea spoon

Chana dal – 1 tea spoon

Red chillies – 3 to 4

Coconut – ½ cup

Curry leaves – 1 spring

Toor dal – ¼ cup

Turmeric – ½ tea spoon

Tamarind – ½ – 1 tea spoon

Seasoning:

Coconut oil – 1 table spoon

Mustard – 1 tea spoon

Red chilli – 1

Curry leaves – 1 spring

Method:

-Cook toor dal after washing and keep aside. (don’t use more dal)

-Remove central seed part. Chop veggies, as bigger chunks.

Ribbet collage 1

– Cook chopped veggie by adding sufficient water, salt, jaggery, red chilli powder.

-In the meantime, roast masala for grinding.

Ribbet collage 2

-Take one thick kadai, add 1 tea spoon of coconut oil, fry methi seeds until light brown.

-Add in coriander, cumin, Hing, Red chillies, urad and Chana dal and proceed frying until dal becomes light brown and red chillies puffs and roasts.

-Add in coconut, curry leaves and turmeric, proceed frying for 2 to 3 minutes or until you feel the aroma of coconut.

-Cool this mixture and grind into not so smooth paste by adding tamarind and sufficient water.

– Now mash cooked dal add dal and freshly ground masala to cooked veggie and boil.

-Check for salt, jaggery and adjust. When it boils add seasoning.

-Heat coconut oil, mustard, red chilli, when mustard splutters, and curry leaves and pour over the prepared(boiled) sambar.

-Serve with hot rice.

Mangalore Cucumber curry:

February 27, 2018

Traditionally we call this Sauthe kai Huli menasina Kodilu/Koddel. The literal translation of this is, Sauthe kai means sambar cucumber, Huli is tamarind, menasu is chilli, koddel is sambar or curry. It is sambar cucumber or coloured cucumber curry with a raw masala of fresh coconut flavoured with non-roasted masala.

Here we only use fresh coconut, Byadagi red chillies, tamarind as the main ingredient, and after boiling, seasoned with curry leaves, roasted garlic by using coconut oil.

To get an authentic taste, one should use coconut oil and freshly grated coconut for this curry.

DSC03963_Fotor

Now we will see the recipe part.

Ingredients:

Coloured cucumber – 1

Salt

Red chilli powder – 1 teaspoon

Fresh coconut – 1 bowl

Red Byadagi chillies – 2 to 3

Tamarind – gooseberry size

Turmeric powder – ½ teaspoon

For seasoning:

Coconut oil – 1 tablespoon

Mustard – 1 teaspoon

Red chilli – 1

Curry leaves – 2 springs

Garlic – 10 cloves (crushed)

Method:

-Wash Mangalore/Coloured/sambar cucumber.

Chop off two ends, slice into four pieces, remove the inner core (seed part), and chop into bite-sized pieces.

Ribbet collage 1

-Check now for the taste. If it is bitter, soak the pieces in plain water for 5 minutes.

-Discard the water and proceed. If cucumber tastes good, there is no need to soak in water, and you can directly proceed with cooking.

-Cook these pieces in a sufficient amount of water. Add salt and red chilli powder as well.

Ribbet collage 2

-In the meantime, grind masala by putting coconut, tamarind, red chillies and turmeric.

-When cucumber cooks well, add ground masala, adjust the consistency and boil.

-When the mixture boils nicely, switch off the gas.

-Prepare seasoning, heat oil, splutter mustard, add garlic, red chilli, curry leaves.

Ribbet collage 3

-When garlic becomes deep brown, add the seasoning over boiled gravy.

-Keep this closed for a while before serving to absorb all the flavours.

-Serve with hot rice.

One more variation of this curry is by adding –Turkey berry.

To know about the Turkey berry, you can click the link HERE.

The method is straightforward. Crush those washed turkey berries/ Kudane, put them in water, rinse them a couple of times, and remove the seeds as much as possible; in this way, the tartness of the berries vanishes. Keep as it is and follow the above procedure to make Cucumber curry.

-When cucumber cooks partially, add those washed and cleaned berries and cook further. Then, add freshly ground masala and curry by following the above description.

Note:

To maintain authentic taste,

-use fresh coconut, Coconut oil.

-Retain the outer skin of garlic and crush.

-Inner core or seed is used in a couple of recipes.

-One is Chutney, and the other one is Rasam. I will update ASAP.