Monthly Archives: June 2024

Stuffed Karelas


Stuffed Karela (Bitter Gourd, Bitter Melon)An excellent recipe for Bitter Gourd lovers.  Light and without excessive spices.Karelas also called bitter melon, cerassee, goya, bitter
apple, bitter gourd, bitter squash, balsam-pear, karavila and
many more.

Ingredients

12 Bitter Gourds (small sized)

15 to 20 button onions (optional)

2 large onions

2 large tomatoes

8 cloves garlic

1 tsp. coriander powder

½ tsp. cumin powder

1 tsp. Amchur (dry mango powder)

½ tsp. turmeric

½ tsp. chilli powder or to taste

½ tsp. salt plus some salt for applying to the gourds

2 to 3 tbsp. Oil

Cut off the head and tail of the gourd and peel/scrape the warty exterior. Make a slit on one side and scoop out the seeds and flesh.  Discard. Wash and apply salt to the karelas and set aside.

Peel and wash the button onions, if using, and set aside.

Chop the onions, tomatoes and garlic and grind to a chunky paste. 

Heat a wide pan, add a tbsp. of oil.  The Karelas would have released some water, discard and add the gourds to the hot pan, saute to light brown on all sides.  Remove and set aside to cool.

To the same pan, add 2 tbsp. oil.  When hot, add the ground onion tomato paste, the button onions and the masala powders and salt, to taste. Bear in mind that the Karelas are already salted.  Cook till moisture evaporates.  Keep aside to cool.

When cool, stuff the karelas with the stuffing.  Place on the pan. Add some water and cook till done and dry.  Serve hot. Enjoy with roti or rice, as you wish.

Narvale Pollay Mangalore fragrant green dosa


Narvale leaves Dosa

Narvale Pole, fragrant leaves pollay

Nerugala leaves dosa

Mangalore green dosa,  Konkan recipe

Narvale leaves have a very good fragrance and apart from that the leaves have medicinal qualities that help reduce inflammation in the body thus relieving aches and pains, improving gut health, etc.  Do try this healthy recipe provided you can lay your hands on these fragrant leaves.  My mother made these dosa quite often for breakfast or evening tea and we used to relish these dosas, while we were growing up.   Unfortunately, I came across these leaves after almost 45 years and they immediately brought back fond memories of my dear mother. 

Ingredients

2 cups rice

1.5 to 2 cups Narvale leaves

1 cup fresh coconut

2 tbsp. jaggery or to taste

1 tsp. salt or to taste

½ tsp. instant yeast

Wash and soak rice for min.4 hours. Remove the leaves from the branches and stalks and separate the tiny stem, and try to use just the leaf as far as possible, so as not to dilute the fragrance and the taste. Soak the leaves in water to loosen the dirt and then wash well.  Grind the rice, coconut, narvale leaves and jaggery to a smooth paste.

Meanwhile, keep the yeast to bloom with 1 tbsp. sugar and 2 tbsp. warm water.

Fermenting agent may be omitted, if you wish.  In this case, you may require to keep for fermenting for over 8 to 10 hours. Add the yeast to the rice batter and leave to ferment.  When it rises, heat a dosa pan and add a ladle of batter and allow bubbles to appear. Then cover and cook till dosa is cooked and surface appears opaque.  Drizzle with ghee and serve for breakfast or evening tea, with a dollop of butter, if you like.   Very fragrant pollay. 

Ripe Mango Curry


Monsoon Cooking- Monsoon recipes

Mangalorean style Ripe Mango Curry – Sweet, Sour, Spicy delicious mango curry

Ingredients

6 ripe mangoes, small round juicy and fiborous variety

1 mendium onion, chopped

1 sprig curry leaves

1 tsp. mustard seeds

2 tbsp. Oil

1 tsp. Jaggery

1 tsp. salt or to taste


For masala paste
Roast and grind to a paste with 1/2 inch ginger
6 red chillies
2 tbsp. Coriander seeds
1 tsp. Cumin seeds
1/2 tsp. Fenugreek seeds
1/2 tsp. Turmeric powder
2 tbsp. Coconut
6 flakes garlic

Choose mangoes that are small and round and typical for curry.  They are usually the chewing mangoes which are full of fibre.  Wash and peel the mangoes.

Press to squeeze the mangoes to loosen the flesh and extract some juice.

Roast all the ingredients for the masala paste, except ginger.  Grind to a smooth paste with water.

Place the mangoes and the juice in a pan.  Add 3 cups water and bring to a boil.

Then add the masala paste and salt and cook till curry appears glossy and the mangoes are cooked.  Add jaggery, stir and simmer 5 minutes.  Take off heat.

Take a pan, heat the oil.  Add mustard seeds, when they splutter add the curry leaves and the chopped onion and fry till light brown.  Immediately pour over the curry and serve hot with steamed rice.   Have the rice with the curry and chew the mango till nothing is left on the seed.  Super delicious!

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