Chana Gashi (Brown chick peas with jackfruit)

Chana Gashi is a staple dish in Konkani Cuisine. This coconut based dish is made during special occasions like weddings and religious events since it's cooked without onion & garlic. As a child, while my family attended events at the temple, we eagerly waited for Chana Gashi to be served on a banana leaf by temple volunteers. We would start staring at everyone's banana leaf from the end of the row, hoping we would get a piece of Kadgi. At times, it was just brown chick peas! Amma (my mother) or other relatives would be kind enough to share some with the kids.

Recalling those memories, I make sure that I add plenty of Kadgi (jackfruit) in my Chana Gashi at every religious event in my house.

Ingredients:

1 cup brown chana (brown chick peas)
I can kadgi (jackfruit)
1 cup fresh grated coconut
6 dried red chillies,roasted (Byadgi)
marble size tamarind
salt to taste
1 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp jeera (cumin seeds)
1 sprig curry leaves
1 tsp oil

How it's made:

Soak chana overnight (or 6 hrs) & pressure cook the next morning. (Save the cooked water & use for cooking the curry or grinding the coconut paste).
Grind coconut, red chillies & tamarind with a little water to a fine paste. Cut Kadgi into bite size peices.
In a large pan, mix cooked chana, kadgi & salt. Cook together for 5-10 mins. Add ground masala. Boil for a few mins. Adjust salt.
In a "Phanna Davlo"or small frying pan, heat oil. Add mustard seeds. Once it splutters, add jeera & curry leaves. Add seasoning to chana gashi. Mix well & cover. Serve with white rice.

Serves: 6

Shrimp Balchao

A teaspoon of this goes a long way! This dish turns out very spicy and I prefer to cook on summer/fall days since the house needs to be well ventilated while frying the ground paste. The taste is quite similar to shrimp pickle & stays well refrigerated for a few weeks.

This recipe reminds me of Amma's (my Mother) Shrimp pickle which was always in her refrigerator during Monsoon days when the fish mongers didn't show up at her door.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lb shrimp,peeled and deveined
2 medium onions, chopped
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 sprig curry leaves
10-12 dried red chillies (byadgi)
1"cinnamon
8 cloves
4 green cardamom
1-2 tsp pepper corns
1 tsp jeera(cumin seeds)
1/2 tsp haldi(turmeric powder)
1"ginger
4-6 cloves garlic
1 tsp vinegar
oil
salt to taste

How it's made:

Grind red chillies, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, pepper corns, jeera, haldi, ginger, garlic, vinegar to a fine paste with very little water.
In a kadai or skillet, fry onions until light brown. Add ground masala & fry for atleast 20 mins. The more you fry the masala, the better the taste. Add tomatoes & curry leaves. After the tomatoes turn mushy, add shrimp. Do not add water. Cover & cook until shrimp is cooked- maybe 10 mins. Shrimp turns to be chewy if over cooked. Adjust salt.

Cracked Wheat Pulao

Cracked wheat is an excellent source of fiber, vitamins and minerals and easily available at most Indian stores. It is often confused with Bulghur which is popular with Middle eastern population. Raw whole wheat that are crushed is called Cracked Wheat whereas Bulghur is whole wheat that are soaked, steamed, dried and then crushed. Cooking cracked wheat takes a longer time, while Bulghur can be consumed after a short soaking time or depending on the quality, it may not need any cooking.

Cracked wheat soaks up more water and takes a longer time to cook when compared to rice. Unlike making pulao, more water can be added to cracked wheat during cooking process.

I was on a fridge/pantry cleaning spree a few days ago and this was the end result with a few varieties of vegetables and a packet of Cracked Wheat.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup cracked wheat
1 1/2 cup mixed vegetables (carrot, beans, peppers, cauliflower, squash, spring onions, peas, corn- your choice)
1 medium onion chopped
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1"ginger, grated
2 tsp heaped curry powder
4 cups water
2 tsp oil
salt to taste

How it's made:

Wash cracked wheat under running water 2-3 times.

Chop vegetables and set aside.

In a heavy bottom pan, heat oil. Add onion, ginger & garlic. Saute' for a minute. Add mixed vegetables, curry powder & salt to taste. Fry for 2-3 mins. Add cracked wheat. Mix well together.

Add water. Boil. Check for salt. Once it starts bubbling, cover & simmer on low flame until water evaporates. For some reason, if cracked wheat is uncooked, keep adding little water at a time until cracked wheat is well cooked.

Serves : 6

Note: I have used equal amount of cracked wheat and vegetable since I like vegetables in every bite! You can adjust the quantity of vegetable as per your preference.

Tomato Rasam

This is a simple and easy version of rasam that can be made in a jiffy.

Ingredients:

3-4 medium sized plum tomatoes
1 1/2 cup water (approx)
2 green chillies,slit
1 tsp (heaped) MTR rasam powder
1 tsp sasam (black mustard seeds)
a few curry leaves
1 tsp oil
salt to taste
a pinch of sugar
1 tsp coriander leaves, chopped

How it's made:

Cut tomatoes in half and cook with 1/2 cup of water until soft. Once cool, blend tomatoes in blender. Return  tomato puree back to sauce pan. Add green chillies and 1 cup water. More water can be added. Boil for 5 mins. In a "Phanna Davlo"or small frying pan, heat oil, add mustard seeds. Once it splutters, add rasam powder & curry leaves. Add seasoning to tomatoes. Adjust salt, sugar & garnish with coriander leaves.

Serves: 4