vinaya - Vinaya's Culinary Delights

Yam Usli/ stir fry Recipe

Posted on November 12, 2020November 12, 2020 by vinaya

A simple but delicious preparation of Yam is the Usli. Ginger adds flavour to the preparation and green chillies impart slight hotness. The sweetness of coconut balances out the sharpness of both the ginger and green chillies. This goes well with Rice and Dal, though I like making a meal of all my veggies!

Ingredients:

500 gms Yam/ Sooran
2 inch piece of ginger grated
5 green chillies chopped fine
3 tsps coconut oil or oil of choice
1 tsp mustard
A large pinch of Asafoetida/ Hing
Salt
3 tbsps grated coconut

Method:

Deskin the yam and wash it thoroughly. Chop it into extremely tiny cubes. Heat oil in a pan. Drop in the mustard. After it splutters add grated ginger and chopped green chillies. Toss for a few seconds and then tip in the yam. Add salt and pour in half a glass of water. Reduce flame after it starts boiling . Cook on a slow flame till done. Drop in the asafoetida and grated coconut. Mix thoroughly and heat well. Serve hot.

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Difference Between The Basic Masala in Konkani Cuisine.

Posted on May 4, 2020May 8, 2020 by vinaya

This is an old post of mine which I would like to share with all of you here. Base of GSB Konkani cooking:

Sukke– Sukkein in Konkani means dry. It is a dry preparation which makes use of coconut, roasted red chillies, tamarind and urad dal roasted in a little oil and ground to a coarse paste. Seasoned with mustard, or mustard n curry leaves.

Sagle– Sagle in Konkani literally means whole. That means dt the vegetable is kept intact with a couple of slits and without chopping into fine pieces. Coconut, roasted red chillies, tamarind and roasted coriander seeds and methi seeds are ground together to a coarse paste. The masala is medium spicy. The seasoning is of mustard, or mustard n curry leaves in coconut oil.

Ghashi – It is usually a gravy of coconut, roasted red chillies and tamarind ground to a smooth paste. Again this too is not very spicy and seasoned in coconut oil with mustard n curry leaves. Generally pulses like moong, toor and chana are used to make ghashi. Another method of making ghashi is by coarsely grinding teppal/ Triphal with the masala and drizzling coconut oil after boiling the ghashi. Jen avro/ kutch Val, tingalavro / navy beans or even Alsandya bee/ black eyed beans / chawli are used.

Koddel– a spicy preparation of coconut, roasted red chillies and tamarind. The quantity of coconut used is less in comparison to ghashi, sukkein or Sagle. The masala is ground to a smooth paste and it is seasoned with lots of garlic in coconut oil. Koddel could be of fresh vegetables like magge or Mangalore cucumber, raw banana or of Kulith/ horse gram or Alsandya bee/ black eyed beans or chawli.

Humman– a spicy gravy of coconut, roasted red chillies and tamarind ground to a fine paste and which has to be boiled well. Drizzled with fresh coconut oil n asafoetida. ( hinga uddak) It is not seasoned. Once the oil n asafoetida water is drizzled it is kept tightly covered so that the masala gets infused. Potato and double beans are generally used to make humman.

Bendhi – this is a spicy gravy ground fine with less of coconut and more of roasted red chillies and tamarind. Seasoning of lot of garlic in coconut oil. Bendhi is generally made with pulses like black toor/kali tori, tingalavro /navy beans.

Ambatta– ambat can be made with or without the addition of cooked toor dal to the masala. Coconut, roasted red chillies and tamarind is ground together to a smooth paste and any chopped vegetable of your choice can be used. It is seasoned with onions in coconut oil. Peas, cauliflower, ivy gourd/tendle or even onion is used as the vegetable of choice.

Bhuthi– This is a preparation where onions are used in the seasoning along with mustard. Masala again is of coconut, roasted red chillies and tamarind ground to a coarse paste. Usually bhuthi is made with ivy gourd/tendle, jeev kadgi/ a variety of raw jackfruit or onions themselves used both in seasoning and as vegetable of choice.

Tamballi– this is a cold preparation. Coconut, roasted red chillies and tamarind are ground to a very smooth paste and chopped onions are added as garnish. Drizzled with coconut oil. This preparation is not heated and thus not prepared in advance.

Bhaartha– This too is a cold preparation where the ground masala of coconut, roasted red chillies, ginger and tamarind is not heated. The difference is in the addition of adding cooked and mashed vegetables like brinjal or ghosale/ ridge gourd to the masala and n raw onions are added as garnish n drizzled with coconut oil.

Kismoori– This used to be traditionally made with either fried bitter gourd/karathe or sooran/yam. But of late, beans, spring onions and even carrot is used, the first two being shallow fried and the last eaten raw. Kismoori is of two types. One is with grated coconut, green chillies and onions minced, salt and coconut oil. This is added to the fried karathe or sooran just before serving. Same is with the other vegetables too which need to be cooled before the garnish is added. The second variety of Kismoori is coconut, roasted red chillies, ginger and tamarind ground to a coarse paste. Finely chopped onions salt and coconut oil are mixed with the masala and this again is added to the karathe/bitter gourd or sooran /yam just before serving.

Thali Meal-72

Posted on October 26, 2019 by vinaya

Sharing a Thali today of Rice, Malabar spinach Ambat,. Runner Beans stir fry, Dalithoy, Yam Kismuri, Onion Fryums, Tender Mango pickle, Curd and fruit. Recipes for all the items are given below.

Recipe to make the perfect Rice

Malabar Spinach Ambat Recipe

Farmyard Beans Stir Fry Recipe

Dalithoy Recipe

Fried Yam Kismuri – 2

Onion Fryums/ Vodi Recipe

Tender Mango Pickle Recipe

Diwali Special

Posted on October 25, 2019 by vinaya

Diwali the Festival of Lights is celebrated with great fervour throughout India. A variety of sweets and savouries are made to welcome home the Goddess Lakshmi who is considered the Goddess of Wealth. Posting the variety of food items that have been made .

Chevda Recipe

Sweet Fried Poha Recipe

Spicy Tukdi/ Shankarpali Recipe

Tikha Gatiya Recipe

Narlikolor Laru Recipe

Rava Ladoo Recipe

Thali Meal – 71

Posted on September 22, 2019September 22, 2019 by vinaya

Sharing a Thali of Rice, Dalithoy, Ridgegourd and Potato Stir fry, Cabbage and Onion Sanna khotto, Dal vada/ Bengal Gram fritters, Curd and a raw salad. Recipe links to all the items are given below.

Recipe to make the perfect Rice

Dalithoy Recipe

Ridge Gourd And Potato Stir Fry Recipe

Cabbage Sannakhotto /steamed dumplings Recipe

Bengal Gram Fritters Recipe

Toasty Crunch Dessert Recipe

Posted on September 21, 2019September 21, 2019 by vinaya

This is an easy and quick dessert which mom always made for us when we craved for something sweet. Today as my blog turns two decided to celebrate with this simple yet delicious dessert.

Ingredients:

5 slices of bread
6 tsps of sugar
A big pinch of Kesar/ saffron
1/4 tsp cardamom powder
5 Cashew nuts halved
A few Kishmish
Ghee to fry the bread
200 ml water

Method:

Cut the bread into any desired shape. Mom just used to quarter it and fry it. I used a cookie cutter to give it a heart shape. I made ten heart shaped pieces out of the five slices of bread. Heat ghee in a pan. Deep fry the bread, cashews and kishmish separately to a rich golden brown. Drain and keep aside. Take sugar and water in a pan. Allow to boil. Add the saffron strands to it and keep boiling for a couple of minutes. Switch off and add the cardamom powder, fried cashews and raisins to the syrup. Place a couple of fried bread pieces in a serving dish and pour the syrup over it. Serve immediately.

Note: I like my bread to retain it’s crunch, so pour the syrup while serving the dish. You may allow the bread pieces soak in the syrup before hand if you like them soft.

Thali Meal -70

Posted on September 16, 2019September 16, 2019 by vinaya

Sharing a Thali of Rice, Cowpeas/ Lobhia Saarupkari, Pumpkin Stir fry, Kuchumber, Potato fritters, Curds and Tender Mango pickle. Recipe links to all the items are given below.

Recipe to make the perfect Rice

Black Eyed Beans Saar Upkari Recipe

Pumpkin Upkari/ Stir fry Recipe

Kuchumber Recipe

Potato Bhajia/ fritters Recipe

Tender Mango Pickle Recipe

Pumpkin Upkari/ Stir fry Recipe

Posted on September 16, 2019September 16, 2019 by vinaya

This is one vegetable that I can never have enough of! I like it cooked, roasted, fried, baked or even just steamed with some salt and pepper. Posting a very simple yet delicious Stir fry which the Konkani community calls as Upkari. Goes well with both rice or Roti.

Ingredients:

250 gms Pumpkin
2 green chillies chopped fine
2 tbsps Coconut Oil
1 tsp mustard
3 tbsps sugar/ jaggery as required
Salt
A pinch of Hing/ Asafoetida

Method:

Deskin the pumpkin. Sometimes I leave the skin on too. The choice is yours. Slice it thinly and wash well under running water. Heat oil in a pan. Drop in the mustard seeds and after they crackle add the green chilly bits and the Hing. Toss, drop in the sliced pumpkin, sugar, salt and mix well. Sprinkle with water, cover and cook for a couple of minutes. It’s done. This is one preparation which gets ready in no time, so be careful not to over cook the vegetable.

Sookha Bhel/ Dry Bhel Recipe

Posted on September 14, 2019May 20, 2020 by vinaya

Bhelpuri is one of the most popular street food in Mumbai. It’s a mixture of puffed rice, onions, tomatoes, coriander leaves and the green, red and tamarind chutney. Recipe for the same is listed under the Chaat section of this blog. The other version of this popular street food is Sookha Bhel where no Chutneys are added and the mixture is left dry. Sookha means dry. I prefer mine with a dash of green chutney, just enough to lend it some spice.Ingredients:

One boiled potato
One large onion
One tomato
Coriander leaves
Salt
Juice of half a lemon
A pinch of Everest Chaat Masala
Sev
Puffed rice as required
Green chutney

Method:Deskin quarter and slice the boiled potatoes thinly. Chop the tomatoes, onions and Coriander leaves also fine. Tip all the vegetables into a bowl. Add the lemon juice, Chaat Masala and a pinch of salt. Tip in a tsp of the green chutney and mix thoroughly. Add as much puffed rice as it can hold. The mixture should not be too dry . Garnish with Sev and serve immediately.

Bell pepper and Peanut Kairas Recipe

Posted on September 13, 2019September 13, 2019 by vinaya

This is a lip smacking dish that I learnt from my friend Purnima Trikannad Udyavar. It goes well as a side dish with Dal and rice or with Chapati too. It’s a mix of tangy, sweet and spice and is extremely flavourful!

Ingredients:

3 green capsicums/ Bell peppers
1/2 cup peanuts
1 tbsp Chana dal/ Bengal Gram Dal
1 tsp Coriander Seeds
1/4th tsp Fenugreek seeds
2 tbsps Sesame seeds
5 Dry Red chillies
3 tbsps grated coconut
2 tbsps oil
Salt
2 tbsps Tamarind paste
5 tbsps jaggery syrup
A large pinch of Hing/ Asafoetida
A large pinch of Haldi/ Turmeric powder
1 tsp mustard seeds.

Method:

Chop the Bell pepper into bite sized pieces. Pressure cook the peanuts with a little salt till done. Keep aside.
Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan. Roast the Chana Dal, Coriander seeds, Methi and Sesame seeds in that order to a golden brown. Roast the red chillies separately in a drop of oil. Allow to cool. Grind this mixture with the grated coconut to a smooth paste. Keep aside.
Heat the remaining 1 tbsp oil in a pan. Drop in the mustard and after it crackles add the Hing. Toss. Add the chopped Bell pepper and saute for a few minutes. Add salt and Haldi. Toss.
Add the boiled peanuts to it and cover and cook for a few minutes. Drop in the ground paste, tamarind paste and the jaggery syrup. Mix thoroughly. Add half a glass of water, cover and cook till done.