238) GABBYA GOJJU

GABBYA GOJJU

      BANANA PITH IN CHILI SAUCE

Ingredients:

     1)    Finely diced edible banana pith (to learn about edible varieties and cutting techniques, please see my gabbya poltho recipe) – 150 gm.

     2)    Tender ginger – ½ inch piece

     3)    Dry hot red chilies – 12 Nos.

     4)    Hot green chili – 1 no.

     5)    Tamarind – an olive sized bit

     6)    Coconut oil – 2 teaspoons

     7)    Asafoetida powder – 2 pinches

     8)    Water – 200 ml.

     9)    Salt – 1¼ teaspoons

To Make:

          Peel the ginger and dice into 3 mm. cubes. Discard the stems of both types of chilies and break each one into 2 pieces (this is to prevent them from bursting when fried).

          Set a small pan on low heat. Pour in the coconut oil and tip in the broken chilies. Stir till the chilies are roasted and give forth the fried chili aroma (this will take only a minute or two). Switch off the heat. Tip over the entire contents of the pan into a food processor. Add the tamarind and pour in half the water (100 ml.). Grind to fine paste.

          Put the diced banana pith and the ginger into a mixing bowl. Pour in the paste. Add the remaining water and tip in the salt together with the asafoetida powder. Mix nicely. Taste and add more salt if required.

          Serve your hot and crunchy gabbya gojju with a nice heap of hot parboiled rice. Dip warm rice balls in the gojju and enjoy over and over again!

Notes:

     1)    If you do not like too much heat, use milder chilies.

     2)    The traditional Konkani method is not to make a chili paste using the food processor but to simply soak the chilies for 30 minutes in tamarind juice and then squeeze them with one’s fingers and then add the banana pith and the ginger cubes to make this gabbya gojju. Of course, no gloves were available in olden times and the cook had to suffer the burning sensation from the hot chilies for a day.