332) CHITTIYE PANNA PODI

CHITTIYÉ PANNA PODI

A KONKANI DEEP-FRIED SNACK

A DELICIOUS DOTTED TARO LEAF SIDE DISH

 

Introduction:

          Chittiye pan (spotted taro leaf plant / colocasia esculenta) grows wild all over the Konkan and Kerala coasts as well as on the Western Ghats. The magnificent green leaves adorned with red patches and white dots are a feast to one’s eyes. My paternal grandmother, who lived at Thalassery (I am named after her!) used to make this wonderful snack for her dear husband and nine children.

          She had to hand-grind the paste using rice, chilies and chickpea lentils in her time as modern kitchen appliances were unheard of. My father inherited her gourmet fingers and her ancient recipes. Lucky me and lucky you!

Ingredients:

     1)    Deveined (see notes) tender spotted taro leaves (Chittiyé pan in Konkani, Pulli chembe in Malayalam) – 100 gm.

     2)    Chickpea flour (chena pite or besan in Konkani, kadalapodi in Malayalam) – 200 gm.

     3)    Rice flour – 50 gm.

     4)    Corn flour – 25 gm.

     5)    Asafoetida powder – 5 gm.

     6)    Kashmiri chili powder – 10 gm.

     7)    Hot red chili powder – 5 gm.

     8)    Powdered salt – 10 gm.

     9)    Water – 250 ml.

     10)    Cooking oil – to deep fry

To make:

          Put ingredient numbers 2 to 9 (all except the leaves and the cooking oil) into a mixing bowl and mix thoroughly with your fingers. Set a spotted leaf upside down on a platter. Smear the batter thinly all over the leaf. Put the next leaf likewise at a tangent to the first one and smear it too with the paste. Repeat until you have a rounded sandwich of 5 to 6 leaves.

 

Smear the top leaf with the batter. Lift up and fold the left and right edges of the leaf sandwich in straight lines so as to get it ready for rolling. Now lift the near edge and roll tightly with your fingers to make a beautiful cylinder (like a small patrodo or a dudni pana podi roll). Finish the rest of the leaves likewise.

          Set a deep wok or frying pan on high heat. Pour in the cooking oil. Use a sharp knife to slice each roll (lolo in Konkani) into 2 cm. (¾ inch) wide slices.

As soon as the oil is hot (it should not smoke), slip in the slices quickly and carefully, one after the other, until the wok or pan is full, but not crowded.

2 minutes later, turn the podis over. Fry them for 90 more seconds (a total of 3½ minutes) and lift them out, draining off the excess oil. Proceed with the next batch likewise. Your beautiful, delicious, spicy deep-fried chittiye panna podi can be served as a mouthwatering side dish to rice or cherupayar kanji or gruel or as a teatime snack.

Enjoy!!!

Notes:

     1)    Take care to collect only one youngest leaf from a plant as the more mature leaves may cause slight itching in the mouth.

     2)    Use a thin sharp knife to slice away the thicker veins from the undersides of the leaves, taking care not to tear the leaves.

331) BAMBOO SHOOT PICKLE

BAMBOO SHOOT PICKLE

A HOT, TANGY, CRUNCHY TENDER BAMBOO PICKLE

Ingredients:

     1)    Processed (for processing instructions, please see my tender bamboo in Konkani cuisine article), finely chopped tender bamboo pieces – 625 gm.

     2)    Peeled garlic cloves – 75 gm.

     3)    Peeled, finely chopped ginger – 5 gm.

     4)    Hot green chilies – 15 gm.

     5)    Sesame (gingelly) oil – 150 ml.

     6)    Hot red chili powder – 10 gm.

     7)    Kashmiri chili powder – 15 gm.

     8)    Mustard seeds – 3 gm.

     9)    Mustard powder – 10 gm.

     10)    Turmeric powder – 2 gm.

     11)    Asafoetida powder – 2 gm.

     12)    Curry leaves – 2 sprigs

     13)   Sugar – 25 gm.

     14)    Powdered salt – 35 gm.

     15)    Vinegar – 150 ml.

To cook:

          Put the hot red chili powder, the Kashmiri chili powder, the mustard powder, the turmeric powder, the asafoetida powder, the sugar and the powdered salt into a small bowl and mix thoroughly. Chop the hot green chilies to fine bits and set aside.

          Set a wok or frying pan on high heat. Pour in the oil and tip in the mustard seeds. As soon as the mustard seeds are about to finish popping, pull the curry leaves off their sprig and throw them in. Stir once and tip in the chopped chili, the ginger and the garlic cloves. Lower the heat and stir-fry for a minute.

          Now put in the tender bamboo and turn up the heat. Mix thoroughly and stir continuously for 2 minutes. Lower the heat and stir frequently for 3 more minutes. Pour in half of the vinegar (75 ml.), mix thoroughly and switch off the heat.

          Let cool naturally without a lid. When cool, transfer to four small (200 ml.) airtight jars and pour the rest of the vinegar on top of the pickle. Seal and set aside to rest for 3 days.

Enjoy this delicious bamboo shoot pickle with rice, chappatis, dosas, machkats, biriyani, fried rice or just about any food you like. This pickle is so good you will finish it in no time!

Bon appétit!

Note:

          Once a jar is opened for use, keep it refrigerated for freshness.

330) PAPADA GOJJU

PAPADA GOJJU

A TANGY, HOT, YUMMY KONKANI PAPAD SALAD

A PAPAD KACHIMBER GUARANTEED TO BRING TASTE TO YOUR TONGUE

Introduction:

          Ever wondered what to do with leftover deep-fried papads going soft? Or with softened roasted papads for that matter? What if you could create a dish fit for a gourmet king to drool over! Here is the recipe.

Ingredients (see note):

     1)    Fried papads (turning soft) – 70 gm. (any papad – plain, pepper, masala or chili papad or a combination will do)

     2)    Tamarind – 20 gm.

     3)    Dry hot red chilies – 3 gm.

     4)    Peeled onion – 110 gm.

     5)    Cooking oil – 1 tablespoon (15 ml.)

     6)    Mustard seeds – ½ teaspoon (2 gm.)

     7)    Curry leaves – 1 sprig

     8)    Powdered salt – 5 gm.

     9)    Drinking water – 150 ml.

To make:

          Put the tamarind in a small bowl and pour in the water. Squeeze well with your fingers till most of the pulp dissolves in the water. Set aside to soak.

Chop the onion to superfine pieces and set aside. Use a pair of scissors to cut the dry chilies to fine rings and set aside. Cut the papads to thin slivers likewise and set aside.

Sieve the tamarind juice into a serving bowl. Squeeze and sieve the pomace (residue) and collect the remaining juice too. Tip in the chopped onion and the powdered salt.

Set a small pan or skillet on low heat. Pour in the oil and throw in the mustard seeds. As soon as the mustard seeds finish crackling, pull the curry leaves off their sprig and throw them in together with the chili rings. Stir once and empty the contents into the serving bowl. Mix well and set aside.

 

          Just before serving the dish, tip in the papad pieces and mix. Enjoy your exhilarating papada gojju as a side dish to rice.

 

Enjoy!!!

Note:

For this recipe, I used 9 regular plain papads and a couple of chili papads. If leftover papads are not in stock, just crumble fresh fried papads with your fingers and mix them in.

329) UKDE TANDLA BAKRI

UKDE TANDLA BAKRI

A DELICIOUS, HEALTHY, TRADITIONAL KONKANI RICE FLATBREAD

Introduction:

          Ukde tandla bakri / bhakri is a breakfast dish which evokes nostalgic memories in the heart of every person who has enjoyed it even once in childhood. The smell of the cooked, slightly roasted rice and coconut suffused with the welcome fragrance of roasted green banana leaves in which it has been cooked on a cast-iron pan over a wood burning stove turns one into a hungry child, anxiously awaiting the delicious bakri.

The hot bakri is served to children, topped with a dollop of fresh, homemade butter or ghee, sprinkled with sugar whereas adults have their first one likewise and the next with hot torin ghashi or with soyi bhajjile ghashi or with poached egg masala curry or with niliye kholu or with mushroom curry or with any Konkani pickle.

Ingredients:

     1)    Parboiled rice (preferably ponni rice) – 1 kg.

     2)    Grated coconut – 350 gm.

     3)    Salt – 10 gm. (2 teaspoons)

     4)    Water – 520 ml.

     5)    Banana leaf pieces of around 8” x 8” (20 cm. x 20 cm.) – 24 Nos.

To prepare:

          Soak the rice in water overnight (for urgent cooking, see note). Rinse the banana pieces carefully in water, wipe dry and set aside. Wash and drain the soaked rice. Use the measured water (no more than 520 ml.) to grind the rice together with the grated coconut to fine paste in your food processor (a little coarseness in the paste is alright).

Transfer the paste to a bowl, tip in the powdered salt and mix well. Set a cast iron pan on high heat. As soon as it is hot, place a banana leaf on the pan (dark side up) and put a dollop of batter in the center (around 150 ml. to 175 ml. would be ideal). Cover with another leaf (dark side down) and press it uniformly either with your fingers (the traditional way) or with the flat bottom of a vessel (my style, for an easy and more uniform result). Cover the upper leaf with a cloche.

A minute later, turn down the heat and let cook slowly for 7 minutes. Now lift up the cloche and flip over the leaf sandwich carefully. Cover again with the cloche and let cook for 7 more minutes.

Open the cloche and peel off the upper leaf. Flip over and peel off the lower leaf too. Roast each side for 2½ minutes. Your mouthwatering ukde tandla bakri is now ready to serve. Serve hot as suggested in the introduction.

Enjoy!!!

Tip:

          As it takes 20 minutes of cooking time to roast a bakri, I always use two cast-iron pans side by side to save on time.

Note:

          For urgent cooking, put the rice in a vessel and pour in enough boiling water to immerse it fully. Cover with a lid and keep for an hour. Drain, rinse in cold water and drain again before grinding. However, I like the traditional method better as it gives a fresher taste and a nicer smell to the bakri.

328) SHARKARA UPPERI OR VELIYUPPERI

SHARKARA UPPERI

OR

VELIYUPPERI

DELICIOUS SWEET AND SPICY KERALA NENDRAN BANANA CHIPS

Introduction:

          In Kerala, no banana leaf feast is considered complete if dual appetizers of crisp, sweet and savoury deep fried nendran banana pieces often called veliyupperi and cheriyupperi are not served. Of these, sharkara upperi is so tempting, no matter how much you make, it is finished in no time. In fact, its very taste is an adventure. Veliyupperi is also known as sharkara upperi, sharkara varatti or sharkara puratti. Here, I share with you one of my more precious recipes. Do cook and enjoy!

Ingredients:

     1)    Peeled, fully mature, raw nendran banana – 1 kg.

     2)    Jaggery (unrefined cane sugar) – 500 gm.

     3)    Krishna tulsi leaves (purple indian basil) – 5 gm.

     4)    Pepper powder – 10 gm.

     5)    Ginger powder – 5 gm.

     6)    Cumin (jeera) powder – 5 gm.

     7)    Cardamom pods – 10 Nos.

     8)    Powdered salt – 2 gm. (½ level teaspoon)

     9)    Water – 100 ml.

     10)    Coconut oil or other cooking oil – to deep fry

To make:

          Cut the banana lengthwise into halves. Cut each half across into pieces of around 8 mm. to 10 mm. thickness (⁵/₁₆ inch). Set a small pan on low heat. Tip in the jaggery and pour in the water. Stir occasionally till the jaggery dissolves fully. Switch off the heat. Strain and pour the jaggery into a wide thick-bottomed vessel and set aside.

          Set a wide wok or a large deep-frying pan on high heat. Pour in the cooking oil (you can deep-fry the banana pieces in a single batch if you use 2 litres). As soon as the oil is hot (it should not smoke), slip in the banana pieces. Stir occasionally.

Meanwhile, shell the cardamom and crush the seeds to powder. Chop the tulsi leaves to superfine pieces and set aside. Stir the banana pieces till the bubbles are very few and the pieces feel like wood as you turn them with a perforated ladle or meshed noodle strainer (take care to fry them till most of the moisture has evaporated, but not so late as to burn the pieces). Lift out the banana pieces and drain off the excess oil. Switch off the heat.

Now set the thick vessel containing the jaggery on high heat. Stir continuously taking care not to let the jaggery burn at the base. As it comes to a boil, tip in the chopped Krishna tulsi leaves, the pepper powder, the ginger powder, the cumin powder, the cardamom powder and the salt. Continue to stir till the jaggery thickens and feels gummy.

Now lower the heat and tip in the fried banana pieces. Stir well till the banana absorbs and gets coated fully with the melted jaggery (this will take around 2 to 3 minutes). Switch off the heat. Stir for a minute more for the jaggery to crystallize and then tip the contents onto a large banana leaf or on non-stick paper or on a stainless steel platter to cool. When cool, your delicious sharkara upperi is ready to enjoy. Store in an airtight container, if any remain after sampling!

Bon appétit!!!

Note:

          The sharkara upperi available commercially in bakeries in Kerala is prepared the same way, but with slightly different ingredients. Tulsi is not used. Cumin is also often omitted. Only 300 gm. of jaggery is used, but supplemented with 50 gm. of powdered sugar and 100 gm. of fine rice powder. The latter two are simply dusted over the jaggery coated banana pieces while stirring them in the final round.

327) CHERIYUPPERI

CHERIYUPPERI

CRUNCHY NENDRAN BANANA UPPERI

TRADITIONAL KERALA DEEP-FRIED CHIPS

 

Introduction:

          Long before the chipmaker was invented, the people of Kerala were enjoying crunchy, deep-fried nendran chips – each painstakingly cut by hand and fried in coconut oil. This enticing tradition is so ingrained in the heart of the Malayali, that despite the changing times and fashions, each banana leaf rightfully claims a serving of upperi – veliyupperi / sweet sharkara upperi and cheriyupperi / savoury upperi. While traditional cheriyupperi is a simple, savoury deep-fried snack, relying fully upon the goodness of nendran banana alone, the modern bakery version incorporates the flavour of chili powder and curry leaves as well. Here are both versions. Do fry and enjoy!

Ingredients (for the traditional version):

     1)    Peeled, fully mature, raw nendran banana – 500 gm.

     2)    Powdered salt – 1 heaped teaspoon (10 – 12 gm.)

     3)    Oil – to deep fry

Ingredients (for the modern version):

     1)    Peeled, fully mature, raw nendran banana – 500 gm.

     2)    Powdered salt – 1 heaped teaspoon (10 – 12 gm.)

     3)    Oil – to deep fry

     4)    Curry leaves – 2 sprigs

     5)    Kashmiri chili powder – 2 teaspoons (10 gm.)

To prepare:

          Cut each banana lengthwise into halves. Slice each half across into 3 mm (⅛ inch) thick half-moon pieces and set aside. Take two tablespoonfuls of water (30 ml.) in a small bowl or cup. Tip in a heaped teaspoonful of powdered salt and stir till the solution is fully saturated (no more will dissolve). Set aside.

To deep-fry the traditional version:

          Set a wide wok or deep-frying pan on high heat. Pour in the cooking (a little should suffice to deep-fry 500 gm. of banana pieces in one batch). As soon as the oil is hot, tip in the banana pieces. Stir every now and then for frying uniformly.

When the banana pieces are almost done (the bubbles will be few and most of the pieces would be floating on the surface of the oil), tip a teaspoon and a half (8 ml.) of brine (saturated salt solution) and stir continuously. This is for the dissolved salt to coat the pieces uniformly.

As the bubbles subside, you can feel the chips to be lightweight like pieces of wood as you touch them with the perforated ladle or with the mesh net noodle strainer. Lift out the chips and drain off the excess oil. Switch off the heat. Let cool naturally. Your delicious, crunchy, traditional cheriyupperi is now ready to enjoy.

To make the modern version:

Deep-fry the chips just as in the traditional version. As soon as you lift them out, switch off the heat and throw the curry leaf sprigs into the hot oil. Stir once (they would have fried crisp in just a few seconds), lift out and set aside.

Put the hot chips in a stainless steel bowl and sprinkle the chili powder. Shake vigorously so that the chili powder gets coated uniformly. Crumble the curry leaves and tip them in. Shake once more. Let cool naturally before you transfer the upperi to an airtight container.

 

Enjoy!!!

326) KIRLA SUKKE

KIRLA SUKKÉ

A TRADITIONAL KONKANI SPICY TENDER BAMBOO CURRIED SIDE DISH

 

Ingredients:

     1)    Processed, finely chopped tender bamboo (for processing information, please refer to my tender bamboo in Konkani cuisine article) – 300 gm.

     2)    Peeled jackfruit seeds – 125 gm.

     3)    Grated coconut – 150 gm.

     4)    Dry Kashmiri chilies – 18 gm.

     5)    Coriander seeds – 15 gm.

     6)    Urud dal (split black gram lentils) – 10 gm.

     7)    Seedless tamarind – 15 gm.

     8)    Coconut oil – 1 tablespoon (15 ml.)

     9)    Mustard seeds – 1 teaspoon

     10)    Salt – 12 gm.

     11)    Water – 600 ml.

To prepare:

          Chop the jackfruit seeds to fine pieces and set aside. Set a skillet or small pan on low heat. Pour in half the oil (7.5 ml.) and tip in the urud dal. Stir till the urud dal turns a light brown in colour. Now tip in the coriander seeds and stir for 30 seconds. Throw in the chilies, stir for 30 more seconds and switch off the heat. Transfer the contents to your food processor. Add the grated coconut, the tamarind and 250 ml. of water. Grind to rough paste.

To cook:

          Set a wide cast iron wok (to cook kirla sukké the tasty, healthy, traditional way) or a non-stick wok on high heat. Pour in the remaining (7.5 ml.) coconut oil and throw in the mustard seeds. As soon as the mustard seeds are about to finish popping, tip in the chopped jackfruit seeds, the tender bamboo pieces and the remaining water (350 ml.). Throw in the salt.

Once it comes to a boil, lower the heat and cover with a cloche or lid. Let the bamboo cook slowly for 15 minutes while stirring occasionally. Now tip in the ground coconut paste and turn up the heat. Mix well and stir frequently until the water evaporates, leaving the delicious, semi-thick kirla sukké. Switch off the heat. Serve hot as a side dish to steaming hot rice or chappatis.

Enjoy!!!