Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Alsande-Bee Keerlu ani Ambado ghalnu Koddel/ Cowpeas- Bamboo Shoots and Hogplum Curry.


"Alsande-Bee Keerlu ani Ambado ghalnu Koddel/ Cowpeas- Bamboo Shoots and Hogplum Curry" .... delicious curry with aromatic garlic seasoning prepared using Sun-dried black-eye peas along with monsoon veggies ... a favorite dish of GSB Konkani Saraswats served with rice ... Yummilicious ....

** Koddel needs no introduction anymore for all those who have kept following my traditional recipes from GSB Konkani Saraswat Cuisine. I have posted them quite often in different combinations, not to mention that its one of our most favorite curry at home. The recipe remains the same except in veggie combination. This time I have added on hogplum and bamboo shoots to cowpeas to the curry.

** I often get queries on combination/ mix and match with other veggies of same dish, hence I thought it only appropriate to share them all as and when prepared to make it easier for my dear friends. I will also be sharing a common link to all koddel recipes at the bottom of this recipe where in you will find them all. I will also share links to Bamboo Shoots and Hogplum addition curries for easier knowledge of the same.

** Again, for those who do not like or want to avoid garlic for personal reasons or on certain days, well, you can always season it with Mustard Seeds and Curry leaves too, though the difference in taste will be there. Hogplum (Ambado)/ Starfruit (Karmbala)/ Tree Sorrel Fruit (Bimbul) are a few veggies added to bring tartness to the curry, however if not available you can always add a little bit of tamarind to the curry.

** Before I go on to recipe let me request my friends to try out recipes too and if possible give me a feedback. These are all very simple recipes prepared in GSB Konkani Saraswat homes and once you relish them you will love them for their simplicity yet enhanced taste of curries. These are light on tummy when consumed in limits and give a very satisfied feeling of having a great lunch, soul food for us amchies.

** Here is my simple recipe for "Alsande-Bee Keerlu ani Ambado ghalnu Koddel/ Cowpeas- Bamboo Shoots and Hogplum Curry" .... my style which I learnt from my Amma ....


** Soak 2 cups of Cow peas/ Alsandebee/ Chawli/ Black-Eye Bean/ Lobia overnight or for minimum 8-10 hours in plenty of water. Once again, wash and rinse it well and put it in pressure cooker pan with enough water say about an inch above the level of cow peas and pressure cook to 1-2 whistles on medium heat and then remove from heat and keep it aside for the pressure in cooker to fall on itself. Once able to open, do so and check if cooked, if not pressure cook to another whistle or till done. 

** Wash and add in 8-10, 2.5 inch length x 1 inch width pieces of Brined or fresh Bamboo shoots/ Keerlu in a pressure cooker add in a cup of water (you can add the strained cooked beans water too) and pressure cook to 2-3 whistles on medium heat. Let the pressure in the cooker drop on its own. Once you are able to open the lid remove and add in the cooked bamboo shoot pieces and cow peas in a vessel. 

** Note : I used brined Keerlu/ Bamboo shoots though fresh ones are in season now, as I wanted to finish off my brined stock so that I can store the new ones. You can use brined (mitta ghallele keerlu) or fresh one’s as per your availability. In case you are using brined ones, it is best to soak the required number of keerlu overnight in plenty of water and change the water once or twice in between so that the extra salt in it get dissolved into the water and it becomes less salty. For the new ones too soak it in water to remove the strong smell it has.

** Masala to be Ground : Add 1 heaped cup of freshly grated coconut (soyi/ nariyal) into a mixer grinder along with 8-10 red kashmiri chillies (byadgi mirchi/ kumte mirsanga) and grind to a very fine paste. You can use the veggies cooked water for grinding the masala too which is what I usually do. Also the masala should be ground to a thick and smooth texture without adding excess water. 

** Note : Do add in a small marble sized pieced of tamarind/ chinchama/ imly while grinding the masala, if NOT adding any tart veggie to the curry. I have added on hogplum/ ambado to the curry so I have not added any tamarind to the masala. You can also replace ambado with bimbul (tree sorrel fruit) or karmbala (starfruit) to the curry. At times I even add kokum/ kudumpuli or raw mango to curries, its individual choice.

** Add ground paste to cooked cow peas- bamboo shoots in the vessel and mix well. Add 3-4 hogplum/ ambado after slicing off the stem edge portion and mashing the same with a heavy weight/ stone (as shown in picture). Add salt (namak/ meeta) to taste and check the consistency of the gravy, if too thick add in some water to bring to desired thick consistency. Bring to a boil on medium heat, stirring in between to avoid it getting burnt. Once it boils for 2-3 minutes, lower the heat and simmer till the hogplum/ ambado is cooked and done. Remove from heat and keep it aside while we prepare tempering.

** For Tempering/ Pannaka : Heat 1 tblsp of oil (tel/ tela) in a small pan, when hot add in 10-12 peeled and slightly crushed garlic cloves (losun/ lehsun) and fry till they are evenly lightly browned in color. Remove and pour this over the curry, cover and keep this aside for 15- 20 minutes for flavors to seep in. You can retain the skin of garlic and crush the same and use in tempering too, it tastes more aromatic.

** "Alsande-Bee Keerlu ani Ambado ghalnu Koddel/ Cowpeas- Bamboo Shoots and Hogplum Curry" is done and ready to be served. This dish is best served with rice and we GSB Konkani Saraswats love to relish the same with Red Boiled rice/ Ukde SheetHa or plain rice. However, you can relish the same with roti/ paratha/ chapati/ phulka/ dosa/ idly/ appo etc. in which case keep the curry slightly thicker in texture.

** Do try out this recipe and enjoy with your family and friends, you can also serve it with mildly flavored rice / pulav too, tastes awesome. I have included a few common links to alsande bee (cow peas), keerlu (bamboo shoots), ambado (hogplums) and koddel dishes posted earlier in the blog, which will give you an idea of how they are combined and used. It also includes brine method of bamboo shoots. You may browse through in leisure and decide upon that which suits your family the best as per their liking and try them, they are all tasty ....

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