GOAN STYLE VATANA USAL / VATANYACHI USAL / DRIED PEAS CURRY

 

Vatanyachi Usal  is a very simple preparation without onion and garlic. The gravy is coconut based with some roasted spices ground together. Usually Goan Hindus make this on festive days like Diwali, Tulsi Vivah etc etc. along with many other vegetarian dishes. You can relish this with puris or pav bread.(ladi pav)

Ingredients

Dried green or yellow vatanas - 1 cup (soak them overnight)

Salt - to taste

Oil - 2-3 tbsps

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp or more as you like.

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Hing / asafoetida - 2 pinches

Lemon - 1/2 

Coriander leaves - handful

Roast & Grind:

Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp

Coriander seeds - 1 tbsp

Cinnamon - 1" piece

Cloves - 5

Green cardamoms - 5

Red chilli - 1

Pepper corns - 8-10

Star anise - 1

Ginger - 1" piece

Coconut - 4-5 tbsps 

Method:

1. Soak the vatana over night. 

2. Boil them in a pan with 3 cups of water and little salt. We can use the water for gravy. Avoid using pressure cooker as they become mushy very fast.

3. In a pan dry roast the whole spices first. Remove them.

4. Next roast the coconut and ginger until the colour changes.

5. First grind the dry ingredients and add the coconut and ginger with sufficient water to make a coarser paste. Somewhat like coconut chutney.

6. In a pan heat oil and add the mustard seeds and asafoetida.

7. When they crackle, reduce the flame and add the turmeric and chilli powder. 

8. Now stir in the ground masala paste and saute it. 

9. Add salt and the boiled vatanas. Use the strained water of the vatanas for the gravy. Keep the consistency to your preference. 

10. Simmer on low flame for a minute or two until the masala gets cooked. Squeeze out the lemon juice finally. Add some coriander leaves.

11. Serve with pooris or pav bread. 

Check out the video:

This recipe is for A-Z challenge - Season 2 

Season 1 - We have completed the first season making the recipes alphabetically with ingredients with English names. ( eg. A - Apple, Artichoke, Asparagus ..)

Season 2 - We decided to make the recipes alphabetically with Hindi names. ( A - Anar, Adrak Aloo ... )

This month the Alphabet is V

Recipe List of A-Z Challenge (Season 2)

A - Adraki Aloo  (Baby Potatoes with ginger and spice powders)

B - Begun Bhaja  ( Bengali style fried Brinjals)

C - Chukandar Ke Parathe  (Stuffed Beetroot Parathas)

D - Farali Dahi Chawal ( Barnyard Millet Curd Rice / Samak ke Dahi Chawal )

E - Elaichi Cup Cakes ( Cardamom flavoured cup cakes )

F - False ke Biscuits ( Lemon Currant Cookies )

G - Gud Wale Pohe (Sweet Flattened Rice Flakes with jaggery)

H - Hare Dhaniye ki Sabzi ( Fresh Coriander stir fry )

I - Imli Gosht ( Hyderabadi style tangy Mutton Curry)

J - Jowar ke Phulke (Sorghum Flour Flatbreads)

K - Karele ki Bhurji ( Diced Bitter Gourd Stir fry)

L - Lehsun Ka Achar ( Garlic Pickle)

M - Moong Dal with Sarson ka Saag ( Moong dal with Mustard Greens)

N - Neembu Gud ki Shikanji (Indian summer drink with herbs and spices)

O - Oal / Jimikand Ka Keema ( yam mince curry)

P - Kadai Paneer ( Paneer / Cottage cheese curry )

Q - Qeema Pav (Mutton Mince served with Pav Bread)

R - Rajma Dhoklas ( fusion dhoklas with rajma)

S - Semolina Vadas ( Sooji ke vade )

T - Tendli Bhat ( Ivy Gourd Pilaf )

U - Urad Dal Palak (Black lentils cooked with spinach)

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Kolhapuri Misal Pav 

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SOL KADHI / KOKUM DRINK

Sol Kadhi is a drink from Goa and Konkan region of Maharashtra. It is made with kokum extract and coconut milk to which a little tempering is added. Sometimes it is also made plain without the addition of coconut milk.This is  usually taken after eating spicy food as it cools down the digestive system. Kokam is an excellent antidote for acidity problems. It can be had with plain rice as well.
Our group Shhhhh Cooking Secretly decided to go for Goan Cuisine this month. I was paired with Kriti Singhal Agrawal who blogs at - Krispy Kadhai .. Do check out her space for yummy recipes.

Ingredients:
Kokums ... 8-10
Coconut milk .. 200 ml. (I used ready tetra pack one)
Garlic paste ... 1/2 tsp
Green chilli paste .. 1/4 tsp (adjust to your liking)
Crushed cumin seeds .. 2 pinches or use whole
Curry leaves ... 2-3 (crushed with hand)
Coriander leaves .. for garnishing.
Salt ......... to taste
Oil .... 1 tsp

Method:

1. Soak the kokums in warm water for few hours.

2. Crush them with hand nicely.

3. Strain the water in a bowl and set aside discarding the kokums.

4. Take the garlic and chilli paste in a strainer and pour some liquid over it and press with the spoon to extract the flavours.

5. Stir in the coconut milk and little salt as needed. Be careful in adding the salt as the kokums are also usually salted

6. Crush the cumin seeds lightly or use whole if you like.

7. Heat a tsp of oil and add the whole or crushed cumin seeds and curry leaves. When they crackle stir them into the kadhi. Garnish with coriander leaves.

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CRAB CURRY GOAN STYLE

Making crab curry was on my list since a long time. At last I got some crabs though they were not really big, still the curry turned out awesome. I made it in the Goan style and served with plain rice. This gravy can go with dosas and appams too. Cleaning the crabs is little tricky. If you get them cleaned and ready from the market it is fine .. or else you can watch this video of Vahrevah Chef how to clean them. I just followed his instructions as this was my first attempt too.

 How to clean the crabs - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crSMzlPFXyc

Ingredients:
Crabs ..... 4-5
Onion ... 1 large (1 cup sliced) + 1/4 cup finely chopped
Tomato .. 1
Ginger .. 1 inch piece
Garlic ... 5-6 cloves
Dry red chillies .. 2-3
Fennel seeds .. 1 tsp
Cumin seeds .. 1/2 tsp
Cloves ........ 3-4
Cardamoms .. 4-5
Cinnamon .. small piece
Grated coconut .. 1/2 cup
Turmeric powder ..
Red chilli powder .. 1/2 tsp (or more if you like )
Coriander powder .. 1 tsp
Garam masala powder .. 1/2 tsp
Salt .... to taste
Curry leaves .. 1 sprig
Coriander leaves .. handful
Oil .... 4-5 tbsps or as needed
Lemon juice ... 2 tbsps
Thick coconut milk ... 2-3 tbsps

Method:
1. Clean the crabs and cut them into pieces.
2. Marinate them with salt, little turmeric powder and lemon juice.
3.In a pan heat 1 tbsp oil and add the fennel seeds, cumin seeds, red chillies, cardamom, cloves and cinnamon.
4. When they leave out an aroma tip in the onion and saute it adding the ginger garlic after a little while.
5. Now add the grated onion and stir fry for a minute.
6. Grind it adding water to a thick paste.
7. Now heat oil in a pan and add the finely chopped onions. Saute.
8. Add the tomato cubes and the spice powders except garam masala .
9. Tip in the marinated crab pieces and stir fry until they change the colour for about 2 minutes.
10. Now add the ground masala paste, curry leaves and salt.  Stir fry for a few minutes.
11. Add one and half to two cups of water and simmer to cook for about 15 minutes.
12. Finally stir in the coconut milk and garnish with coriander leaves.

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Xacuti Chicken

Sol Kadhi 

Ambotic Spice Paste

XACUTI CHICKEN ( Goa)

Xacuti chicken - (pronounced as sha-koo-tee) is a spicy curry from Goa. It goes well with plain boiled rice. These days xacuti masala is easily available in the stores but nothing better than using freshly home made one. You can prepare more quantity of masala and store it for later use. You can make mutton, pork, fish, egg, crab, prawn curry or any vegetarian curry too with this masala. 

Ingredients:
Chicken ........... 500 gms. ( with bones)
Onions ............. 2 (sliced)
Coconut .......... 1/2 cup ( grated)
Ginger paste .... 1 tsp
Garlic paste ...... 1 tbsp
Tamarind paste ...... 2 tbsp ( Less or more according to your taste)
Turmeric powder ..... 1/2 tsp
Salt ..................... to taste
Oil
Coriander leaves ... to garnish.
Xacuti masala ... 3 tbsp ( see recipe HERE )

Method:
1. Clean the chicken and set aside.

2. In a sauce pan stir fry the grated coconut until golden brown. Let it cool.

3. Grind the coconut, ginger, garlic, tamarind to a smooth paste adding a little water. Set aside.

4. In a pan heat a little oil and fry the sliced onions until brown. Add a little water to cook. Grind to paste.

5. Pour a little more oil and put the onion paste and the ground coconut paste. Saute. Add salt, turmeric powder and 3 tbsps of xacuti masala powder. Stir it to mix.

6. Now add the chicken pieces. Stir fry for a few minutes. Add 2 cups of water and simmer it to cook until done.

Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with plain rice.



I tried out boneless chicken dry preparation using the same recipe with xacuti masala.

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PALAK / SPINACH AMBAT

This is a spicy dal palak cooked with coconut masala in a Konkan Style. All the coastal regions of  Konkan, Maharashtra, Goa use a lot coconut in their cooking and there is a lot of similarity in the recipes. They are usually on the spicier side. I have reduced the quantity of chillies here but you may add more if you like. I have also added a little garlic and Kolhapuri Masala to it which is not there in the original recipe.You can also use any other greens in the place of palak.
Recipe Courtesy - Herman Vaz

 Ingredients:
Toor dal ...         1/2 cup
Palak / Spinach ... 1 small bunch
Onion ................ 1 small (chopped)
Garlic ............ 1 tsp
Jaggery .............. 1 tsp
Coconut ............ 1/3 cup grated
Tamarind pulp ... 2 tbsps
Dry red chillies ... 2-3 ( original recipe has 5-6 )
Kolhapuri Masala ... 1 tsp ( check the recipe - HERE )
Salt ....................... to tatse
Oil ............. 1-2  tbsps

Method:
1. Wash and soak toor dal for a couple of hours.
2. Clean and cut the palak coarsely.
3. In a pressure cooker combine dal, palak and onion. Add sufficient water and cook until done ( 3-4 whistles).

4. In a frying pan heat oil and add the broken red chillies. Stir fry them for half a minute and add the coconut, tamarind pulp, salt, garlic and Kolhapuri masala. Mix well and turn off the gas. Grind this to a paste.

5. Stir in the ground masala into the cooked dal. Mix it with a ladle. Check the salt and keep the consistency the way you like it.
Alternately you can even add the tadka of  garlic, onion and Kolhapuri masala in the end instead of mixing it while cooking.

Serve it with plain rice and ghee accompanied with fried papads.

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Lehsuni Palak

Sai Bhaji

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