Mangalore Cucumber and Moong Sprouts Ghassi (curry)

Moong Sprouts, Coconut and Mangalore Cucumber

Another favorite Mangalorean dish-the sprouted moong/mung and Mangalore cucumber ghassi. Ghassi is the Mangalorean term for 'curry' or gravy. The Mangalore cucumber is also called the 'Malabar Cucumber' is a commonly seen vegetable in South India.
Ingredients for Mangalore Cucumber and Moong Sprouts Ghassi : 

• Mangalore Cucumber: 1 medium size
• Moong Sprouts:200gms
• Tomato: 1 big or 2 small (chopped)
• Coconut: 1/2 or 1 cup grated
• Red chilli powder: 4-5tsp(add more/less according to your tolerance level)
• Coriander powder: 3tsp
• Cumin powder: 1/2tsp
• Salt: to taste

Tempering:

• Mustard seeds: 1 tsp
• Cumin /Jeera seeds: 1tsp
• Turmeric:1/4th tsp
• Urad dal: 1/2 tsp
• Curry leaves: 8-10nos.
• Garlic: 2-3 crushed

Method:

1. Wash and cut the Mangalore cucumber into half-scoop out the seeds from the centre(check if it's bitter, if bitter than make sure you scrape out all the seeds and fibre around it).
2. Cut them into 1" cubes. Take a saucepan and cook them along with the sprouts with enough water and a little salt.Cover and cook till the Mangalore cucumber almost turns translucent (or is almost cooked),then add the chopped tomatoes and cook till the tomatoes are soft.
3. In the meanwhile, grind the coconut with the red chilli powder, coriander and cumin/jeera powder to a fine paste.
4. Add the coconut paste to the saucepan, mix well, test for salt and cook for about 6-8mins.
5. Switch off.
6. Take a smaller saucepan/tempering pan and heat the oil, add the mustard,jeera and urad dal. When the mustard starts to sputter, add the turmeric, curry leaves and then the crushed garlic.
7. Add the tempering to the ghassi. Close the saucepan immediately.
8. Serve the Mangalore Cucumber and Moong sprouts ghassi with rice and a side dish/chutney.

Mangalore Cucumber and Moong sprouts Ghassi

NOTE: In case you don't find Mangalore Cucumber, you can replace it with potatoes (in fact an uncle of mine prefers it with potatoes)!

Moong Dal Payasa/ Kheer (Split mung pudding)

Moong Dal Payasa

Another favorite from the family Mangalorean recipe box-the moong dal payasa is made for special occasions and festival feasts. Since I've been on a mission to try out (and publish on this blog) traditional Mangalorean recipes, this was undoubtedly the first thing that came to my mind as the sweet dish for this years Ganesh Chaturthi feast at home. 

Ingredients:

• Moong Dal: 1 cup
• Jaggery: 1 1/2 cups (you could substitute with sugar,but jaggery gives the actual traditional taste)
• Milk: 1 cup
• Water:1 cup
• Coconut milk: 1 cup
• Salt:1/4th tsp
• Saffron/Cardamom powder: a pinch (soak saffron in a little warm milk)
• Cashews, raisins: a few(fried in a little ghee)
• Ghee: 3tsp

Method:

1. Roast the moong dal in a teaspoon of ghee till you get a pleasant aroma (do not let it brown).
2. Add the milk and the water and bring it to a boil. Then simmer till the moong dal is well cooked, stirring occasionally.
3. Once the dal is cooked add the jaggery, the saffron milk/ cardamom powder.
4. Add the coconut milk and stir for a minute. Switch off.
5. Serve moong dal payasa/kheer hot or a little warm garnished with the fried cahews, raisins and the remaining ghee.

NOTE: Do not add the jaggery/sugar at the beginning or else the dal will not cook (I learnt this the hard way the first time I made this!)

 Moong dal payasa, mung dal and jaggery

Kala Channa Rasam( Brown Chickpea Rasam)

Kala Channa/Kadle Rasam 

Kala channa/ kadle rasam doesn't actually have any kala channa but is made from the water left over from boiling the kala channa/ brown kadle. When using the channa for a dry sabzi like Manoli kadle or usali, instead of throwing the water, you can make another dish out of it. Moreover, making dal/sambar as the gravy dish will make the meal too heavy with too much protein. The kala channa/ kadle rasam then becomes the perfect side dish for the meal.

Ingredients:

• Kala channa/kadle water: left over water after pressure cooking 
• Tomatoes:2-3 (pureed)
• Garlic: 3-4 (skinned and smashed)
• Rasam powder:2- 3tsp (according to taste)
• Turmeric: 1/4tsp
• Green chillies:1-2 slit in half
• Cilantro/coriander leaves- finely chopped
• Salt: to taste

Tempering:

•  Mustard seeds: 1tsp
• Cumin/jeers seeds: 1tsp
• Urad dal: 1/2 tsp
• Curry leaves: 8-10
• Hing/asafoetida:a pinch
• Oil: 1tsp

Method:

1. Heat the oil in a pan, then add the mustard seeds,cumin and urad dal. 
2. When the mustard seeds start to pop, add the hing, curry leaves, turmeric and the slit green chillies and smashed garlic and stir for a few seconds.
3. Add the tomato puree, the rasam powder and salt and stir or 5-6 minutes.
4. Add the kala channa water , salt and mix well.
5. Let it boil, then let it simmer for 5-6 minutes.
6. Garnish with chopped cilantro.
7. Serve the kala channa/ kadle rasam with rice and the Manoli kadle.

Sweet Banana Dosa ( Sweet Banana Crepes)

Sweet Banana Dosa

This is a favorite breakfast/snack item at home. I first made sweet banana dosa/crepes when I had a few over ripe bananas and wanted to try something other than the banana raita. This is similar to the popular Mangalorean recipe of "Southekai dosa" or 'Sweet Cucumber dosa'. Years ago I had experimented replacing the cucumber with mango puree and the resulting 'Sweet Mango Dosa' too had turned out really well.
Here are the ingredients for the Sweet Banana crepes:
Ingredients:(Serves 4)

• Dosa Rice: 1 cup
• Ripe Bananas: 2 nos.
• Beaten rice/poha/ avalakki: 1 cup
• Grated coconut: 3-4 tbsp
• Jaggery: 3/4th cup 
• Low-fat Yogurt/curd: 1/2 cup
• Cardamom powder: a pinch
• Salt: 1/4tsp

Method:

1. Soak the rice and methi seeds for at least 3-4 hours.
2. Just before grinding the batter, wash the poha and leave aside for 10-15 mins.
3. Grind all the ingredients (except the cardamom) together with enough water to make a fine batter (test the batter for sweetness).
4. Leave aside for 1/2-1 hour.
5. Add the cardamom powder and mix well.
6. Heat a non-stick pan and pour a ladle full of the batter onto it. Spread it out in a circular motion to make a dosa/ crepe.
7. Let it cook for a couple of minutes, then add a little oil to the edges.
8. Flip the dosa over and let it cook till done.
9. Serve the sweet banana dosa/ crepes hot off the pan and watch them vanish.

 The sweet dosa can be eaten as such without any side or dipping sauce.

Note: Store any left over batter in the refrigerator.

Ragi manni/pudding (Fingermillet pudding)

 Ragi Manni/pudding (Finger millet pudding)

Ragi (English-Finger millet,Chinese-䅟子,Arabic- Tailabon, German-Fingerhirse, French-coracan) is a popular millet in Southern India and is made into different dishes like porridges, puddings, pancakes,cookies, etc. Nutritionally,it is rich in the amino acid methionine and is among the few grains which contains a considerable amount of calcium.
Ragi is also given to babies as one of first cereals after rice(in fact Nestle India had launched a baby cereal mix with rice and ragi). My grandmother used to make ragi manni during summer, as it is believed in Ayurveda to cool the body.Traditionally it is made by soaking the ragi millet overnight in water,then grinding it to a fine paste and straining it in a cheesecloth.This is then cooked with jaggery and coconut milk,till it reaches a thick pasty consistency.It is then poured into huge plates and set aside to cool. The end product used to be simply amazing-a dark chocolate brown pudding(my gran used to tell me that it was Indian chocolate pudding,so that she could get me to eat it)that simply melted in the mouth.
Sadly,I could not find ragi millet here(not that I would have gone through the whole cumbersome process even if I had),but managed to get the ragi flour at the Indian store to make this instant version. I substituted milk for the coconut milk and the final product still was very tasty though it didn't have the same rich dark brown colour.Also,since it's not strained you can see brown specks of the ragi coat. The ragi manni/pudding can be eaten hot or cold(I love it cold)and had as a porridge for breakfast or served as a dessert or a healthy anytime snack(if you can mange to control the portion size)!
Ingredients:Serves 2

• Ragi flour: 1 cup
• Milk/Coconut milk: 2 cups
• Jaggery: 1 cup scraped OR Sugar: to taste
• Cardamom powder: 1/4 teaspoon
• Salt: a pinch

Method:

1. Mix the ragi flour with the cold milk and make sure there are no lumps.
2. Pour this into a saucepan and add the jaggery/sugar,salt and cardamom powder.
3. Cook on medium heat stirring continuously(take care to see that it doesn't form lumps).
4. When the mixture starts to thicken, reduce the heat and keep stirring till you get a porridge like consistency.
5. Remove from heat.
6. Serve the ragi manni (finger millet pudding) warm or chilled.

Note:

• You can substitute sugar for the jaggery, though it is more nutritious to use jaggery.
• Adding a pinch of salt is supposed to make the dish sweeter (not sure if that's really true).

Question: Do you feel that adding a pinch of salt to a sweet dish makes it sweeter or is it just an old wives tale?