Kadgi Sukkhe(Raw Jack-fruit dry curry-side dish)

Ingredients:

1. 8" long Raw Jack-fruit (kadgi) , outer thick skin peeled and cubed.
2. Coconut scrapings : 1 cup (250 ml cup)
   
3. Red chillies : 6 no.s
4. SeedlessTamarind : Lime sized, soak
5. Urad dhal : 2 tsps
6. Oil , mustard and karbev (curry) leaves for seasoning . Salt to taste.
   

Method:
Cook the kadgi pieces in very little water in a cooker for 1 whistle. When cooled, drain the water and keep for use later. Now crush the kadgi pieces lightly with a pestle.

In a small pan (panna dhavlo or panna kayili) add 1/2 tsp oil and fry the urad dhal and chillies till golden brown.

Grind in a mixie coconut scrapings, tamarind pulp and chillies to a medium coarse paste with less than 1/2 cupwater used for boiling the kadgi pieces. Add the roasted urad dhal now in the mixie and run it only for 15 seconds. This way the flavour of roasted urad dhal is preserved.

Now take a bigger kadai (pan), pour the oil, when it is hot add mustard seeds and when it splutters, add curry leaves. Now add the cooked kadgi pieces and mix well.Then add the coarsely ground masala and salt. Mix well and cover and cook for 10 minutes taking care to stir it now and then. The curry should be dry.This is a typical side dish in a Mangalorean Konkani meal.

If you replace urad dhal with a one tablespoon of coriander seeds, then this curry becomes "chakko".

Raw Jackfruit and Raw Mango Pickle

This pickle is called " Raw Jack-fruit Adgayi" in Konkani. As the mango season is so close you can try this mouth watering recipe.

Method:

Take 1/4 of medium size (length about 6 to 8 inches) raw jackfruit and two medium size fresh green and raw mangoes.

Peel and cube raw jack-fruit ( hereafter I will call it Kadgi). Boil these in water to which salt is added. This is just to make the pieces tender but firm enough to eat. Boil say, for 5 minutes.This boiling is NOT for cooking the vegetable. Cool and keep the salt water for use later in the recipe. Cool it and put it on a piece of cloth .

Cut the mangoes to 1/2" squares with the skin on.

Now dry fry in little bit of oil the following till golden brown, adding one by one in the order given below:
Coriander seeds : 1 Tablespoon fry then add
Dry Red chillies : 10 to 12 fry and then add
Fenugreek (methi) seeds : 1/2 tsp
Mustard : 1.1/2 tsp fry all and add
Last
Turmeric powder : 1/2 tsp
Asafoetida(hingu) : a pinch or two depending on the strength of hing
when hing smell comes up nicely , remove from pan and cool. Grind these in a mixie with the salt water ( adjust the addition of water , to get a fairly thick liquid after grinding- consistency like chocolate sauce)This pickle will be dark brown in color.
To this liquid, add mango pieces and kadgi pieces, and if required add salt. Keep covered for 1 day. Must keep in refrigerator thereafter and will keep for 10 days. Best eaten fresh.

It is difficult to give exact measurements for the recipe because of the size of kadgi and mangoes.
When you make it once or twice you will get the measures right.

Easy Plum Jam

Ingredients:

1. Cherry plums: 1 kg
2. Crystal Sugar: 1 kg
3. Citric acid crystals: 2 pinches
4. Essence : 3/4 to 1 tsp (Raspberry/Mixed Fruit)

Method:

Wash the cherry plums well and put in a thick bottomed pan. Keep the pan on lighted stove, add 1 tablespoon of water and cover with a lid. Cook on high fire. Be near the stove! In a short time the plums would have cooked. Remove the pan from fire.

When cooled, slowly remove the pips (seeds) and lightly mash with a spoon. Do not put in mixie /blender etc. Add the sugar and keep on lit stove again. Keep stirring alternating from medium flame to high flame taking care not to let it get burnt. The hot mixture gets a glossy shine, check for two to three string consistency (when you dip a flat spoon in the mixture and lift it up, the pulp should fall off slowly). Or simply drop a small lump of the sugar plum pulp in a bowl and put a few teaspoons of cold water on it. The jam should not dissolve, then it is done.
Remove from fire, add citric acid crystals and essence and mix well.

Fill in clean, sterilized glass bottles.

Greengram and Methi Sprouts curry

Ingredients

1. 11/4 cup green gram (whole moong) soak and sprout
2. 1/2 cup of methi seeds (fenugreek) soak and sprout.
3. 3/4 of Fresh coconut scraped fine.
   
4. Green chillies : 5 or 6 (or as per taste)
5. Jeera(cumin) seeds : 1 Tbsps
6. Refined Oil : 1 Tbsps

Mustard and Curry leaves(Karbeva) for seasoning.

Method :
In a Pressure cooker, cook the sprouts till one whistle.Don't over cook.
Grind to a course paste the coconut scrapings, green chillies and jeera in a mixie.
Mix this with the cooked sprouts, add some water and salt , mix well and bring to boil on a stove on sim fire. Now season with oil, mustard seeds and karbev. Use as a side dish with South Indian meals or can be had with chappathis. This is a nutritious side dish.