Mitkesanga- Batate Songa/ Cluster Beans- Potato Spicy Curry.

"Mitkesanga- Batate Songa/ Cluster Beans- Potato Spicy Curry" … A delicious spicy dish from GSB Konkani Saraswat Cuisine prepared in various combinations both with veg. and non.veg dishes … this is a very spicy dish that tastes great served with dal- chawal or chapati too … Yummilicious … 

** I have shared "Songa" a spicy side dish from GSB Konkani Saraswat several times in various combinations. This dish can be prepared both as veg. and non.veg dish and tastes great served with daloitoy (spiced dal) and sheetHa (rice) or with chapati/ roti etc. However the best combo for all time of songa is with fresh shevai and in my home we love it. This time I made it slightly drier in consistency to be prepared with chapati. 

** The dish is traditionally prepared with potato and onions, however, with changing times and innovations in preparation of food, many a changes are adapted to suit individual taste as well as depending on ingredient availability. Usually the dish is prepared either with powders however, I prefer ground masala as it adds on some bulk to the gravy make it thicker textured which tastes great when served with shevai.

** Here, I have prepared with cluster beans, potatoes, onions and tomatoes and it turned out really awesome. Again, I have taken a short cut and not included ground masala or just the powder usually used for songa. I have used sambar powder and it was easy to prepare, however does taste awesome giving out its own flavor. Do try this variation and surprise your family and friends, sure to be loved by all equally well.

** Here is my recipe for "Mitkesanga- Batate Songa/ Cluster Beans- Potato Spicy Curry" ... my style, tastes awesome with roti/ paratha ....

** Ingredients :

Cluster Beans/ Mitke Sanga/ Chitkimitki/ Gorikayi : 250 gms

Onions/ Piyavu/ Kanda : 2 large sized.

Potato/ Batato/ Aloo : 1 large sized or 2 medium sized.

Tomatoes : 2 medium sized.

Kashmiri Chilly Powder : 1 tsp

Sambar Powder/ Sambara Pitti : 3 tblsp

Asafoetida/ Hing Powder : 1 tsp

Mustard Seeds/ Rai/ Sasam : 1 tsp

Curry Leaves/ Kadipatta/ Karbevu : 10-12 fresh ones.

Oil/ Tela/ Tel: 3-4 tblsp

Salt/ Namak/ Meeta : to taste

** Peel off the skin of potatoes and cut them into julienne of 1/4 inch thickness and about 2 inches in length. Wash well and soak it in water and keep it aside to be used later. Soaking avoid discoloration of the potatoes. 

** Snip of both side edges of the cluster beans and cut into 2 inch sized pieces. Wash, drain and put it in a pressure cooker in a layer. Add cut potatoes on top, 1/2 to 1 cup of water and pressure cook on medium heat to one whistle only. 

** Keep aside for 5 minutes to cool and then with the help of tongs, release the excess pressure carefully. Now open the lid and keep aside ready. Releasing the pressure arrests the overcooking of potatoes and gives perfect results. 

** Peel off the skin and slice the onions lengthwise as thinly as possible. Keep this also ready aside. Wash, wipe dry and chop the tomatoes into medium to small sized pieces and keep them also aside separately. 

** In a thick bottomed kadai/ pan, heat oil, when hot add mustard seeds, when they begin to crackle add in the curry leaves and fry for a minute. Now add in prepared and kept thinly sliced onions and fry till they turn translucent. 

** When onions are cooked and done add hing powder, chilly powder and sambar powder and fry for a minute. Sprinkle some cluster beans cooked water if necessary. Ie if you find the masala powder getting burned. 

** Add in the tomato pieces, mix well, cover and let cook for 2-3 minutes on low heat. When the tomatoes turn soft add salt to taste, the cooked and kept cluster beans- potatoes along with the cooked water and mix well. 

** Check out the consistency and if too dry you can add some water only if found necessary. Cover with a tight lid and cook on medium to low heat stirring often until the curry is fully cooked and done, say about 8-10 minutes.  

** "Mitkesanga- Batate Songa/ Cluster Beans- Potato Spicy Curry" is done and ready to be served. Tastes best served hot with chapati/ roti / parathas, dosa like panpolo/ neer dosa. You can also serve it as a side dish with dal- chawal. Do try out this easy to prepare spicy dish and enjoy with your family and friends. 

** Songa as I mentioned often is a very tasty dish and there are many more combinations shared in the blog before and will be shared henceforth too. Please use the search option and check out on the recipes and do try them out.