Batato- Piyavu- Ambado ghalnu Songa/ Potato- Onion- Hogplum Spicy Dry Curry.

"Batato- Piyavu- Ambado ghalnu Songa/ Potato- Onion- Hogplum Spicy Dry Curry" … Songa is a famous spicy side dish from GSB Konkani Saraswat Cuisine served during meals ... this dish is prepared in various combinations to be served with dalitoy- sheetHa (rice) though it tastes great with Chapati/ Roti/ Parathas/ Dosas too …. here is a spicy- delicious songa in simple combination of potato, onions and hogplums prepared when ambado is in season … Yummilicious .....

** Batate (Potato) Songa is a very famous GSB Konkani Saraswat dish that is prepared almost in every home. This is a semi dry spicy dish that goes very well with roti or Dal-Chawal. In GSB Konkani home of yesteryear's rice was the main staple dish for lunch and roti or chapati / poori was prepared rarely for breakfast. So this dish was served for lunch/dinner along with Dalitoy- SheetHa ie Dal- Chawal. 

** With changing times and people migrating to different destinations food habits have also changed. Wheat flour is available all round the world and people have adapted to roti as their choice for meals forgoing rice for various reasons. As this dish goes very well with roti/ chapati it has stayed on to be a part of meals. This dish is supposed to be very spicy, however you can change the spice level accordingly. 

** Here is my recipe for "Batato- Piyavu- Ambado ghalnu Songa/ Potato- Onion- Hogplum Spicy Dry Curry" ... which I learned from my Amma .....

** Ingredients :

Onions/ Piyavu/ Kanda : 3 large sized.

Potato/ Batato/ Aloo : 3 large sized or 4 medium sized.

Hogplums/ Ambado : 3-4

Mustard Seeds/ Sasam/ Rai : 1 tsp

Curry Leaves : 2 sprigs

Oil/ Tel/ Tela : 3 tblsp

Salt/ Namak/ Meeta : to taste

** Masala to be Ground :

Coconut/ Soyi/ Nariyal : ¼ cup freshly grated.

Kashmiri Red Chillies/ Kumte Mirsanga/ Byadgi : 12-15

Coriander Seeds/ Kothambari/ Dhania : 2 tsp.

Hogplums/ Ambado : 3-4 

OR

Tamarind/ Chinchama/ Imly : small marble sized to be added if not using hogplums.

** Peel off the outer skin and cut the potato into large sized cubes say about 1.5 inches in size. Wash and keep them ready aside.

** Peel off the outer skin of the onions and cut them also into cubes of the same size as of potatoes. Keep them also ready aside.

** Wash, wipe dry and slice off the edge portion/ stem side of hogplums. Slightly crush them with a heavy weight/ stone to crush them as shown in picture. If they are tender you can cut them vertically into two pieces too.

** In a pressure cooker pan add in potatoes and just enough water and pressure cook to one whistle only. Remove and keep aside to cool for just 3-4 minutes. Then with the help of tongs, release the pressure if any and open the lid, this helps in curtailing excess cooking of the potatoes which otherwise may turn too soft. 

** Note : If not comfortable with above mentioned method you can wash, add the potato as a whole with skin and pressure cook to 2-3 whistles, open lid when able to and when slightly cooled peel the skin and cut to pieces too. Another way is to add the peeled cut potato pieces into a vessel, add water and cook to 80% and then use in the curry. We just need cooked potato pieces, while rest method remains same. 

** Masala to be Ground :  Grind the masala in a mixer grinder with coconut, coriander seeds and red chillies. If not using hogplums add in the tamarind while grinding or else just leave it out. Use the potato cooked water for grinding purpose. Do not add in much water the paste should ground to a smooth texture. Not too fine.

** In a kadai, heat the oil, when hot add mustard seeds, when they begin to splutter add in the curry leaves and fry for a minute. Now add in cut onions and fry till translucent. When done add in the ground masala, salt to taste and the hogplums and mix well. Add in the remaining water left over from cooking of potatoes. Cover and cook on low till the masala comes to a boil and the hogplums are cooked.

** When the hogplums are cooked add in the cooked potatoes and mix well. Check and add in more water only if necessary and you find the curry too thick. This is a semi dry curry, so be careful with addition of water, though it does dry up on cooling. Cover and cook on slow for 5-7 minutes stirring once or twice in between. Remove and keep it aside covered for 15 minutes for all flavors to infuse and settle. In case you find it too thick while serving, you can add a little bit of hot water, mix well and serve it. 

** "Batato-Piyavu- Ambado ghalnu Songa/ Potato- Onion- Hogplum Spicy Dry Curry" is ready to be served. In GSB Konkanir Saraswat homes it is served as a side dish with dalitoy (spiced tuvar dal) and sheetHa (rice) and is one of the most sought after combination, try it, sure to love it. However, for some reason you do not want to serve it with rice then go ahead and enjoy it with chapati/ roti/ dosa it tastes equally good. I always keep aside some to be served with panpolo for breakfast next day. 

** This is a very spicy dish and during childhood when we savored there were literally tears rolling down our cheeks. However, over years one has learned to cut down of spice level and though it is still a spicy dish, you can increase or decrease the number of red chillies as per your taste as it’s always a matter of individual choice. I would just like to mention that do keep it in mind that addition of potatoes and onions always imparts sweetness to curries, so you need to keep the spicy level higher considering the same. 

** Note : Here I have added hogplums/ ambado to bring in tartness/ amshe taste to the curry. In some parts of India bimbul (tree sorrel fruit) or karmbal (star fruit) is easily available and you can add the same in place of hogplums. And if none of these are available then you can add tamarind while grinding the masala itself. 

** Note : There are many more "Songa" both veg. and non. veg. included in the blog in various combinations. Do browse through either using label section or search option with key words and try out any that you wish to enjoy with your family. They are all tried and tested many times in my home and have been endorsed by my family and friends. In case of any query do drop in a comment/ mail and I will try to get back as soon as possible. Do give me a feedback as it inspires me to do more. Thank You.