Sweet Corn Kernels~ Spine Gourd~Tender Bamboo Shoots~Hogplum Semi Dry Curry.

"Jolu~Pagila~Tarno Keerlu~Ambado ghalnu Sukke / Sweet Corn Kernels~ Spine Gourd~ Tender Bamboo Shoots~Hogplum Semi Dry Curry" ... Sukke is a delicious side dish from Konkani Saraswat's Cuisine that tastes awesome when served with Dalitoy (Spiced Tuvar Dal)~SheetHa (Rice) or even with chapati / paratha ... It's the season of Jolu, pagila, ambado and bamboo shoots ... So try this ... Yumz .....

** Sukke is one of the most famous and loved dish from Saraswat Konkani’s Cuisine. This is a semi dry curry served as a side dish along with other dishes and Dal-Chawal. Goes well with roti / chapathi / Dosa too. Sukke can be prepared with any veggies or tuber varieties or with the addition of pulses too. I have prepared and posted this dish in various combinations. This time I have come up with a new combo for all my friends who love sukke. I have increased the quantity of sweet corn kernels and added on some spine gourd (pagila) and tender bamboo shoots (tarno keerlu) along with some hogplums (ambado). Surprisingly this dish turned out so delicious that my friend who had come over to ask me for a address could not resist a plate full of this dish as it is. This dish is medium spicy and sometimes a little bit of jaggery is added on while cooking though in my home we do not do so as we do not like much of sweet type gravy. I will not write in more here as I have written about this dish end times, and I really would not like to bore all of you, so let’s just move to the recipe and yes, do try this out and enjoy with your family and friends. 

** Here is the Method of Preparing the "Jolu~Pagila~Tarno Keerlu~Ambado ghalnu Sukke / Sweet Corn Kernels~ Spine Gourd~ Tender Bamboo Shoots~Hogplum Semi Dry Curry" My Style …. 

** Ingredients : 

Sweet Corn Kernels / Jolu : about 300-350 gms 

Spine Gourd / Pagila / Teasel Gourd / Kantola : about 20 medium sized. 

Tender Bamboo Shoots / Tarno Keerlu : 200 gms 

Hogplums / Ambado : 3-4 large sized. 

Jaggery / Gud / Goda : 50 gms (Optional, I have not added) 

Salt to taste. 

** For the Masala : 

Urad dal / Black gram split dal : 1 tblsp 

Coriander / Kothimbir / Dhania Seeds : 2 tblsp 

Methi / Fenugreek seeds : ½ tsp 

Coconut : 1.5 cups freshly grated. 

Red Kashmiri Chillies : 8-10 

Oil : 1 tblsp 

# Add in a small marble sized tamarind piece while grinding if not adding in hogplum or bimbul. 

** For Tempering : 

Oil : 1 tsp 

Mustard Seeds/Rai/Sasam : 1 tsp 

Curry leaves/Kadipatta/Karbevu : 10-12 

** In Mumbai we get sweet corn kernels all picked and ready in Kilograms in market, the same is sold also in packets of 200 gms. I have used about 350 gms of sweet corn kernels. You can also buy corn and remove pick the kernels from it, a tedious task but it can be done with a sharp knife. Wash it well, drain excess water and keep it ready. 

** Clean properly and slice off the stem side of the spine gourds / pagila / teasel gourd / kantola and cut them into two vertically. Keep these ready aside along with the sweet corn kernels. 

** Slice off the stem side of the hogplums / ambado and crush them with a heavy weight. If they are tender you can cut them into 4 pieces vertically. Keep them ready aside. 

** You can use both fresh or brined bamboo shoots for this curry. I had just bought them 2 days back, so when I brined them I kept aside about 200 gms of the tender ones separately. Soaked them in water overnight and then used it in the curry. 

** In a pressure cooker pan put the bamboo shoots and spread into a layer, then add in the sweet corn kernels on top also in a layer and then top it with the spine gourd in a layer. Add in about 2 cups of water and pressure cook on medium flame for one whistle. Remove and keep aside. Let the pressure fall on its own. When the pressure releases and you are able to open the lid, do so and keep it open allowing it to cool off, so that it does not get overcooked. 

** To be ground into a semi coarse masala : Heat oil in a small kadai. Add in the urad dal, let fry a bit, when the color changes slightly reddish add in the methi seeds, wait for a second and then add in the coriander seeds, continue to fry. Lastly add Red chillies (Kashmiri/Bedgi/Kumte chillies) and fry for a minute. Remove and add this all into a mixer grinder along with freshly grated coconut and grind to a semi coarse paste. 

** Note : The paste should not be very fine/nor too coarse. Also you can use the cooked water for grinding of the masala. Just tilt the vessel and drain off some cooked water and use the same. Again, If you do not have hogplum/bimbul, you can add in a small marble sized piece of tamarind and grind the masala. 

** In a thick bottomed kadai, add in the ground masala and the prepared and kept aside hogplum. Cook on medium heat, stirring often to avoid the masala getting burnt, till the the hogplums are just about cooked. Now add in salt to taste and the pressure cooked veggies and mix well. Do not use force while mixing you may mash the veggies, that is why it is important to cook the veggies to just one whistle with little water lest it get overcooked. 

** Cover and let the curry get cooked well with veggies for about 5 minutes. Check and add in water only if necessary. This is a semi thick gravy consistency side dish, so be careful with water. Cover and cook until the curry too has come to a boil. You will see bubbles appearing on the surface of the curry. Mix in gently a few times till the curry is well cooked to avoid the masala getting burnt at the bottom. 

** For Tempering : Heat oil in a small pan, when hot add in mustard seeds (sasam), when they splutter add curry leaves and fry a bit, pour this over the cooking curry and remove the curry from fire and keep it aside covered for the flavors to seep in. 

** "Jolu~Pagila~Tarno Keerlu~Ambado ghalnu Sukke / Sweet Corn Kernels~Spine Gourd~ Tender Bamboo Shoots~Hogplum Semi Dry Curry" is done and ready to be served. Serve this hot as a side dish / accompaniment with other dishes of your choice. We Konkani Saraswats usually serve this as side dish with Dalitoy and Rice along with some simple bhaji. This is many a times prepared during festivals and is a must during Ganesh chaturthi. The dish also goes very well with chapatti or dosa too. 

** Do try out this delicious semi dry (sukke) curry and enjoy with your family and friends. If you keep the texture thicker, you can also take it in your lunch box and enjoy with your friends at work. Do not worry, I am sure they will love this dish which is something very different for them. It is always a pleasure to share each others variation of curries and learn that much more from each other about different dishes. My neighbors who are Maharashtrians love this dish and the choice also of mixing and matching of the veggies is many. You can check them out in my blog as I have posted many combo of this dish. 

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