Spicy Kooka-Vatana Songa / Chinese Potato-Green Peas Curry.

“Spicy Kooka-Vatana Songa / Chinese Potato-Green Peas Curry” … Songa needs no introduction to Amchies / Konkani Saraswats … today I prepared song with kooka (chinese potato) and vatana (green peas) both of which are in season now ... so enjoy this one with chapati/roti/paratha/dosa or with dalitoy-rice … Yummy Yumz …..  

** All those who follow my simple home cooked food blog are aware that “Songa” is a spicy Konkani Saraswat dish that I have posted many times in various combos before and also that it is prepared both in Veg and Non.Veg. ways. This is a dish with little masala that is spicy and can be prepared both with addition of ground masala or using just powders. I have always added in a little bit of freshly grated coconut while grinding the masala to get a better and thicker consistency to the masala and it tastes delicious too and that is exactly the way it is preferred in my home. Addition of tartness / tangy taste is necessary to the dish and the traditional dish is always prepared adding tamarind while grinding the masala. But then any veggie with tartness imparts that taste can be substituted and added on to the curry. I will not repeat about the Songa recipe again here, however, you can check out more details about it via the link given at the bottom of this recipe. 

** This time I have prepared Songa in combination of Chinese Potato / Kooka as called in Konkani which is in season now along with green peas again which is plenty in season. Chinese Potato / Kooka is slightly a tedious time consuming tuber as it is muddy and the skin has to be removed with scrapper and is a pain to do so with small sized ones. In olden days the whole lot used to be put in gunny bags and the same used to bit hit / banged on a stone or rough surface which actually loosened the skin and made it easily to wash it off. But now neither do we have access much to gunny bags nor to we have large stoneware at home so we have to do with scrapper, which is messy as the hands too get darkened. The best way out is to soak in plenty of water for any hour which loosen the mud that has stuck to it. You can put on gloves and then rub them well, some get peeled easily when doing so, while for some the mud get loosened out but will have to be peeled off with a potato scraper, but the taste of the delicious dish is worth the effort. 

** Here is the link to the simple method for preparation of “Spicy Kooka-Vatana Songa / Chinese Potato-Green Peas Curry” … My Style …. 

** Ingredients : 

Kooka / Chinese Potato : 15-20 large sized ones 

Green Peas / Vatana : 1 heaped cup (shelled and ready) 

Onions / Piyav / Kanda : 2 large sized cut into 1 inch sized cubes. 

Tomatoes : 2 medium sized cut into small cubes. 

Coconut : ½ cup freshly grated. 

Kashmiri Red Chillies / Lal Sukhi Mirchi : 15-20. 

Coriander / Kothimbir / Dhana Seeds : 2 tsp. 

Tamarind / Imli / Chinchama : Small marble sized. 

Kashmiri Red Chilly Powder : 1 tsp. 

Mustard Seeds / Rai / Sasam : 1 tsp 

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

Salt to taste. 

Oil : 4-5 tblsp. 

** Remove the outer muddy skin kooka with a potato scrapper / peeler and put them in water. You may use any method you use to peel off the skin as some use scrubbing method on gunny bags, I however just use potato peeler after soaking them in water for an hour which helps in first loosening of most of the mud sticking to it. Wash it in plenty of water till you see clean water as they tend to have lot of mud stuck to them. Then cut them into 1 inch size pieces and keep them ready. 

** In a pressure cooker pan wash and add in the kooka pieces in a layer and then top it with a layer of green peas that are washed and drained. Add in enough water ie. say about ½ an inch above the level of the peas. Now pressure cook to just 1 whistle on medium heat then keep it aside for 5 minutes. After that gently release the pressure in the cooker with the help of tongs this is done so to avoid the kooka and peas getting over cooked. Be careful and stay away from the pressure cooker while doing so to prevent the steam escaping on you. 

** For the Masala : Grind to a fine paste grated coconut with red kashmiri chillies (Plus or minus as per individual taste), tamarind and coriander seeds (fried in oil to light red color) with as little water as possible. If not adding on tomatoes increase the amount of tamarind while grinding to double. Prepare the masala and keep it ready aside. 

** Now heat the oil in a thick bottomed kadai / pan, when hot add in the mustard seeds and when they begin to splutter add in the curry leaves, stir for a second and then add in the onions cut into large sized cubes. Stir on high heat for a minute and then lower the heat to medium, fry till the onions turn pinkish / translucent. 

** Now lower the heat to minimum and add in the chilly powder and fry for a second, then add in the tomatoes and allow to cook till they are half cooked stirring often. Add on the ground masala and fry on low heat for a good 3-4 minutes, ie till the masala is cooked well. You can add in some water, if you find that the masala is getting burnt. But do be careful with the water as the gravy is supposed to a thick textured one. 

** Note : Addition of chilly powder can be left out as the traditional recipes do not call for it. But adding kashmiri red chilly powder in oil always imparts a lovely color to the dish, so I make it a point to add it on. You may leave out the step if you do not like or need it as per your choice. 

** Now add in salt to taste, the pressure cooked, kooka, green peas and mix well. Be careful when you mix in the cooked ingredients as they are soft and tend to sometime break, so use a gentle mixing hand while doing so. Cook until you see bubbles oozing out of the curry. In Konkani we say “Samachi shirshiraiche”. Lower the heat, cover and cook for another 5-8 minutes, stirring often in between until well cooked in. Remove, cover and keep aside for 15-20 minutes before serving for the curry to settle and seep in the flavors. 

** “Spicy Kooka-Vatana Songa / Chinese Potato-Green Peas Curry” is done and ready to be served. Check the consistency of the curry before serving, if you find that it is two thick you can add some hot water and mix well before serving as this curry tends to thicken quite a bit on settling. Serve the curry as an side dish with Rice-Dalitoy or roti. 

** You can also serve this dish with dosa/ panpole/ parathas or roti too which tastes awesome. Goes very well with shevai / string hoppers too. In my home whenever we prepare shevai we always prepare songa as it is one of our favorite combo dish. Do try out this awesome recipe and enjoy with your family and friends. Do leave a comment below, It really helps in knowing if you have liked the same. 

** Note : Hogplums (Ambado)/Star Fruit (Karmbala) /Tree Sorrel (Bimbul) can be substituted instead of tamarind to the curry if they are available in your vicinity. Again, You have a choice of adding on tomatoes too if you like them. Both ripe or raw tomatoes can be added on to the curry. You just need to chop them to medium sized cubes and add them on once the onions are fried and let cook till 75% done before you add in the cooked veggies. Rest recipe remains same.