"Kadgi~Teppal ghalnu randai with Narlele Tele / Raw Jackfruit~ Sichuan Pepper Curry topped with Coconut Oil" ... It is No Onion-No Garlic for 9 days of Rama Navaratri in my home ... So prepared the curry with strong teppal flavor, Ahha it reminds me of Mardol Temple dishes ... Yumz .......
** This is a simple curry prepared using Sichuan Pepper / Teppal which is quite a common one in our GSB Konkani Saraswat Community. Prepared mostly in temples specially in Goa during festival periods as addition of either garlic or onions is prohibited both in temples and at festive times in our community. Teppal / Sichuan Pepper are found in plenty in Goa and are very aromatic, these are sun dried and preserved and used as and when necessary to the curries. The dish with the addition of this ingredient turns very aromatic along with coconut oil that is added to it. A unique taste that has to be enjoyed with hot steaming rice to know the exact taste as it is very difficult to pen down unless you experience it. Fully grown Teppal / Sichuan peppers are sun dried till they are crispy and fully dried without trace of any wetness wetness. They turn out blackish in colour when fully dried out. The center black seed and the stem should be removed and discarded before using the same. Once the masala is ground it is added on at the final stage and further ground till well blended and prepared as the curry paste. And this curry is not tempered but only raw coconut oil is added on toward the end.
** I have posted plenty of dishes both vegetarian and non-vegetarian where in this aromatic herb is added and if you use the search option you will come across them in plenty. Personally I am not very fond of this aromatic herb and prefer to garlic or onion tempering, but yes there are a few dishes that taste great when prepared with the addition of teppal. During festive or when we observe fast as I mentioned we avoid non-veg, onion, garlic etc. It is the period of Rama Navaratri now and these nine days in my home though we do not observe complete fast /upvas we do not prepare non-veg or dishes with addition of onion or garlic. This is a simple dish prepared out of raw jackfruit which in konkani we call kadgi. We get it all cleaned and ready to use in the market and the mundane task of cleaning the raw jackfruit which is sticky and messy. Do try out this dish if raw jackfruits are available in your vicinity, in India they are available almost in all states, but elsewhere I have no knowledge. Do keep the spice level slightly on the higher side as it tastes best so. Also this curry is best served hot with rice along with some accompaniments.
** Addition of Sichuan Pepper / teppal to curries :
The addition of teppal / sichuan pepper depends upon how much aromatic it is. If too strong in flavor use less and vice versa. The older the shelf life of the teppal the less aromatic it becomes and you may have to add in more while newly dried once are more aromatic and you may need to add in less. Also it depends again upon individual liking as some prefer lightly perfumed dish while some prefer it with stronger smell. So use your judgment while adding in the teppal to be precise. With experience, you will learn to adjust the same. Also remember to snip off the stem and the center black seed from the teppal before grinding or using the same.
**Again Sichuan Pepper / Teppal can be used via 2 methods ... You may choose any method that suits you.
1) Is to add them to the ground masala towards the end and grind to a smooth paste along with the masalas and grind and use it to the curry. It is also used while frying ingredients and added to masala while grinding.
2) The other method is to grind the teppal / sichuan pepper separately in water and then sieve it. Use the sieved water while grinding the masala.
** I have mentioned both methods of addition of teppal, you may choose that which is suitable to you. I most of the time grind them in masala. But once again I repeat the inner black seed within teppal should be discarded while grinding along with masala.
** Here is the simple method of preparing "Kadgi~Teppal ghalnu randai with Narlele Tele / Raw Jackfruit~ Sichuan Pepper Curry topped with Coconut Oil" … My Style .....
** Cutting of Raw Jackfruit : In my locality we get the raw jackfruit all cleaned and cut into huge chunks while purchasing. But if you don’t get it, just slice off the spiked skin portion of the jackfruit and the center pith and then cut them to pieces. See to it that you oil your hands and the knife as jackfruit is sticky and has a rubber like liquid oozing out while cutting the same. Cut them into pieces, wash well and keep them ready aside. In all you will need about 200 – 300 gms of cut pieces.
** Apply oil both inside the cooker vessel and the inner side of the lid slightly before adding in the kadgi / Jackfruit pieces. As the rubberish stickness will not then be stuck to the cooker and will come out clean. Put the cut raw jackfruit pieces in a pressure cooker pan in a layer. Add in enough water say about an inch above the jackfruit pieces. Pressure cook to 1-2 whistle on medium heat. It does not take much time when cooked in pressure cooker and over cooking may mash it up. So plz. be careful while adding the water too. Let the pressure drop on its own. Once able to open the lid, do so and allow to cool a little bit. Once it has cooled down add the into a thick bottomed vessel.
** Masala to be Ground: Grind to a smooth paste 1 heaped cup of freshly grated coconut along with 7-8 red kashmiri chillies and a small marble sized tamarind with little bit of water. You can use the cooked water from the pressure cooker for this purpose too. The paste should be very smooth. Once done add in about 8-10 teppal / sichuan pepper and further grind till done. If you prefer addition of teppal water do so while grinding the masala using it for grinding, whichever way you prefer to use the same.
** The addition of teppal depends upon how much aromatic it is. If too strong use less, say about 5-6 and if they are old and less aromatic about 10. The older the shelf life of the teppal the less aromatic it becomes and you may have to add in more while newly dried once are more aromatic and you may need to add in less. Also it depends again upon individual liking as some prefer lightly perfumed dish while some prefer it with strong smell. So use your judgment while adding in the teppal to be precise. With experience you will learn to adjust the same.
** Add in the ground masala, salt to taste to the cooked raw jackfruit pieces in the vessel and mix well. Add in water to bring the gravy to a thick gravy consistency.. Now bring the curry to a boil on medium heat. Once the curry comes to a full boil, lower the heat and simmer the curry for 5 more minutes.. Lastly add in a large tablespoon of fresh coconut oil as it is into the curry and mix well. Remove from fire and keep it covered tight with a lid aside for the flavours to seep in properly. Say for about 10-15 minutes.
** "Kadgi~Teppal ghalnu randai with Narlele Tele / Raw Jackfruit~ Sichuan Pepper Curry topped with Coconut Oil" is done and ready to be served. You can serve the same with any dish of your choice, though personally I prefer rice. Do try out this delicious dish if you have access to Teppal which is available almost everywhere in metro cities. The consistency of the gravy should neither be too thick nor too thin as it is to be served with rice. Off course you can enjoy the same with roti / bhakri etc. in which case keep it slightly thicker. Enjoy this dish with your family and friends and do give me a feed back or leave in a comment.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thanks.