"Tambade Bee ani Kooka Songa (Red Bean/ Rajma- Chinese Potato Spicy Curry)" ... A delicious spicy curry from GSB Konkani Saraswat Cuisine which I prepared in my own combination using Rajma for a change with Chinese Potato (kooka) ... Tastes simply awesome ... Yummilicious ...
** 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 that which can be prepared both with addition of ground masala or using just spice 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.
** This time I tried preparing the same with Rajma beans ie Red Beans called Tambade Bee in Konkani along with Chinese Potato called Kooka in Konkani, while rest of the recipe remains the same. A delicious but very spicy dish that is served as I mentioned above, as a side dish with dalitoy and rice or with roti. The taste of this curry lies in the spice level and the tartness of the dish, both complementing each other very well. Do try out this dish, it tastes awesome and is one of Amchies favorite side dish. I have also added a common link to songa wherein you will find all that are posted in my Blog.
** Here is my simple recipe for "Tambade Bee ani Kooka Songa (Red Bean/ Rajma- Chinese Potato Spicy Curry)" … My Style ….
** Ingredients :
Tambade Bee/ Light Colored Rajma/ Red Bean : 1 cup
Kooka/ Chinese Potato : 12-15 medium sized.
Onion/ Piyavu/ Kanda : 2 large sized cut into 1 inch sized cubes.
Coconut/ Soyi/ Nariyal : ½ cup freshly grated.
Kashmiri Red Chillies/ Kumte Mirsanga/ Byadgi Mirchi : 15-20.
Coriander/ Kothimbir/ Dhana Seeds : 2 tsp.
Tamarind/ Imli/ Chinchama : Small lemon sized.
Kashmiri Red Chilly Powder : 1 tsp.
Mustard Seeds/ Rai/ Sasam : 1 tsp
Curry Leaves/ Kadipatta/ Karbevu : 10-12 fresh ones.
Salt/ Namak/ Meeta : to taste.
Oil/ Tel/ Tela : 4-5 tblsp.
** Wash and soak Tambade Bee/ Light Colored Rajma/ Red Bean in plenty of water overnight or for atleast 8 hours. Wash well, put them in a pressure cooker with enough water, say about an inch above the level of Rajma and pressure cook on medium heat to 2-3 whistles. Let the pressure fall on its own. Remove and keep it aside ready.
** About preparing Kooka/ Chinese Potato : Cleaning kooka/ chinese potato is the biggest task. I have changed my method of cleaning, but your can prepare it anyway that is suitable to you. Having said this, cleaning also depends upon the quality of the kooka available to you. In Mumbai, sometimes we get really good ones, that peel off easily while sometimes we don't. So I will add in a few methods of peeling of the skin and you may follow as per the variety you get using trial and error method.
** Method 1 : One way of peeling the outer skin is, You can either just use the potato peeler and peel the kookas using it.
** The Traditional Method : The traditional way is to put kooka in a gunny bag (Ghoni) and tightly packing it and then banging/ hitting it on to a stone firmly while rotating the bag all round as you go through the method. This loosens the skin and most of it comes off. Just scrub it with both hands retaining it within gunny bag to loosen it more. This method is not used much now as it is difficult to access gunny bag. Even rice have been started to come in plastic type bags. If you have one, you can sure try this out. My mother used to make it this way and during childhood we used to loved doing it for her. We really did enjoying banging around the gunny bag to loosen the outer skin of kooka.
** My Method : I soak the required amount of kooka in plenty of water for about 5-10 mins, changing them a few times if they are too muddy. This loosens the dry mud that is sticking to the kooka. The I try loosening off the mud right there in the water by rubbing them between finger. Some kooka are well behaved and peel off easily, while some are stubborn and just don't listen making it difficult. So use the potato peeler and zap it comes out faster than when you run it on the drier one mentioned first.
** Important step of soaking in water once its peeled : It is very important to drop the skin peeled kooka/ chinese potato into water to prevent it getting discolored. So keep a bowl with plenty of water ready and drop the peeled kookas immediately into them. Once done, wash them in plenty of water, rinsing many times in fresh water and remember to keep it soaked in water till the preparation/ cooking time.
** Addition of Kooka/ Chinese Potato to this curry : After peeling the skin in any of the above mentioned method, wash it well in plenty of water and then cut it into 1 inch sized pieces depending upon the size of the kooka as they come in small and medium sizes. If large cut them into 2-3 pieces and if small you can retain them whole as it is. Just follow your judgement and keep the cut pieces even sized.
** For the Masala to be Ground: Grind to a fine paste grated coconut with red kashmiri chillies (Plus or minus as per individual taste), a small lemon sized tamarind and coriander seeds (fried in oil to light red color) with as little water as possible. Prepare the masala and keep it ready aside.
** Heat oil in a thick bottomed kadai/ pan, add mustard seeds and when they 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 ground masala and fry on low heat for a good 3-4 minutes, ie till the masala is cooked well, sprinkle some water if needed.
** 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 always add it on. You may leave out the step if you do not like or need it as per your choice.
** Now add in the cooked tambade bee (Rajma/Red Bean), Kooka (Chinese Potato), Ground masala, salt to taste, mix well adding about one cup of water. Let cook on medium heat 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 for the flavors to seep in well.
** "Tambade Bee ani Kooka Songa (Red Bean/ Rajma- Chinese Potato Spicy Curry)" a semi dry curry is done and ready to be served. Check the consistency of 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 it as a side dish with Rice- Dalitoy or roti. You can also serve this dish with panpole or roti too which tastes awesome. Do try out this awesome recipe and enjoy with your family and friends.
** Note : Hogplums (Ambado) /Star Fruit (Karmbala) /Tree Sorrel (Bimbu) 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 masala to which do not add tamarind. Rest recipe remains same.
** Sharing below the common link to all “Songa” recipes in my Blog. There are many details and combinations of this dish both in vegetarian and non-vegetarian methods. Do try out different options that appeal to you and enjoy the same with your family and friends.
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