"Venti ani Sukkale Sungta Panna Upkari/ Spicy Colocasia Stems and Dried Prawns Curry" ... I would really rate this semi dry curry A+++, that I prepared accidentally ... my maid help was watching me clean up the venti and asked sukkat taknarka ? she said they prepare it with dried prawns and I was all ears ... well I prepared it in sort of a concoction with our own panna upkari and addition of some masala powders, it was simply awesome, I just could not have enough of it ... Yummilicious .....
** As you all know we Amchies never waste food unless inevitable. The Venti ie the stems of colocasia leaves/ patrade paan or alva paan are also made it delicious dishes. I have posted a few of them before and I always try to bring in changes with the routine ones. I was striping off the outer skin of the venti and my maid help just queried what I was going to prepare with it. Usually we prepare talasani a dish which I have already posted before and I told her the same. But she being Maharashtrian did not understand much and querried if we added sukkat meaning dry prawns to it. I was like What ?? Dry prawns to venti ?? But yes, I was inquisitive as I too love to learn new dishes, so asked her how they prepared and she just blabbed kanda, losun, thikat etc. etc. after she left I sat for a good 10 minutes and gave a thought as to how I could prepared it, I did have dry prawns at home as I always stocked it, so why not ? I thought. But her recipe was not clear, finally I decided to mix match with our own panna upkari with additional masala and it was simply scrumptious.
** Panna Upkari as you all know is a very famous spicy dish from Konkani Saraswat Cuisine, that which usually can never go wrong. Minimum ingredients maximum satisfaction is what my hubby always says about this dish. It is prepared both with Veg. and Non.Veg. and I have posted many dishes in different combos before. So I decided to add on extra masala powders other than the usually added chilly and coriander to the curry. I also added on garlic and curry leaves for added on fragrance as Maharashtrians always add them on frying for their dishes. I preferred tamarind to tomatoes as I love the taste of the same better than the tanginess of tomatoes. Well, in all it was a fantastic dish and frankly I am waiting to catch hold of some venti so that I can prepare it again and eat to my heart’s content as this time as a trial I had not cooked much. There is so much to learn from each community, and its simply amazing how tasty some dishes turn out with dash of spices. Never ever gave a thought of adding dried prawns to venti. So thanks to Ranjana, my maid help who dropped the tip.
** Here is the simple recipe to "Venti ani Sukkale Sungta Panna Upkari/ Spicy Colocasia Stems and Dried Prawns Curry" … My Style …
** Ingredients :
Venti / Tender Colocasia Leaves Stems : About 25-30
Sukkale Sungata / Dried Prawns : 1 cup.
Onion / Piyavu / Kanda : 1 large sized.
Garlic / Losun / Lehsun : 5-6
Curry Leaves / Kadipatta / Karbevu : 8-10 fresh ones.
Tamarind / Imly / Chinchama : One small lemon sized ball.
Salt to taste
Oil /Tel : 3-4 tblsp
** Masala Powders :
Kashmiri Red Chilly Powder / Mirsange Pitti : 3 tblsp
Coriander / Dhania / Kothimbir Powder : 1 tblsp
Cumin / Jeera Powder : 1 tsp
Fennel / Badisep / Saunf Powder : ½ tsp
Garam Masala Powder : ½ tsp
Goda Masala Powder : ½ tsp
** Peel off / string off the outer blackish skin of the venti/ colocasia stems as shown in the picture and cut them into 2.5 inches length pieces. Wash well and keep it ready aside.
** Pick and clean the dried prawns, clearing off its head and tail portions. In Mumbai we get them all cleaned during the month of May and we can just stock them for year round use taking care to see that it is keep in an air tight container. Wash the prawns and put them in a bowl add in about 3 cups of hot water. Cover and keep it aside for 30 minutes. Then drain off the water, rinse it once and keep this ready aside.
** Soak the tamarind in one cup of hot water for about 10-15 minutes. Squeeze it out well and strain and keep the paste ready.
** Peel off the outer skin of both the onion and garlic and chop them finely and keep them separately ready aside.
** Add in the cut, washed and kept ready venti / colocasia stem pieces in a pressure cooker pan along with the tamarind paste. Add in a cup of water and pressure cook on medium heat to 2-3 whistles. Let the pressure fall on its own.
** Once you are able to open the lid of pressure cooker, add in prepared and kept prawns on top of the cooked venti/ colocasia stems, check if water is needed, usually it is not. Now pressure cook it all together for one whistle, let the pressure fall on its own and it is ready for further preparation of the dish.
** Heat the oil in a thick bottomed kadai/pan. When hot, lower the heat to medium and add in finely chopped garlic pieces and fry for a few minutes. Now add in the finely chopped onion pieces and continue frying till they turn brown in color. Now lower the heat to minimum and add in the curry leave and fry for a second.
** Add in all the masala powders and fry for second and then add in the cooked venti-prawns along with the tamarind water in which it is cooked. Mix well and check if water is needed and add on only if need be. This is a dry curry, so be careful in addition of water. Add salt to taste mix well and bring to full heat, then lower and simmer for a good 15-20 minutes till it cooks well and thickens.
** "Venti ani Sukkale Sungta Panna Upkari/ Spicy Colocasia Stems and Dried Prawns Curry" is done and ready to be served. This is a spicy side dish that taste awesome when served along with other dishes with rice and saar or dal. Though I served it in thali with other dishes, I kept aside a small bowl for hubby to relish with panpolo for bf the next morning and it was a fantastic combo. I was really spellbound with the taste of this awesome curry.
** If you are a non-vegetarian and love dried prawns like my hubby, I assure you this curry is for all of you. You can prepared and keep it in airtight steel box in fridge and serve the next day, it tastes even better. Somehow it is always found that fish curries taste better on settling down properly for about 6-8 hours. So you have all the time to prepare it and relish if you have guests dropping by who love prawns.
** Note : Goda Masala is a masala powder from Maharshtrian Cuisine and is prepared in bulk during the summer months and stored round the year for usage. It is their basic masala which is added to most of the dishes. It is freely available in store in and around Mumbai and I really love this coarsely ground masala powder. Though I do not stock it for year round usage, I do see to it that it is in stock at home and add in wherever I need to add Garam masala. If it is not available, you can replace the same with Garam Masala.
** Note : I recommend you keep the spice level on higher side for this curry. The onions when fried impart a sweetish tinge so the chilly powder needs to be kept more. If you love it very spicy you can increase by another tablespoon too. I would have loved to do so and hubby would have loved it as he likes spicy dishes, but I have an intolerance for excess spice so did not do it, so its upto individual choice.
** Sharing below a common link to all the “Panna Upkari” both Veg and Non.Veg. posted in my Blog, Please do check through the same and try out those that you and your family would love to relish.
** An Earnest Request : There are many more recipes of different types in the blog. For all my Recipes, use the search option or the label section in the Blog. If you are still not able to find it or have a query, please leave a message in comment section or mail me the same. I will try my best to get back to you as soon as possible. Do try out various types of dishes included in the Blog and Enjoy them with your family and friends and do give me a feedback if possible.
** I am happy to inform you that I have also started a food group for by the name "KONKANI DELICACIES" which is over and year old, with about 19K strong members. It is a pleasure to inform that you will find in the group many more recipes posted by our expert members and you too can share some of your own. The link to the group is posted on the left side of the blog page. Do join us in our culinary journey. I strongly believe in Sharing and always endorse that "Sharing Is Caring" … Thank You ….
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