“Corn- Carrot- Cashew Malvani Sagu Masala” served with Urad Dal- Chana Dal Idly … Veg. Sagu always holds a special place in my heart … this is one dish that I have savored through childhood with poori … tried out a twist and prepared with addition of Malvani Masala and turned out excellent … for a change served it with Idly … Yummilicious …
** Vegetable Sagu as I mentioned hold’s fond memories of my childhood when Mom prepared them on Sundays and served with poori, and she made the best Sagu that which I could relish for bf/ lunch or dinner too. I written about my fascination for this curry and the recipe in details before so will not go into details again. Change is always inevitable in life, though some dishes always tastes the best without meddling in Ingredients, some just get lifted totally to another level. And for this whole process one has to get out of the comfort zone and try them out running on variation imaginations cropping in mind.
** Malvani Masala Powder is something which I have begun to rely on heavily these days. I purchased it locally a few years back after which I now regularly use them in dishes I want to try out with variations and they have always enhanced the taste of the dishes be it curry or biryani. This time I tried adding it on to my favorite sagu recipe and was highly impressed with its taste. Once the auspicious Sharavana Masa comes to any end and after the Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations I will try out new options with both veg and non-veg. as for now my trials are somehow curtailed as most of the days its no onion-garlic dishes at home.
** About Malvani Masala Powder, I buy it from local stores in Mumbai. This powder is available in all stores but you got to find out which is the best ones in your locality as I cannot suggest any particular brand as I have not tried branded ones. I have neither given a try out in preparing these masala powders as my consumption is less and unless you get them ground in the mill, the right fine texture is not obtained especially on mixer grinders, at least on mine. Again, as I get good fresh ones readily available in small quantities it makes it that much easier for me. Do give a tryout on this recipe, it tastes wonderful.
** Here is my simple recipe for “Corn- Carrot- Cashew Malvani Sagu Masala” … my very own adaption from my mom’s traditional sagu recipe …
** Ingredients :
Fresh Corn Kernels/ Jolu : 2 Cups
Carrots/ Gajjar : One cup cut to ½ inch sized cubes.
Cashew Nuts/ Kajjubi/ Kaju : ½ cup
Butter/ Loni : 1 tblsp
** For Masala to be Ground :
Cloves/ Lavang : 3-4
Cinnamon/ Tike Saal : ½ inch piece
Cardamom/ Ellaichi : 1
Jeera/ Cumin Seeds : ¼ tsp
Poppy Seeds/ Cus Cus : 1 tblsp
Haldi/ Turmeric : ¼ tsp
Green Chilly/ Hari Mirchi/ Tarni Mirsang : 3-4 chopped to pieces
Garlic/ Losun/ Lehsun : 5-6 chopped to pieces
Ginger/ Adrak/ Alle’: 1 inch piece chopped to pieces
Onion/ Kanda/ Piyav : 1 medium sized chopped to pieces
Coconut/ Soyi/ Nariyal : 1 cup freshly grated
Coriander/ Dhania Leaves : 5-6 cups chopped leaves.
Tamarind/ Chinchama/ Imly : small marble sized ball.
Malvani Masala Powder : 2 tblsp
Oil/ Tel/ Tela : 3 tblsp
** For Tempering/ Seasoning :
Onion/ Kanda/ Piyav : One large sized chopped fine.
Curry Leaves/ Kadipatta/ Karbevu : 6-8
Malvani Masala Powder : 1 tsp
Oil/ Tel/ Tela : 2 tblsp
** Note : You can add in any veggies of your choice like, cauliflower, green peas, chayote squash (seemebadanekayi/ chow chow), beetroot etc. too. I have used only fresh corn kernels and carrot along with plenty of cashewnuts for this particular curry.
** If you have corn on cob, shell them and collect the kernels, wash and strain them and keep them ready aside. Also peel off the carrot and cut them into medium sized pieces say about ½ inch approximately and keep them also ready aside.
** Put the corn in a pressure cooker pan in a layer and then top it with carrot pieces also in a layer. Add in about 1 cup of water or required amount and pressure cook to one whistle only. Remove and keep aside for 5 minutes after which if you are not able to open the lid, then gently release the excess heat by lifting the whistle with the help of tongs. Open the lid and keep the cooked veggies aside ready.
** Note : The veggies should not get overcooked, so if you are not comfortable with pressure cooker method you can just add them into a vessel with required amount of water and cook too. So, carry on with any method you prefer and cook them and keep them ready.
** For Masala to be Ground : Heat oil in a thick bottomed kadai and add in the ingredients given in the list above from cloves to ginger and fry for 2 minutes. Now add in the onion and further fry for 2-3 minutes. Now add in the malvani masala powder and fry for another minute and then lastly add in coconut and continue to fry for 1-2 minutes.
** Remove from fire and keep it aside to let cool a little bit, then add it into mixer grinder along with tamarind and coriander leaves. Grind all to a very fine paste with just the required amount of water. You can use the cooked veggie water if necessary for grinding which is what I always do. Just keep in mind to prepare the paste fine and not add excess water.
** For Tempering : Heat oil in a thick bottomed large sized kadai/ pan, when hot add the cashew nut and fry till the color changes slightly, remove and keep it aside to be added later on. Now add the onions into the same kadai and fry them on medium heat till its brown in colour. Do not burn it, but the color should be slightly brownish. Now add in the curry leaves and malvani masala powder and fry for another few seconds till well mixed in.
** You can remove some of the fried onion and curry leaves and keep aside too, to be topped on the curry at the end, like how I do. Add ground paste into the kadai and fry well on low heat for about 2-3 minutes, sprinkling water in between if you find that the masala is getting burnt. Add cooked corn and carrots along with the water in which it is cooked, if any. Add salt to taste and half of the fried cashew nuts, retaining some for garnishing and mix well.
** Check the consistency of the curry and add water as required. Sagu curry is not very thick unlike kurma, so do keep it in mind and bring to required texture. Bring the curry to boiling point by increasing the heat and then lower the heat to simmer the curry for 5-10 minutes stirring in between to avoid it getting burnt at the bottom. Lastly top with the preserved fried cashew nuts, onions and curry leaves and the butter and remove from fire.
** Keep the prepared curry aside tightly covered undisturbed for 15-20 minutes for flavors to seep in and for butter also to melt in well and impart its aroma. The curry thickens out on settling, so don’t worry, you can add in some hot water and mix well before serving. Do remember to check out salt if necessary. You can also garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves if desired, I have not as plenty has already been added on while grinding.
** “Corn- Carrot- Cashew Malvani Sagu Masala” is done and ready to be served with any dish of your choice. Sagu always tastes best served with poori or parathas but I served it Urad Dal- Chana Dal Idly and it turned out fantastic too. Do try out this delicious side dish and enjoy with your family and friends. Children love this curry and you can lessen the spice level if required and they are sure to prefer them with poori, so go ahead and enjoy them as you like with family and friends.
** Note : You can add in well beaten curds to the curry after removing it from fire and keeping it aside too, in which case you got to lessen the amount of tamarind or just exclude the same by replacing one tomato too. Here I have added in tamarind as I neither wanted to add tomato or the curds, You can check out the link below too for that type of recipe.
** For the Recipe of "Spicy Urad dal- Chana Dal (Black Gram Dal- Bengal Gram Dal) Idly" that is served along with this Sagu, Please follow the link given below, it is a wonderful combo sure to be loved by all.
** I am sharing the link to the original recipe of “Vegetable Sagu”, which is my mom’s secret recipe. You may check it out and try out the same too …
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