Carrot (Gajar) Pepper Masala- Upkari (Bhaji/ Stir Fry).

“Carrot (Gajar) Pepper Masala- Upkari (Bhaji/ Stir Fry)” … the goodness of food sometimes lies in serving it in a simple, no fuss manner … make these simple side dishes a must during meal times just like olden days and reap in loads of health benefits … here is a pepper flavored tasty upkari that can be served as side dish or you can even relish it as a dinner, which is what I do at times when I want to go light yet have something tasty and nutritious … Yummilicious …

** Times have changed and those days are gone when you could eat to your heart’s content and get a sound sleep. These days heavy dinner makes you toss about without sleep only to wonder lying awake that you should have forgone dinner. During earlier days physical work digested whatever was consumed unlike now, where most of the times we use gadgets for our work. Official work too is either online or in sitting position most of the time, so the food too just sits there in the tummy along with you without even trying to get digested.

** Physical exercise is a important part of life for overall health which most of us realize late in life and by that time years have ticked by and bones have started to creek. Yes, we did have PT in school that’s it, the importance was never taught and as we reached college that too was not compulsory, so the only exercise was that which needed for travelling and working round the home, which is not enough. I am writing this so that whoever reads this makes not the mistakes we made and catches the bus in time instead of regressions later on.

** The crisis going on round the world for almost 2 years now has taught us a lot, the need to eat healthy, exercise, build immunity etc. Though for some of us it is a little bit late there goes the saying that nothing is too late to be rectified in life, hence I too am doing my best in following nutritionists advice on Instagram. I also make it a point to go through physiotherapy for my back issues and I am sure I will slowly get back in shape. I always believe that in Hope lies future and in attempt lies success and never give up should be the attitude.

** Coming to Upkari it is a simple bhaji/ stir fry sort of dish which we Konkani Saraswats always insist on having at lunch/ dinner time. Olden days it was compulsory to serve it but somehow with catching phase of one pot meals, people seem to skip these small but necessary dishes. Though I include them for lunch, I more so make it my only dinner followed by a hot glass of turmeric milk and I am done. Trust me starving is not the solution, these are not only healthy but light on stomach and will definitely give you a good sleep.

** Here is my simple recipe for “Carrot (Gajar) Pepper Masala- Upkari (Bhaji/ Stir Fry)” … My style …

** Peel off the skin of 2-3 large sized carrots/ gajar, slice off the edges of both sides and then cut them into half inch sized cubes. Do not cut them too small or too large in size, but see to it that they chopped uniformly in size. Put it into a colander and rinse well and keep it aside for 5 minutes for the excess water to drain off.

** Heat 1 tblsp of oil (tela/ tel) in a thick bottomed kadai/ pan, when hot lower the heat and add in ½ tsp of mustard seeds (sasam/ rai) when they begin to splutter add in a pinch of methi (fenugreek) seeds, large pinch of jeera (cumin seeds), pinch of hing (asafoetida) powder, a few curry leaves (kadipatta/ karbevu) and fry for a few seconds.

** Add carrot pieces, sprinkle some water, mix well and cook covered stirring a few times till 70% cooked. Add pinch of goda masala or garama masala, pinch of red chilly powder (mirsangi pitti/ tikkat), 1- 1.5 tsp of coarsely crushed pepper corns (mire), salt (namak/ meeta) to taste and mix well, cook covered till the carrots are just done, say 90%.

** The carrots should be just cooked, so avoid pressure cooking or over cooking them or they lose taste. In fact keep just slightly under cooked and it tastes perfect. Garnish with handful of finely chopped coriander leaves (kothambari pallo/ dhania). Cover and keep it aside for 10 minutes for flavors to get mingled well and it is ready.

** Note : Use freshly crushed pepper powder for aromatic flavor for this upkari/ bhaji. The coarsely crushed pepper sort of gives it a different and unique taste when it gets mingled with slightly sweetish in taste carrots. Again, remember to keep all masalas and other ingredients to bare minimum, here we should allow pepper to rule in flavor for best result.

** “Carrot (Gajar) Pepper Masala- Upkari (Bhaji/ Stir Fry)” is done and ready to be served. As I mentioned a no fuss, yet aromatic and tasty side dish that goes well served along during lunch/ dinner time. You can take this in your lunch box too and if you want to eat nutritious food and avoid heavy dinner, then this is it, trust me its healthy.

** If desired you can serve it with a roti too for dinner, make this a habit for your children as carrot are high in Vitamin A, good for eyes and these days with the online classes and mobile/ tv era going on children are stuck to screen making their vision poor. Good food is always a necessity and we should include them into our meals for a healthy lifestyle.

** Remember a complete meal plan for the day is that which includes veggies in bulk, milk products of fish, eggs, sprouts, fruits, pulses, grains and not that which is available readily in packs like pizzas, burgers, cakes, colas, biscuits etc. There is nothing like home cooked meal when it comes to nutrition, we should realize that and incorporate it before too late.

** Konkani Saraswat Cuisine includes simple upkari, talasani, gojju, bajji etc. prepared with veggies, that are highly nutritious and simple to prepare. Olden days it was compulsory to serve it as accompaniment along with other dishes, but somehow looks like it is slowly diminishing with fancy meals catching on with children.

** There are many simple upkari dishes in my Blog for those who are new to these dishes. Off course you must enjoy all types of food be it fancy or otherwise, but do make it a point to include these simple healthy dishes too into your meal plan often to build in good immunity and give your children a healthy lifestyle for which they will be thankful in later years.