Saturday, July 9, 2022

Beetroot- Ivy Gourd- Capsicum Sukka Masala.


“Beetroot- Ivy Gourd- Capsicum Sukka Masala” … it is always a delight to share a dish that has turned out perfect though it has been shared before but with different veggie combination ... addition of capsicum always imparts a different flavour taking the dish altogether to another level ... Yummilicious ….

** As mentioned on title I have already shared this simple masala dish I often prepare in combination of different veggies and in every combination it has turned out awesome. It is not only easy to prepare but also tastes great served with roti/ poori and in my home we simply love it. Here I use sambar masala powder which is store bought and I find it one of the best as I have been using the same for over 25 years, that is the very reason why I have never desired to prepare the powder at home.

** Again beetroot being one of my favorite vegetable I love preparing it in different ways. Grated coconut too is my weakness as I find when masala prepared using it the taste is different from that of ground onion tomatoes etc. maybe it’s the saraswat cuisine influence in me that somehow has not been able to make this change in taste and in my freezer I always stock fresh grated coconut and in fridge desiccated ones. In all a very tasty dish that you will enjoy when served with roti/ poori/ panpolo or parathas.

** I must mention about the other 2 veggies here, capsicum, and Ivy gourd (gherkins/ tendle) otherwise I will be definitely letting them down. In recent years I have found out that capsicum imparts a different flavor of its own to dishes and takes it to a higher level which is fantastic. This time while preparing this dish I decided to add on capsicum and Ivy gourd too, to check out how the combination works and trust me it was par excellence, the very reason why I skipped preparing rice and went on to prepare poori.

** Though I recommend serving this dish with poori or roti/ parathas you may serve as side dish with dal- chawal too depending upon your family choice. Another great combo would be dosas especially panpolo/ neer dosa it tastes fantastic, I often keep aside some for breakfast with panpolo for next day. Nachani poori turns healthier when compared to plain ones as the inclusion of finger millet/ ragi/ nachani powder increases its calcium and other nutrient values, but then you can roll out roti too, so go ahead and try it.

** Here is my simple recipe for “Beetroot- Ivy Gourd- Capsicum Sukka Masala” … my style which I am repeating here again as there are minute changes with inclusion of other veggies only while masala remains same ….

** Ingredients :
Beetroot : one large sized.
Capsicum/ Donne mirsanga/ Shimla Mirchi : 3 large sized 
Ivy Gourd/ Gherkins/ Tendle : 150 gms.

** Masala to be ground :
Coconut/ Nariyal/ Soyi : 1 cup freshly grated.
Sambar Powder : 2-3 tablespoons.
Tamarind/ Chinchama/ Imly : small marble sized or 1 tblsp tamarind paste.
Salt/ Namak/ Meeta : to taste.

** For Tempering/ Pannaka :
Oil/ Tela/ Tel : 1 tablespoon.
Mustard Seeds/ Sasam/ Rai : 1 teaspoon.
Curry Leaves/ Kadipatta/ Karbevu : 8-10.


** Wash well to remove muddy portions if any and then peel of the skin of beetroot and cut them into medium sized cubes. Wash well and then slice off both sides of the edge portions of Ivy gourd and cut them into two horizontally.

** In a pressure cooker pan first add in the cut beetroot pieces in a layer and then top it with a layer of Ivy gourd pieces. Now add in about one cup of water and cook to 1-2 whistles on high heat. Remove and let the pressure drop on its own.

** Wash, wipe dry and cut the capsicum also into one inch sized cubes discarding the stalk and inner seeds. Put them in a thick bottomed kadai/ pan. Add the cooked water of beet- ivy gourd itself and cook on medium heat till 60% done.

** Add the coconut gratings along with samabar powder, salt and tamarind into a mixer grinder and grind to powder without adding water. Mix it in between to get a well combined powdered masala, slightly coarse textured like rava.

** Add the cooked beetroot, ivy gourd and the ground masala to the capsicum in kadai and mix well. The masala should dryly coat the veggies but if necessary you can add some water, but be careful as this is a dry masala dish.

** For Seasoning : Heat oil in a small pan/ kadai, when hot add mustard seeds, when they splutter add curry leaves and fry for a few seconds. Add this to the kadai in which the masala and veggies are added and once again mix well.

** Cover and cook on low heat for 5-8 minutes, mixing often in between, to avoid the masala getting burnt. In Konkani this type of masala cooking is called shirshirayche, hope it is helpful in understanding the procedure for amchies.

** When done remove and leave it aside covered for 20 minutes for the curry to dry out well and also settle down to impart flavors. While serving if you notice the dish too dry to your liking mix some hot water and bring it to required consistency.

** “Beetroot- Ivy Gourd- Capsicum Sukka Masala” is done and ready to be served. Tastes excellent served with poori/ chapati/ parathas/ panpolo/ dosa or as a side dish with dal chawal too. I served it with Nachani Wheat Poori which I have shared next to this post and it was simply scrumptious, a friend of mine who had dropped by not only had a few but packed the curry for her son, who always cribs that she does not try out new dishes. Well, he loved it though they had them with phulkas.

** Despite having shared the same recipe where in I had prepared it with beetroot, I was eager to share this combination too, as often I keep getting queries on combinations. As I found it tasty I thought you would too, try it, you will not regret. You can also check out the recipe with beetroot only at the link shared below ….

** For “Nachani Wheat Poori” recipe, You can check out the link shared below ….

No comments:

Post a Comment

Thanks.