Monday, September 11, 2023

Lady's Finger- Dried Prawns Sukkha Masala.


“Lady's Finger- Dried Prawns Sukkha Masala” … an interesting combination of veggie and dried fish along with coarsely ground dry masala … tastes awesome served as side dish with dal- chawal … Yummilicious …

** Traditional pattern of fish curry from GSB Konkani Saraswat Cuisine is usually prepared without addition of veggies except for a few exceptions of tart veggies like hogplum, tree sorrel fruit, star fruit etc. However, I have come across several recipes from friends and on net where veggies are included and I have always found it quite interesting. I have tried a few creating my own combinations and a few which I heard about too. Addition of bhendi/ lady’s finger/ okra is one of them and today I tried out this recipe which I came across in my friends home a few days back. Served it as a side dish with dalitoy and rice along with a few bitter gourd fries and it was a fantastic meal.

** Here is my recipe for “Lady's Finger- Dried Prawns Sukkha Masala” ….

** Ingredients :
Lady’s Finger/ Bhendi/ Okra : 10-12 large sized.
Dried Prawns/ Sukkale Sungata : ½ cup
Onion/ Piyavi/ Kanda : 2 medium sized.
Tomato : 2 medium sized.
Garlic/ Losun/ Lehsun : 4-6 cloves
Turmeric/ Haldi Powder : ¼ tsp
Kashmiri Red Chilly Powder : 1 tsp
Mustard Seeds/ Sasam/ Rai : 1 tsp
Curry Leaves/ Kadipatta/ Karbevu : 8-10 fresh ones
Salt/ Namak/ Meeta : to taste
Oil/ Tel/ Tela : 2-3 tblsp

** For Masala to be Ground :
Coconut/ Soyi/ Nariyal : ½ cup freshly grated
Malwani Masala Powder : 1-2 tblsp


** Wash and wipe dry the bhendi and cut into 1 inch sized pieces giving a slant cut (as shown in picture). I have used dark green colored variety seasonal gavati bhendi ie lady’s finger from village side. These are thick and large in size especially those available during monsoon which have an unique taste of their own.

** Peel off the outer skin of both onions and garlic and chop them into fine pieces and keep them aside ready separately. Wash, wipe dry and then chop the tomato also into small pieces and keep it aside ready.

** Add coconut into a mixer grinder with malwani masala powder and grind WITHOUT adding water to a fine rava textured mixture and keep it aside ready. We just need a well combined mixture so be careful while grinding the same.

** Note : I have added store bought malwani masala powder, this is a special masala powder from malwani community of Maharashtra state. It taste wonderful added to any curry dishes especially non- veg. However, if not available in your place, then you can add in any curry masala powder which you are fond off.

** Pick, clean the dried prawns by trimming off the head and tail sides. Wash and soak them in hot water for about 15-20 minutes. Drain and once again wash well in plenty of water to remove dirt if any. Drain and keep it aside ready.

** Heat oil in a thick bottomed kadai/ pan, when hot add mustard seeds when they begin to splutter add in the garlic pieces and fry for a few seconds til the color changes lightly. Now add in the curry leaves, fry for a second and then add the onions pieces. Continue frying the onions adding a pinch of salt till it turns light brown.

** Add in the haldi powder and kashmiri red chilly powder and fry for another second or two. Add the cut bhendi pieces,mix well and fry on high heat for 1-2 minutes as this helps in sealing the water content of veggies intact. Now lower the heat, cover and cook for another 3-4 minutes until the bhendi is half cooked.

** Add the prepared and kept dried prawns, mix well and once and cover and cook till both are 90% done. Add in the tomato pieces, mix well, cover and let cook for 2-3 minutes only. Lastly add the ground masala, salt to taste, mix well, cover and cook for another 5-7 minutes stirring a few times in between to avoid being burnt.

** Note : You can check out the picture collage shared below on dried prawns here if you are a newbie to preparation of dried prawns/ sukkale sungata, it includes step by step pictures of dried prawns prepared for the curry.


** This is a dry masala/ sukka masala side dish to be served during meals either with rice or roti, so, do not at any point add water as the tomatoes added are enough for the same or else the dish may turn mushy and lose on taste. Remove and rest the curry for 10 minutes to settle well and the flavors to be infused and it is ready.

** “Lady's Finger- Dried Prawns Sukkha Masala” is done and ready to be served. Tastes best served as a side dish with dal-chawal or roti/ parathas. I served it for meals with dalitoy and rice along with a few bitter gourd fries and it was a fantastic combination. Do try out this simple dish if you like dried prawns, it tastes wonderful.

** You can check out on more “Dried Prawns” recipe in the common link shared below, they are all tasty and easy to prepare ….

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