“Vali- Magge Ambat (Malabar Spinach- South Indian Cucumber/ Southekayi Curry)”... one of the most famous dish from GSB Konkani Saraswat Cuisine … a delicious Sweet- n- Spicy curry seasoned with onions that's usually prepared with addition of Harve Popashpala (Raw Papaya) along with Vali (Malabar Spincach) … I have often replaced papaya with other veggies and they have all tasted great … this time I have added on Mangalore Cucumber and it tastes awesome served with Ukde SheetHa (Red Boiled Rice)/ Steamed Rice/ Roti/ Parathas/ Dosa (panpolo)/ Idly/ Oondi etc. … plenty of choices to relish with, Isn’t it ??? Yummilicious .....
** I have often shared recipes prepared with Malabar Spinach/ Vali/ Basale in combination with other veggies prepared either as koddel or Ambat, hence, I will not run into details on these curries. Ambat is a med spicy curry prepared with onion tempering. Traditional recipe calls for addition of Jaggery when prepared in combo of raw papaya only. I have tried and shared few other combos with same recipe too. The recipes included are with addition of pumpkin, chow chow, fresh/ dry prawns, horse gram, cowpeas, white beans etc; some as sweet- spicy version while others are only spicy ones. I am sure to add on more recipes of ambat/ koddel/ gashi using this veggie as and when possible, so if like my family, your family too loves this leafy veggie, then do watch out for this space for more delicacies.
** Malabar Spinach/ Vali/ Basale is a leafy vegetable, a creeper with thick stems that is one of GSB Konkani Saraswat’s favorite and we prepare many dishes using the same, both veg. and non.veg. In my hometown where there is backyard or garden facility in the compound of their own home, people often grow it and relish the same. It can easily be grown even in your window grills as the grill will give it the support to climb on and will grow beautifully, but you must have plenty of sunshine for it to grow properly. Unfortunately, I have no access to sunlight and I cannot grow many things which otherwise I would have loved too. Luckily now this veggie is easily available unlike olden days in my vicinity too and I can try out all the dishes I grew up relishing in addition to experimenting and reating new ones.
** Magge/ South Indian Cucumber is a veggie from cucumber family that is widely cultivated as a creeping vine plant that usually bears cylindrical fruits that are used for cooking. The water content in this veggie is high, the very reason why it’s considered good for health as it is a coolant for body heat and helps keep body hydrated. Plenty of dishes are prepared in southern parts of India including GSB homes using them along with other veggies or pulses. I will not run into details on magge as I have shared plenty of recipes here. I am sharing a few links at the bottom of this recipe for easy access, do browse through and try this delicious dish in any combination you/ your family prefers, they are all tasty and please do spare a few minutes and give me a feedback whenever possible, Thank you so much.
** Here is my simple recipe for “Vali- Magge Ambat (Malabar Spinach- South Indian Cucumber/ Southekayi Curry)”... My Style …
** Ingredients :
Vali/ Malabar Spinach/ Basale/ Mayalu : One small bundle.
Magge/ Southekayi/ South Indian (Mangalore) Cucumber : about 500 gms.
Onion/ Piyavu/ Kanda : One small sized.
Jaggery/ Goda/ Bella : 50-75 gms grated or cut to small pieces.
Kudampuli/ Malabar Tamarind : 4-5 (dried ones)
Salt/ Namak/ Meeta : to taste
** Masala to be Ground :
Oil/ Tel/ Tela : 1 tsp
Coconut/ Soyi/ Nariyal : 1 cup finely grated fresh coconut
Kashmiri Red Chillies / Kumte Mirsanga : 10-12
Dhania/ Kottambari/ Coriander Seeds : 2 tblsp
** For Tempering/ Pannaka/ Tadka :
Oil/ Tel/ Tela : 2-3 tblsp
Onion/ Piyav / Kanda : One medium sized.
** Peel off the skin and chop the onions/ piyavu/ kanda both given under ingredients and tempering finely and keep aside ready separately.
** Wash and chop the leaves of one large bunch of Vali/ Basale/ Malabar Spinach finely. You should at least have 6-8 cups of chopped leaves. Also, cut the stems into 3 inch pieces. Rinse in colander under running water and keep this ready aside. Picture of Vali/ Basale/ Malabar Spinach enclosed in the collage.
** Wash, and cut both side edges of Magge/ South Indian Cucumber/ Southekayi. Slice off the innermost flesh portion/ seeds within the same and keep it aside, you can prepare dishes like coolant, tambuli as they are very nutritious. (check blog for the same using search options or link shared at the bottom of this recipes). Cut into 2 inch sized cubes retaining the skin as shown in the picture collage and keep it ready.
** Add Vali pieces along with stem into a pressure cooker pan evenly in a layer. Wash magge pieces gently in plenty of water and add in the pressure cooker pan in a layer above the vali pieces. Add 1-2 glasses of water and pressure cook on medium heat to 1-2 whistles only. Let the pressure drop on its own, when able to open the lid do so, check out if cooked and then remove and add it into a vessel and keep it aside ready.
** Masala to be Ground : Heat oil and fry coriander seeds until color changes lightly, add the chillies and further fry for a minute. Remove and add into a mixer grinder along with freshly grated coconut and grind to a very fine paste. You can use the veggies cooked water for grinding the masala too which is what I usually do.
** Note : The masala should be ground to a thick and smooth texture without adding excess water which can always be added later if need be. In case you are not adding any tart tasting veggie to the curry then add a small marble sized piece of tamarind (chinchama/ imly) while grinding the masala. I have not added tamarind as I have added dried kudampuli/ malabar tamarind to the curry, you may add any.
** Note : For the curry you can use any one of the tart tasting fruit/ veggie mentioned like, bimbul (tree sorrel fruit), ambado (Hog Plum), karmbala (carmbola/ starfruit), ambuli (raw mango), harvo tomato (raw- green tomato), dried kokum, kudampuli etc. as is available region wise. In case you do not have access to any one of them or they are not available or again, if you do not want to use them then for any reason, do not worry, you can add in a small marble sized piece of tamarind (chinchama/ Imly) while grinding the masala which is what is followed in GSB Konkani Saraswat Cuisine.
** Add pressure cooked vali- magge into a thick bottomed vessel. Add ground masala, mix gently adding water as is necessary to bring to a thick gravy consistency. Wash and add kudampuli (Malabar tamarind) and cook on medium heat stirring often until you see bubbles appearing on surface. Add one of the chopped onion, grated jaggery, salt to taste, mix well and bring to boil on medium flame stirring in between. Once it comes to full boil, lower the heat and let it simmer while you prepared tempering.
** For Tempering/ Pannaka/ Tadka : Heat oil in a small pan, when hot add in the chopped onion and fry until they turn evenly brown in colour. Do not keep the heat too high or leave the tempering unattended as the onions may start being burnt from the sides. Keep mixing often to get evenly fried onion. Once browned, remove and pour this over the simmering curry, mix well and then remove from heat and keep it aside covered for 15-20 minutes for the flavors to be well infused into the curry and it is done.
** “Vali- Magge Ambat (Malabar Spinach- South Indian Cucumber/ Southekayi Curry)” is done and ready to be served. Tastes best served hot with ukade SheetHa (boiled rice) or plain rice too. Though in most of the homes in southern parts of India, its habitual to serve curry with rice, you may serve it with roti/ paratha/ poori/ dosa/ idly etc. too, in which case see to it that you keep the curry slightly thicker in texture than when served with rice. Do try out various options and enjoy with your family and friends.
** As I mentioned above, this curry is traditionally prepared with addition of raw papaya and is called "Vali Popashpala Ambat/Malabar Spinach Raw Papaya Curry", a very famous dish in GSB Konkani Saraswat Community. I have already shared that curry to which I am sharing the link below, you can check it out and try it too …...
** Sharing a common link to all dishes with “Vali/Malabar Spinach”. There are many dishes with lots of varieties both Veg. and Non.Veg. Do go through the link and try out those that appeal to you and your family. There are lots of pictures included there which will help you understand the dish better. If this leafy creeper type veggie is available in your vicinity, do try out the dishes and give me a feedback if possible.
** Sharing a common link below to all "Magge/ South Indian Cucumber/ Southekayi” recipes, you may browse through in leisure …..
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