“Mitta ghallele Avale Saaru (Brine Amla/ Nellikayi/ Indian Gooseberry Saar)” … winter is that time when you need to savour dishes steaming hot and saaru, rasam, kadhi always fits the bill … avalo is high in vitamin C and should be consumed during monsoon/ winter to avoid cold etc. … prepared this simple delicious saaru to be served with rice … tastes awesome, do give it a try … Yummilicious …
** I am very fond of brining (salt preseving/ mitta ghallele) veggies and try to do so whenever particular veggies are in season. To name a few I have brined amla (avalo/ Indian gooseberry), raw mango (ambuli), ambado (hogplum), limbiyo (lemon), saal (raw jackfruit) etc. whenever they are in season. They not only fall in handy but are considered to be healthy too. You can also prepare pickle out of them or just crush them add spices and serve with rice porridge/ pejja when you are not feeling well. In all there are plenty of recipes that can be prepared using brined veggies and a lot of them are already shared in the Blog.
** Coming to Saaru (in konkani)/ Saar (otherwise famously known) is a spicy- tangy slightly sweetish thin soupy textured curry often served with rice. More so famous in southern parts of India, it is must during festive meals by and large prepared using tomatoes, I am sure you have all heard of tomato saar, isn’t, I need not write more. Coconut may be added for thickening the saar as each home has a traditional secret recipe of their own and for this recipe I have added a little bit. There are plenty of Saar recipes are shared in Blog, do browse through them in leisure, try them and enjoy with your family and friends.
** Here is my own simple recipe for “Mitta ghallele Avale Saaru (Brine Amla/ Nellikayi/ Indian Gooseberry Saar)” … my style …
** Ingredients :
Mitta ghallele Avalo/ Nellikayi/ Brine Indian Gooseberry/ Salt Preserve Amla : 5-6
Jaggery/ Goda/ Gud/ Bella : 1-2 tblsp
Salt/ Namak/ Meeta : to taste
** For the Masala to be Ground :
Oil/ Tel/ Tela : 2 tblsp
Coriander Seeds/ Dhania/ Kothambir : 2 tblsp
Jeera/ Cumin Seeds : ½ tsp
Urad Dal/ Black Gram split dal : 1 tsp
Chana Dal/ Bengal Gram split dal : 2 tblsp
Haldi/ Turmeric Powder : ½ tsp
Hing/ Asafoetida Powder : 1 tsp
Kashmiri Red Chilly/ Kumte Mirsanga/ Byadgi Mirchi : 6-8
Coconut/ Nariyal/ Soyi : 2-3 tblsp
Curry Leaves/ Kadipatta/ Karbevu : 5-6 fresh ones
Tamarind/ Chinchama/ Imly : a small marble sized piece
Coriander Leaves/ Kottambari Pallo/ Dhania : handful fresh leaves
** For Tempering/ Pannaka/ Tadka:
Ghee/ Toopa/ Toop : 1-2 tblsp
Mustard Seeds/ Rai/ Sasam : 1 tsp
Jeera/ Cumin Seeds : 1 tsp
Curry Leaves/ Kadipatta/ Karbevu : 8-10 fresh ones
** Soak brined avalo (amla/ indian gooseberry) in plenty of water for 2-3 hours to cure it from excess salt. This is a must procedure to be followed with all brine/ salt preserved veggies to avoid the curry turning salty. Rinse the avalo well in plenty of fresh water, cut them to pieces discarding the inner seeds and keep ready aside.
** Heat oil in a small pan, when hot add dhania, urad dal, chana dal, jeera, and fry until they turn slightly reddish. Now add haldi, hing, kasmiri red chillies, curry leaves and continue frying for another minute. Lastly add freshly grated coconut, mix well and continue to fry for a few more minutes, until all ingredients are well roasted.
** Add the above into a mixer ginder along with tamarind, cleaned and rinsed coriander leaves, the cut brine avale pieces and grind all together to a smooth and fine paste adding water as is necessary only. The paste should be ground fine.
** Note : Amla/ Avalo/ Nellikayi/ Indian Gooseberry by itself has a tangy taste does not give the required tart taste to saaru, the very reason why I add a small tamarind piece. In case you do not want to add you may skip it, however do not go to add more avalo instead as the taste of the saaru will be lost, so be careful with the same.
** Add ground masala into a vessel with enough water to bring to required saar consistency, say about 4-5 cups. Add jaggery powder, salt to taste and bring to a rolling boil. Lower the heat and continue simmering for a good 10-15 minutes stirring often in between. When thoroughly done, remove and keep it aside covered.
** Note : Be careful with addition of salt and add it only if necessary as here we are using brined avalo which does contain salt. Before you begin to wonder I must mention that any saaru to bring out taste should be simmering for 15 minutes, this helps is releasing maximum amount of flavours from ingredients, so do not cut it short.
** For Tempering/ Pannaka/ Tadka : Heat ghee in a small pan, when hot and melted add mustard seeds, when they splutter add jeera, curry leaves and fry for a few seconds, remove and pour this into the prepared saaru. Cover and keep the saaru aside for 20-30 minutes for the flavours to seep in and its ready.
** “Mitta ghallele Avale Saaru (Brine Amla/ Nellikayi/ Indian Gooseberry Saar)” is done and ready to be served. Saaru tastes best served piping hot on hot rice, so do make it a point to heat it well before serving. Saaru is a must during festive meals in almost every Amchi homes, tastes awesome when papad, oodi or bajia/ bajo are served along with it. Here for a change I have prepared with avalo with is very healthy and good to be consumed during winter season. Try it and enjoy with your family and friends.
** Note : I have used brined avalo (salt preserved indian gooseberry), which can be straightway ground along with masala. In case brine ones are not available or you want to use fresh one then you have to cook them before grinding. Just wash them well, wipe dry and then steam in a pedavana/ idly steamer/ cooker for 10-15 minutes. Let cool, then cut to small pieces and use while grinding as mentioned above.
** For the “Method of Brine Avalo (Amla/ Nellikayi/ Indian Gooseberry”, please follow the link given below ….
** There are plenty of different varieties of “Saaru/ Saar” recipes shared in the Blog. I am sharing a common link below, you may browse through and try them out too, they are all tried and tested in my home and taste wonderful ….
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