“Keerla Neeli- Bikkanda- Magge ghalnu Sukke (Bamboo Shoots Edges- Jackfruit Seed- South Indian Cucumber Curry)” … there are some traditional dishes prepared with seasonal veggies that we all eagerly wait to prepare like this dish from GSB Konkani Saraswat Cuisine … missed addition of hogplum which is not yet available … tastes awesome served as side dish with dalitoy- sheetHa (dal- chawal) though it tastes equally great with roti or dosas too … Yummilicious …
** Keerla Neeli Sukke with Bikkanda and Ambado (Bamboo Shoots curry with Jackfruit seeds and Hogplum) is a delicious dish that Amma (my mom) used to prepare when in season ie during monsoon when all three veggies are available. Addition of any other veggie in combo to above three like pagila, magge, surnu, batato etc. are a matter of choice and you can skip them too. Sukke is a semi dry curry that is served as a side dish along with other dishes with Dal- Chawal in most of the Saraswat homes.
** I have already shared this curry in a few other combinations before and this time I have included magge (south Indian cucumber) to the same. I missed adding ambado (hogplum) as it is not yet available in my vicinity. I will not run into more details of the recipe again here as I have written in detail in my previous post. I will be sharing a common link to the previous recipes which is no different from this, at the bottom of this recipe and you may browse through them for more tips and suggestions.
** Here is my Recipe for “Keerla Neeli- Bikkanda- Magge ghalnu Sukke (Bamboo Shoots Edges- Jackfruit Seed- South Indian Cucumber Curry)” … my style, which I learnt from my Amma and she made it the best …
** Ingredients :
Keerla Neeli/ Top edge portion of Bamboo Shoots : 2 cups cut to small pieces.
Jackfruit Seeds/ Bikkanda : 15-18 large sized
Magge/ South Indian Cucumber/ Southekayi : Approx. 300 gms.
Jaggery/ Gud/ Goda : 50 gms powder or grated.
Salt/ Namak/ Meeta : to taste
** For Masala to be Ground :
Coconut/ Soyi/ Nariyal : 1 heaped cup freshly grated.
Urad dal/ Black Gram Dal : 1 tsp
Coriander Seeds/ Kothambari/ Dhania : 1 tblsp
Kashmiri Dry Red Chillies/ Kumte Mirsanga/ Byadgi Mirchi : 8-10
Tamarind/ Chinchama/ Imly : marble sized (about 1.5 tsp)
Oil/ Tel/ Tela : 1 tsp
** For Tempering/ Pannaka/ Tadka :
Coconut Oil/ Nariyal Tel/ NarlelTela : 1 tblsp
Mustard Seeds/ Sasam/ Rai : 1 tsp
Curry leaves/ Kadipatta/ Karbevu : 10-12
** About Bamboo Shoots/ Keerlu : Whether you use fresh or brine bamboo shoots it needs to be soaked in water before cooking and you can use either ones in preparation of any curry. I have used topmost tender conical part of fresh bamboo shoot called “neeli” and a few fresh bamboo shoots pieces too for this recipe.
** If using fresh bamboo shoots, remove outer cover and cut them into pieces of 3-4 inch long with 1 inch width and soak it in water for 48 hours or atleast 12 hours and then use. And if using Brine bamboo shoots too, it should be put in plenty of water either overnight or for a few hours, changing the water a few times if possible which will help in removing excess salt from the keerlu which will otherwise turn dishes salty.
** Note : 1 have already written an article giving full explanation of how to cut, store, brine and use bamboo shoots, sharing the link at the bottom of this recipe, please go through the same and prepare the shoots in similar way for using.
** Drain the soaked bamboo shoots and cut into small pieces. For this particular recipe as mentioned above only topmost tender conical part called “neeli” is used. However, in case you fall short in amount of the same, you may add some tender bamboo pieces cut to small pieces too, I have added about ½ cup. Cut/ chop them into small pieces, put them in plenty of water overnight (or min. 2 hours) and strain off the next day.
** Peel the outer dry white skin of bikkanda/ jackfruit seeds and cut into small pieces. If using frozen, soak them in water for 20 minutes and then proceed to cut them. Rinse them under running water and allow the water to drain off.
** Note : I always buy jackfruit seeds/ bikkanda in bulk and freeze it for year round usage and I have written an article with full details on the same about a decade back. If you want to try it, check out on the link given at the bottom of this recipe.
** Wash, wipe dry and cut both side edges of one medium sized Magge/ South Indian Cucumber/ Southekayi. Slice off the innermost flesh portion and the seeds within the same and keep it aside, do not discard them, you can prepare any coolant, tambuli or dry the seeds and use them, they are very nutritious. Sharing a common link to Magge recipes, you may browse through for more information there.
** Now cut it into ½ inch sized cubes retaining the skin of half of the cut pieces while for the other half you slice off the skin as thinly as possible. (You can retain for all if desired, however, I follow this method as it appeals to me coz. they blend in well with the curry when the skin has been removed, you may choose any way you desire).
** Note : It is desirable to cut all three veggies ie bamboo shoot (keerlu), jackfruit seeds (bikkanda) and south Indian cucumber (magge) into equal sized pieces (about 1/2 inch in size), it not only looks beautiful but tastes great too.
** Wash the pieces, put in a pressure cooker pan with 1-2 glasses of water and pressure cook on medium heat to 1 whistle only. Let the pressure drop on its own, open the lid and add it into a thick bottomed kadai/ pan and keep it aside ready.
** In the same pressure cooker pan, wash and add both Keerla neeli pieces (bamboo shoot edge) and bikkanda pieces (jackfruit seed). Strain and add the magge cooked water (I follow this method to avoid excess cooking water). Check and add more water only if necessary and pressure cook on medium heat to 2-3 whistles.
** When the pressure drop on its own, open the lid, add cooked keerlu- bikkanda to cooked magge pieces in kadai and keep it aside.You will need to pressure cook magge and keeruli- bikkanda separately as the cooking time varies. If you add them all together and pressure cook then magge will be mashed, so be careful.
** Masala to be Ground into a paste: Heat oil in small pan, when hot add urad dal and fry for a few minutes, when the colour changes slightly reddish (do not brown) add the coriander seeds and continue to fry for another minute or so. Lastly add dry Red chillies and further fry together for just a minute only, remove and cool.
** Add the above into a mixer grinder along with grated coconut and tamarind. Grind to a semi smooth paste adding just enough water. Here too while grinding the masala you can use the pressure-cooked veggies water if there any in excess. We GSB Saraswat’s (amchigele’s) always follow this method. Remember this is a semi thick dry curry so the ground paste should be thick, but not be very fine/nor coarse.
** Note : For preparation of any curry you can use any one of 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 a small marble sized piece of tamarind (chinchama/ Imly) while grinding masala which is followed in GSB Konkani Saraswat Cuisine.
** My Suggestion : For this particular curry usually tender ambado (Hogplum) is added cut into small pieces. The beauty of the dish lies in cutting all the veggies added to the curry, into equal sized pieces be it magge, keerlu, bikkanda or ambado and it not only looks beautiful, it tastes wonderful too. I will be preparing this dish again as soon as hogplums are in season, I suggest you add them if available too.
** Add ground masala to the ingredients in kadai and mix well adding more water only if necessary. Bring to a boil on medium heat, check and add salt to taste (if you have added brine bamboo shoots, you will need to be careful while adding salt). Add jaggery, mix well and continue to cook while we prepare the tempering.
** For Tempering/ Pannaka/ Tadka : Heat coconut oil in a small pan, when hot add mustard seeds, when they begin to splutter add curry leaves and fry a few seconds and then pour over the simmering curry and mix well.
** Continue to cook the curry after tempering on low heat stirring often to avoid being stuck or burnt at the bottom. When the curry begins to thicken remove from heat and keep it aside covered to rest for 30 minutes for the flavours to seep in.
** Note : The tempering can be prepared first in the kadai, followed by addition of vegies along with water and cooked until around 95% done, then the masala is added and cooking is continued until done too. However, I avoid this method as it is time consuming and pressure cooking method is more convenient and faster not to mention you do get perfect result when you follow the method suggested above.
** The curry thickens a bit when allowed to settle for about 20-30 minutes. Check out before serving and if you find it necessary or you desire to keep the curry slightly thinner textured, then add about ½ cup of hot water, mix well and its done.
** “Keerla Neeli- Bikkanda- Magge ghalnu Sukke (Bamboo Shoots Edges- Jackfruit Seed- South Indian Cucumber Curry)” is done and ready to be served. This is a traditional seasonal curry usually served as a side dish with dalitoy- sheetHa (dal- rice) during meals. If you are not in favor of dal- chawal, don’t worry, it tastes equally delicious served with roti, chapathi, parathas, poori too. In a family there are always individual preferences, so just prepare and serve to ones personal choice and enjoy.
** I must mention here that in my home we love to relish this dish with Idly or dosa’s too. So, I either prepare dosa/ idly for lunch or I prepare some excess curry so as to relish it for breakfast the following morning with dosa/ panpolo (neer dosa) or idly as it really tastes excellent from the otherwise regularly served chutney and bhaji. I learnt this way of relishing curry for breakfast from my late father who always insisted on the same. Do try these dishes and enjoy with your family and friends, I always believe that there is joy in cooking and sharing them with all who enjoy good food.
** For “Keerla Neeli- Bikkanda- Ambado ghalnu Sukke (Bamboo Shoots Edges- Jackfruit Seed- Hogplum Curry)”, original, traditional recipe from GSB Konkani Saraswat Cuisine, Please check out on the link given below …
** Sharing link to detailed description of “Keerlu / Bamboo Shoots”, Please do go through the same for complete knowledge of the same ….
** For detailed method on “Freezing Bikkanda/ Jackfruit Seeds”, Please do go through the same for complete knowledge of the same ….
** For more authentic GSB recipes of "Bamboo Shoots(Keerlu)/ Jackfruit Seeds (Bikkanda)/ South Indian Cucumber (Magge)", please follow the common links shared below and do give it a try ….
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