“Kooka- Piyava Upkari (Chinese Potato- Onion Bhaji)” … Poori- Bhaji is Jodi no.1 combo enjoyed by almost all Indian food lovers worldwide … every home has their own variation of bhaji handed down generations on their own taste preferences … by and large prepared with potatoes, this time I tried the same dish but with a twist … I tried a blend of Chinese potatoes with Onions and it was fantastic … tastes best served with poories, parathas, roti, masala dosa etc. … do try it before kooka season comes to an end and enjoy with family … Yummilicious …
** Potato Bhaji be it with addition or without is a side dish enjoyed in every household almost on weekly basis and it is not an exception in my home. Unlike my siblings I have always loved potatoes be it as batate usli (potato bhaji) or the chunks added to sambar (kolumbo) or hummana; a spicy gravy dish with potatoes etc. There are plenty of dishes in GSB Konkani Saraswat Cuisine with addition of potatoes which you will come across often in my recipes. Our ancestors always believed in adding a cubed potato to dishes along with other veggies to combine the dish together (barsheka) and trust me they were right doings so, most amchies will agree with me when I say kolumbo without a potato does not taste as good as it does with addition of a few chunks of the same.
** Childhood was fun, while we siblings always relished food together be it during breakfast, lunch or dinner. The best part of these meals were all potatoes that got served were passed on to my plate and I enjoyed them without murmur always wondering why they hated this humble veggie so much. I cannot think of poori without a potato bhaji though I have learned to relish it with other dishes too, but my favourite will always remain the same. For a change this time I thought of replacing potatoes with Chinese potatoes and prepared bhaji similar to potato- onion bhaji without any changes and it tasted really good, something different, yet something similar. So for all of you out there who are not so fond of potato, try this one, maybe you and your family will love it too.
** Here is my own recipe for “Kooka- Piyava Upkari (Chinese Potato- Onion Bhaji)” … my style, tastes great with poori …
** Ingredients :
Kooka/ Chinese Potato : 25-30 large sized.
Onion/ Piyavu/ Kanda : 3 large sized.
Green Chillies/ Tarni Mirsanga/ Hari Mirchi : 5-6 chopped to pieces.
Ginger/ Adrak/ Alle’ : 1 tsp grated
Hinga Uddaka/ Water prepared out of Asafoetida in gummy form : 1 tblsp
(Check how to prepare hinga uddaka at the bottom of this recipe)
OR
Hing/ Asafoetida Powder : 1tsp
Haldi/ Turmeric Powder : ½ tsp
Salt/ Namak/ Meeta : to taste.
Coconut Oil/ Nariyal Tel/ Narlel Tela : 2-3 tsp
Mustard Seeds/ Sasam/ Rai : 1 tsp
Jeera/ Cumin Seeds : 1 tsp
Curry Leaves/ Kadipatta/ Karbevu : 8-10 fresh leaves only.
Lemon/ Nimboo/ Limbiyo : ½ of small sized
** About preparing Kooka/ Chinese Potato : Cleaning kooka/ chinese potato is the biggest task. I have changed my method of cleaning, but you can prepare it anyway that is suitable to you. Having said this, cleaning also depends upon the quality of the kooka available to you. In Mumbai, sometimes we get really good ones, that peel off easily while sometimes we don't. So I will add in a few methods of peeling of the skin and you may follow as per the variety you get using trial and error method.
** Method 1 (Traditional) : The traditional way is to put kooka in a gunny bag (Ghoni) and tightly packing it and then banging/ hitting it on to a stone firmly while rotating the bag all round as you go through the method. This loosens the skin and most of it comes off. Just scrub it with both hands retaining it within the gunny bag to loosen it more. This method is not used much now as it is difficult to access gunny bag. Even rice have been started to come in plastic type bags. If you have one, you can sure try this out. My mother used to make it this way and during childhood we used to loved doing it for her. We really did enjoying banging around the gunny bag to loosen the skin of kooka.
** Method 2 : One way of peeling the outer skin is, You can either just use the potato peeler and peel the kooka's using it.
** Method 3 (I prefer) : I soak the required amount of kooka in plenty of water for about 5-10 mins, changing them a few times if they are too muddy. This loosens the dry mud that is sticking to the kooka. The I try loosening off the mud right there in the water by rubbing them between finger. Some kooka are well behaved and peel off easily, while some are stubborn and just don't listen making it difficult. So use the potato peeler and zap it comes out faster than when you run it on the drier one mentioned first.
** Method 4 : Recent method often used these days when in need to peel off the skin of large quantity of Kooka/ Chinese Potato is soaking and washing well to remove the muddy portion of the same and then pressure cooking it to one whistle. Once the pressure in the cooker is released, drain off the water and add plenty of cold water to arrest further cooking of the kooka. Let rest for 5 minutes, the outer peel is easy to remove by peeling method similar to how we do so of potato or alvamande.
** Important step of soaking in water once its peeled : It is very important to drop the skin peeled kooka/ chinese potato into water to prevent it getting discolored. So keep a bowl with plenty of water ready and drop the peeled kookas immediately into them. Once done, wash them in plenty of water, rinsing many times in fresh water and remember to keep it soaked in water till the preparation/ cooking time.
** Whichever method of peeling of outer skin is used we need to pressure cook the kooka/ Chinese potato to soft consistency. For this recipe, I have used pressure cooker method to remove outer skin so that I need not double cook the same. To get soft consistency I have pressure cooked to 2-3 whistles, allowed it to completely cool to room temperature, then peeled the skin. This gave me soft cooked kooka which was very easy to prepare into slightly mashed bhaji suitable for serving with poories.
** Peel the outer skin of Kooka/ Chinese Potato pressure cooked to soft consistency and cut it to ½ inch sized pieces and keep it ready.
** Peel off the outer skin of Onion/ Piyavu and cut them also into ½ inch sized cubes/ pieces and keep it aside ready.
** In a thick bottomed kadai/ pan add coconut oil (or any other edible oil) and bring to heat, when hot add mustard seeds and when they begin to splutter, lower the heat to medium and add in one by one- cumin seeds, green chillies cut lengthwise and into 1 inch pieces, grated ginger, turmeric powder, asafeotida powder (if adding powder only otherwise please skip it), curry leaves and fry altogether for a few seconds.
** Add cubed onions, a pinch of salt and continue to fry all together until the onions turn translucent (pinkish and soft). Now add cooked and cut to pieces kooka/ Chinese potatoes, hing water (do not add if you have added powder while seasoning) and mix well. Cook on medium heat for 1-2 minutes stirring often and then add ½ cup of water and continue to cook covered for 2-3 minutes or until you see the bhajji sizzling. Now lower the heat to minimum, cover and let cook for another 5-10 minutes.
** Keep stirring in between a few times and add more water at this step only if required. Now with the help of a potato masher gently mash some kooka to bring in thickness and soft texture to the bhaji (Optional). Add hinga uddaka (prepared asafoetida water) salt to taste (remember we have already added some), mix well and continue to cook stirring often for another 5-7 minutes until thoroughly cooked and done to a soft bhaji consistency. Lastly add freshly squeezed juice of ½ small sized lemon, mix well, remove from heat and keep it aside covered for 5-10 minutes for the flavours to be infused.
** You can garnish with some finely chopped fresh coriander leaves (dhania/ kothambari pallo) if desired. Traditionally it was not added, however recently people have begun to add them as garnish to almost all dishes, its personal choice, you may do so if desired, I have not. Before serving check the consistency of the bhaji as it tends to thicken and dry on resting, in which case mix some boiling water and it’s ready.
** “Kooka- Piyava Upkari (Chinese Potato- Onion Bhaji)” is done and ready to be served. Tastes best served immediately steaming hot with any poori, roti, paratha of your choice. I served it with “Jowar- Atta- Methi Teekha Poori (Sorghum- Wheat- Fenugreek Leaves Spicy Poori)” and it was a wonderful combination. As I mentioned on title Poori- Bhaji is Jodi no.1 combo enjoyed by almost all Indian food lovers worldwide. I am sure you have your own version of the recipe, but do try out this one if you have access to kooka/ Chinese potato, it tastes wonderful served with poories.
** Children love deep fried dishes and poori- bhaji is their favorite breakfast or lunchtime dish. Try these, you my serve it with methi poories the same way as I did which is again one of the best method to include leafy veggies into daily food habits. I know deep fried dishes are a bit NO-NO to many teenagers or with health conscious people these days, in which case you may serve it to young children with poori while the other’s can enjoy roti prepare using the same dough, isn’t that wonderful, baccha party bhi khush, bakhi log bhi khush and above all aap bhi khush. Try it, sure to be loved by all.
** For “Jowar- Atta- Methi Teekha Poori (Sorghum- Wheat- Fenugreek Leaves Spicy Poori)” recipe, please follow the link given below …
** For more “Poori/ Roti” recipes, please follow the common links shared below …
** For more “Bhaji/ Upkari” recipes, please follow the common links shared below …
** There are a variety of delicious easy to prepare dishes included in the blog. You can access them using search option or the label section on the left side of the Blog. If you are still not able to find it or have a query, please leave a message in comment section or mail me the same. I will try my best to get back to you as soon as possible. Do try out various types of dishes included in the Blog and enjoy them with your family and friends and give me a feedback if possible. I am sure your family will love them, they are all tried and tested in my kitchen … Thank You ….
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