“Kooka- Cauliflower Songa (Chinese Potato- Cauliflower Curry)” … songa is a spicy semi dry side dish from GSB Konkani Saraswat Cuisine prepared to be served during meals … though potato and onions is the most sought after combo, it is also prepared in different combos that taste equally good … sharing another combo prepared today with kooka and cauliflower and it tastes wonderful served along with dal- chawal or chapathi/ roti … Yummilicious …
** All those who follow my simple blog largely based on GSB Konkani Saraswat recipes are aware that “Songa” is not actually not a reference to singing but is a spicy traditional dish that I have posted many times in various combinations. This dish can be prepared both Veg and Non.Veg. and I am sharing a common link to it at the bottom of this recipe. Do browse through the same for more choice of combinations to try out from. I am sure you will find many that are to your family liking, so do give them a try.
** The recipe for songa is same except for few variations in preparation. You just need to change the pattern of cooking at times depending upon the Veggies used as cooking time differ. Here I have prepared with kooka (Chinese potato), cauliflower and tomatoes. I served it with rice for meals followed by panpolo (neer dosa) for breakfast next day, a combination that we always love to relish. The best combo however is always songa served with shevai, something we love in our family from childhood.
** Do try it out and enjoy with your family and friends, you can serve it as side dish with any dish of your choice, I am sure you will think of your own choice of combinations too as per your community preferences which I may not be knowing of. I must mention here that this is supposed to be a very spicy dish, however with changing times people have begun to adjust it accordingly especially if there are young children at home. You can add on some cashews if desired too, as children always love them.
** Here is my recipe for “Kooka- Cauliflower Songa (Chinese Potato- Cauliflower Curry)” … My Style ….
** Ingredients :
Kooka/ Chinese Potato : 20-25 large sized.
Cauliflower florets : 250 gms
Tomatoes : 2 large sized
Salt/ Namak/ Meeta : to taste only if required
** For Masala to be Ground :
Coconut/ Soyi/ Nariyal : ¼ cup freshly grated.
Coriander Seeds/ Kothimbir/ Dhania : 1-2 tblsp
Kashmiri Red Chillies/ Kumte Mirsanga/ Byadgi Mirchi : 12-15
Tamarind/ Chinchama/ Imly : a small marble sized piece say ½ tsp
** For Tempering/ Pannaka/ Tadka :
Coconut Oil/ NariyalTel/ Narlel Tela : 2-3 tsp
Mustard Seeds/ Sasam/ Rai : 1 tsp
Curry leaves/ Kadipatta/ Karbevu : 10-12 fresh ones
** 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.
** For this recipe it is preferable to pressure cook the kooka/ Chinese potato for faster cooking process. Here, I have soaked them for some time and washed well to remove dirt, mud etc. then pressure cooked the kooka/ Chinese potato on medium heat to 2 whistles. I then allowed it to cool down until all the pressure was released, opened the lid, then rinsed them under running water to cool down and arrest further cooking. It was easy to peel off the outer skin after which I retained the smaller ones whole and cut the larger ones to one inch sized pieces. Whichever method of peeling of outer skin is used, soak them immediately in water to avoid being discolored.
** Cut Cauliflower into medium sized florets and add them in a colander. Rinse well under running water and keep it aside ready. Wash, wipe dry and cut the tomatoes into small sized pieces, say about ½ inch and keep it ready.
** For Masala to be Ground : Add freshly grated coconut, coriander, kashmiri red chillies, tamarind into a mixer grinder and grind to a fine paste adding water as much as necessary only. Remove and keep it aside ready.
** Note : For the curry you can use any one of the tart tasting fruit/ veggies 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. 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 the masala which is what is followed in GSB Konkani Saraswat Cuisine.
** Note : In GSB traditional cooking method dry different varieties of red chillies are used in combination after frying them in little bit of oil. Usually guntur, byadgi, kumte mirsanga (chillies) are used, however with changing times and locations people have adapted to their own style of cooking. I usually add Kashmiri red chilly only while grinding (without frying) as it not only gives bulk to the curry being milder in spicy level but also imparts a lovely color, you may use any. Again, coming to tomatoes the ones we get in Mumbai are hardly tart/ tangy in nature so I add a little bit of tamarind while grinding to bring in that khatta/ amshe taste to balance the spice level of the curries.
** Add cauliflower into a kadai/ pan along with half a cup of water, a pinch of salt and bring to a boil. Lower the heat, cover and cook stirring a few times in between until 60% done. Add the pressure cooked- cut kooka/ Chinese potato pieces and mix well. Continue to cook covered until both are cooked to 80%. Now add tomatoes pieces, mix well and cook for another 5 minutes mixing well in between a few times.
** Add in the ground masala and mix well adding water only if required to bring to thick curry consistency. Bring to a boil on medium heat stirring well in between and when you see bubbles appearing on the surface of the curry, lower the heat to minimum, add salt to taste, mix well. Cover and continue to cook while we go ahead with preparing of the tempering to be added to the cooking curry/ songa.
** For Tempering/ Pannaka/ Tadka : Heat Coconut Oil in a small pan, when hot, add mustard seeds, when they begin to splutter, add fresh Curry Leaves, fry for a few seconds and then pour it over the simmering curry and mix well. Cover and continue to cook for another 5-8 minutes for all flavors to be well blended in with curry. Keep stirring the curry well in between to avoid it being burnt.
** Note : You can use any edible oil for tempering. We Saraswat’s are partial to Coconut in any form, be it for masala, tempering, garnishing etc. I guess growing up relishing dishes with addition of coconut in almost every dish we are adapted to the taste so much that if not added the taste does not appeal to us. Coconut Oil is now considered as one of the best oil, though a decade back it was unnecessarily shunned down upon, but then if you do not want to use, you can use any refined oil of your choice
** When done remove from fire and keep aside covered to rest for 20-30 minutes. The curry tends to thicken out on resting and if you find it too thick in consistency then add some boiling water and mix well before serving.
** “Kooka- Cauliflower Songa (Chinese Potato- Cauliflower Curry)” is done and ready to be served. Tastes best served with dal- chawal during meals along with other dishes of your choice. If for any reason you do not want to serve with rice, you can serve it with roti/ chapathi too, in which case keep the consistency of the curry thicker to blend well when relished. You can also serve this dish with dosa/ panpole (neer dosa) which tastes awesome. Tastes best served with shevai (string hoppers/ idiyappam); a combo loved by most GSB’s. In my home whenever I prepare any type of songa I prepare either shevai or panpolo for breakfast following day and enjoy with songa, it is one of our favorite combo. Do try out this awesome recipe and enjoy with your family and friends.
** Sharing a common link to all “Songa” recipes both Veg. and Non-Vegetarian shared in the blog before, You may browse through the same in leisure, try them out and do remember to give me a feedback … thank you …
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