“Kooka- Tendle- Bibbo- Mashinga Saanga ghalnu Ambata (Chinese Potato- Ivy Gourd- Cashew Nut- Drumstick Curry)” … Ambat is an onion tempered medium spiced curry from GSB Konkani Saraswat Cuisine prepared in various combinations … for this curry I added my last stock of kooka as the season comes to an end … along with it, I added mashinga sanga, kajjubi, tendle and in all it turned out awesome … do try it, if kooka is still available in your vicinity … tastes best served with boiled rice/ plain rice, roti/ paratha or Idly/ Dosa/ Appo's too … Yummilicious …
** The mix and match of veggie combinations always surpasses our imagination and the more you come up with, the more they still are that can be done. Ambata as you know is a medium spiced curry from GSB Konkani Saraswat Cusine that is prepared by almost everybody be it in Veg or Non.Veg. Any type of veggies prepared as ambat tastes fantastic served with rice and in my home we love it and is almost a regular. The tempering with evenly browned onion is what makes this curry tastier and aromatic.
** Somehow, this year things have not turned out good from day one and I just could not concentrate on either preparing or blogging dishes nor could I write my short stories. My friends have been pushing me to get back to blogging for a few days now and though I have posted some, I know I have been lacking in all fronts despite wanting to do so desperately. Sometimes the mind is blocked and one just feels like moving on with the flow, that’s all. Hopefully I will do so in coming months,
** I had some kooka/ Chinese potato remaining from my last batch of stock of the same as the season comes to an end. It’s been sometime since I prepared ambata especially with addition of drumstick and nowadays we really get good juicy ones that taste wonderful added to any curry. This is a combo of my own which I just got round to mixing with whatever was available at home. For more combo’s browse through my blog via. the common link shared at the bottom of this recipe for all ambat recipes.
** Note: For preparation of curry you can use any one of the tart tasting fruit/ veggie mentioned here like, bimbul (tree sorrel fruit), ambado (Hogplum), karmbala (carmbola/ starfruit), ambuli (raw mango), harvo tomato (raw- green tomato), sun- dried kokum, sun- dried kudampuli or as is available region wise. In case you do not have access to any one of the mentioned tart tasting veggies or they are not available or if you do not want to use them then for any reason, do not worry, you can always add in a small marble sized piece of tamarind (chinchama/ Imly) while grinding the masala which is the pattern followed in most GSB homes while grinding masala for any curry.
** Here is my recipe for “Kooka- Tendle- Bibbo- Mashinga Saanga ghalnu Ambata (Chinese Potato- Ivy Gourd- Cashew Nut- Drumstick Curry)”... try it, tastes wonderful served with rice during meals ….
** Ingredients :
Tuvar Dal/ Tori Dali/ Arhar Dal/ Split Pigeon Peas : ½ cup
Kooka/ Chinese Potato : 15-20 medium sized
Tendle/ Ivy Gourd/ Tondekayi/ Tondli : 100 gms
Cashew Nuts/ Bibbo/ Kajjubi/ Kabu : 20- 25 cut to pieces
Mashinga Saanga/ Drumstick/ Shenga/ Nuggekai : 1 large sized
Onion/ Kanda/ Piyavu : One small sized
Salt/ Namak/ Meeta : to taste
** For Masala to be Ground :
Soyi (Coconut/ Nariyal) : 1 cup freshly grated
Kashmiri Red Chilly (Kumte Mirsanga/ Byadgi Mirchi) : 6-8
Coriander Seeds (Dhania/ Kothambari) : 1-2 tblsp
Chinchama (Tamarind/ Imly) : one small marble sized
** For Tempering/ Pannaka/ Tadka :
Onion/ Kanda/ Piyavu : One large sized
Oil/ Tel/ Tela : 2-3 tblsp
** 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/ Chinese Potato 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.
** About addition of Cashew Nuts : Here you can use tarno bibbo/ tender cashew nut with skin or dry cashew nuts. Tender cashew nuts are seasonal around the month of April- May, however they are sun- dried and stored for year round use. Cashew nuts without skin are roasted ones those that are available in almost every store all round India and can be used easily in curries, sweets, snacks etc. you can use any desired/ available by soaking them for sometime. The skin (if using skinned one’s) has to be removed the next day while those without skin can be soaked in warm water for about 2 hours and the work is done faster. You are free to use any, I have used the skinned 25-30 cashew nuts which is a practice I have been following for decades now as it is easier.
** Masala to be Ground : In a mixer grinder add freshly grated coconut, kashmiri red chilly, coriander seeds, tamarind and grind to a smooth paste with little bit of water as is necessary only, remove and keep it aside ready.
** Note : If you are adding any tart flavored veggies like bimbul/ ambado etc. (as mentioned in details notes above) then do remember to skip addition of tamarind while grinding. In addition, add the same while boiling masala.
** Wash tuvar dal and soak in plenty of water for 30 minutes. Drain off the water, rinse well with water and then add it into a pressure cooker pan along with water say one inch above the level of dal and pressure cook on medium heat to 2-3 whistles or until cooked well. Remove and allow the pressure in cooker to drop on its own. When able to open the lid do so carefully and then with a churner/ beater/ potato masher beat the dal evenly to a smooth consistency when the dal is still hot. I always use a hand blender as it gives perfect results. Keep this ready aside while we prepare the vegetables.
** Clean tendle/ Ivy gourd in plenty of water, scrubbing them well to remove all the dirt etc. sticking to it properly. Slice of the edges on both sides, cut them into two pieces horizontally and keep them aside soaked in water.
** String one large sized Mashinga Sanga (Drumstick/ Shenga), cut it into pieces of about 3- 4 inches in length and keep it soaked in a bowl of water.
** Peel the skin and finely chop the Piyavu (Onions/ Kanda) and keep them aside separately for tempering and adding to curry.
** Add tendle/ Ivy gourd pieces and soaked cashew nut pieces along with the water in which it is soaked into a pressure cooker pan and cook on medium heat to one whistle only. Let the pressure release on its own and keep it ready.
** In a thick bottomed kadai/ pan/ vessel add Mashinga Sanga (Drumstick/ Shenga) pieces with minimum amount of water and bring to a boil. When it comes to full boil, lower the heat to medium and cook until 70% done.
** Add the pressure cooked, peeled and kept ready kooka/ Chinese potato to the above along with the pressure cook tendle/ ivy gourd and cashew nuts, mix well and allow to cook further for 5-7 minutes until all are 90% cooked.
** Add prepared and kept tuvar dal, ground masala, one small finely chopped onion, salt to taste and mix well. Check consistency and add more water if required to bring to desired texture and cook on medium heat until thoroughly cooked and done. Let simmer on minimum heat while we prepare tempering.
** For Tempering/ Pannaka/ Tadka : Add the finely chopped large sized onion into a small pan along with Oil and fry stirring often on medium heat until it evenly turns to golden brown (caramelizes), remove and pour over the simmering curry and mix well. Cook for another minute or two and remove from fire.
** Let the curry rest aside covered for about 20-30 minutes for the flavors to be infused well into the curry. This curry tends to thicken on resting, so before serving, check the consistency of the curry by mixing well. If found too thick then add some boiling water and mix well. Also check and add salt if needed and its ready.
** “Kooka- Tendle- Bibbo- Mashinga Saanga ghalnu Ambata (Chinese Potato- Ivy Gourd- Cashew Nut- Drumstick Curry)” is done and ready to be served. Ambata tastes excellent served with Ukde SheetHa (Red Boiled Rice) or steamed rice, though you can serve it with Idly, Roti or Chapathi too. In my home sometimes I like to serve curries with khotto (Idly steamed in jackfruit leaves) during meals and it tastes awesome, you should give it a try, you serve ordinary idly or with dosa/ appo too, they all taste great in combo. The aroma and taste of the crisp fried onions used for tempering is what takes this curry to another level. Do prepare and enjoy with family and friends.
** Home cooked food is best way to keep your family safe, active and healthy. Do browse through and try various combinations and recipes shared in this blog with your family and friends. Sharing below a common link to all "Ambata/ Ambat" recipes; Veg and Non-Veg shared in the Blog for easy access ….
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