“Venti- Khalambe Bajji (Colocasia Stems- Brine Raw Mango Chutney)” … Amma always said venti was loaded with health benefits and never threw them away, she usually prepared talasani … I love experimenting; a few years back I had tried a variation of bajji with ambuli- venti that turned out awesome … this time I tweaked a bit and added khalambo (salt preserved/ Brine raw mango) along with venti (colocasia stems) and it turned out lip smacking; sort of thikshe- midshe- amshe (spicy- salty- tangy) … try it, its scrumptious served with rice ... Yummilicious …
** Bajji is a simple dish from GSB Konkani Saraswat Cuisine prepared by mashing cooked/ roasted veggies with spices. This dish tastes best served with rice during meals and that’s one of the best combinations. I have tried out plenty of variations besides the most famous one of all times being gulla/ vaingana/ brinjal bajji. The next time you chuck of those venti, stop and try this dish for a change, its very tasty. I have written plenty about this dish bajji and gojju, and the fondness for the same in my community and anything more will be repeating myself. Sharing the recipe right away, while for other recipes just browse through the common link shared at the bottom of this recipe.
** Here is very own simple recipe for “Venti- Khalambe Bajji (Colocasia Stems- Brine Raw Mango Chutney)” … my style …
** Soak 2 small or one medium sized brined raw mango/ khalambo/ mitta ghallele ambo in plenty of water overnight (or for 4-6 hours), changing the water a few times so that the excess salt content gets diluted and can be discarded. This step is very important to remove the excess salt as the raw mango to be used is brined/ salt water preserved. In case you have forgotten to do so at least do so for a few hours but remember to keep changing the water a few times which helps fasten the process.
** String/ peel off the outer skin of 10-12 large sized venti/ colocasia leaves stems/ patrade panna dentu/ kesuvina ele dantu and cut them to small pieces as shown in the picture attached for reference.
** Rinse the venti pieces well under running water and add into a pressure cooker pan with little water say to the level of the pieces and pressure cook on med heat to one whistle. Lower the heat to minimum and continue to cook for 8- 10 minutes, in between if there are few whistles don’t worry, once again raise the heat and cook for another 2 whistles. Remove and keep it aside to completely cool down.
** Note : I have used pressure cooker method here to save time and fuel as we need the venti/ stems to cook until very soft textured to be able to be mashed well when done. You may chose any method you prefer.
** When slightly warm drain the cooked water if any and keep it aside to be added later. Then with the help of a potato masher or with the help of hand mash the pressure cooked venti until mushy/ soft and even in consistency.
** Drain water from brine raw mango, add in a bowl and remove the pulpy portions discarding the inner seed. Now either with the help of potato masher or hand mash until evenly done. Add to the mashed venti, mix well and keep it aside.
** In a kolambula (wooden bowl)/ pestle/ any other thick stainless steel bowl add 3-4 green chillies (tarni mirsanga/ hari mirchi/ hasi menasu) cut into small pieces and crush with a weight until evenly crushed. Now add in mashed venti- khalambo and mix well. Once again mash all ingredients together to even consistency.
** Note : Avoid using mixer grinder to bring all to a even consistency as if the ingredients are cooked well then the same is easier. However, if desired you can use a hand blender and run just for a few seconds to combine the same well.
** Lastly add 1 tblsp hing uddaka (water prepared from gummy hing/ asafoetida) and 1 tblsp of coconut oil (nariyal tel/ narlel tela) and mix well. In case you do not have gummy hing you can use hing/ asafoetida powder in which case heat the coconut oil in a small pan, when hot add the hing powder, let fry just a second, remove and immediately pour over the prepared bajji and mix well.
** Note : There is no cooking involved here except for cooking the venti (colocasia stems). Again, addition of extra salt if should be done only after tasting the bajji. Brined ingredients have loads of salt content in them and despite soaking in water to remove excess water it is not sufficient and they tend to be salty and salt if added again may turn out to be disastrous. I personally never add additional salt to brine dishes as in my home we always prefer to add less salt to our cooked dishes. However, if you find after tasting that your family may need a little bit of addition of salt do so and mix well. Coconut Oil tastes the best, however if desired, you can use any other oil of your choice.
** Lastly check the consistency of the bajji and add the cooked water kept aside if need be and mix well. Remember gojju/ bajji are a thick textured side dish served during meals, so be careful with addition of water. Cover and keep it aside for 10-15 minutes before serving for the flavors to be well infused before serving. In case you need to serve it later, keep it in fridge and remove 20 minutes before serving time.
** “Venti- Khalambe Bajji (Colocasia Stems- Brine Raw Mango Chutney)” is done and ready to be served. Bajji/ Gojju is a side dish served with rice during meals along with other dishes and it tastes wonderful sort of khatta- teekha (amshe’- tikshe’) dish which is loved by almost all from GSB community. Though this bajji looks like chutney, it is not served with dosa, idly etc. as personally I feel it does not go well with it. This is a common dish for GSB Konkani Saraswats that is always served with steaming hot rice or as a side dish with Dalitoy/ Saaru along with Rice or Peja (Rice porridge). Do try out this variation, a concoction of my own that turned out excellent in taste.
** Sharing common links beow to all “Bajji/ Gojju” recipes along with link to similar type of bajji shared before which was prepared with venti and semi ripe raw mango, do check out in leisure and try them out, they are all excellent in taste …
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Thanks.