Gongura Pickle

Gongura pickle is one of the most popular Andhra pickles. Gongura is called Sorrel leaves in English, Pulicha Keerai in Tamil, Gongura in Telugu and Pandi in Kannada. It comes in two varieties, green stemmed and red stemmed. I've used the red stemmed variety here.

Gongura - 3 bunches (Remove the leaves from the stem)
Red chilly powder - 4-5 tsp (Adjust as per your taste)

Fenugreek , roast and ground - 1 tsp

Mustard seeds, roast and ground - 2 tsp

Hing - ½ tsp
Salt to taste
Gingelly oil 6 tbsp

·        Clean the gongura leaves with water and dry them in sun for a day or two. When you are ready to make the pickle, chop the leaves into chunky pieces and set aside.

·        Heat half of the oil in a pan. Add hing, fenugreek powder, mustard powder and chilly powder. Fry it for a minute and remove from heat.

·        Heat another skillet, add the remaining oil to it, and fry the gongura leaves for a few minutes till the leaves shrink completely.

·        Add salt and the powder ingredients to the leaves, mix well so that gongura leaves blend in nicely with the spices.

·        Fry the garlic flakes in a little oil. And pour onto the gongura mixture.

Once the pickle has cooled you can store it in containers and use as required. If it’s stored in the refrigerator, this pickle can last for atleast 6 months.

Tabbouleh

Tabbouleh is originally a Lebanese dish, but is widely popular in many parts of the world now as a very healthy salad. Tabbūle is a Levantine Arabic word which literally means "little spicy". It’s usually made with Bulgur wheat, but I’ve replaced it with cracked wheat here, with almost similar taste, but I wouldn’t say it’s exactly the same. It’s a multi colored delight which is very fibrous and nutritious.

This is my version of Tabbouleh, which is slightly different from the original one.

Ingredients:

• ½ cup vegetable stock (for vegetarians) or chicken stock or water
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup cracked wheat
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• Juice from ½ a lemon
• 1 small green chilli, chopped
• ½ of a red onion, chopped
• ½ capsicum (green or yellow) seeded and chopped
• 1 tomato, seeded and chopped
• ¼ cup fresh mint leaves, chopped
• 1 scallion, chopped with the greens
• ¾ cup parsley, chopped

·        Add the cracked wheat to a bowl. Boil the stock with some salt, pour it over the wheat. Keep this aside for about 30 minutes to an hour.

·        In a large bowl, add the lemon juice, olive oil and cracked wheat, mix well. Add all the other ingredients and combine well delicately.

·        Do a taste test and add more salt, olive oil or lemon juice if required, to suit your taste. Let marinate for at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator before serving.

·        Tabbouleh is ready. Serve chilled.

·        This can be stored in good containers for a few days, if refrigerated.

Karnataka style greens curry, Soppu saaru

Cheera curry (in Malayalam), which is called Soppu saaru (Soppu is 'leaf' and saaru is 'curry' in Kannada), pronounced "Soppsaaru", is one of the most popular vegetarian curries in Karnataka. It's rich in fiber and flavor. Pretty easy to make except for the part of cleaning the leaves.

In Bangalore we're usually woken up early in the morning, every Tuesday and Friday, by the calls of the 'Soppu aunty' as we call her. She comes to our doorstep with a broad smile and a basket laden with freshly cut greens  and fresh flowers on her head. She'll always have at least about 10 different types of greens and around 5 or 6 types of flowers. It's a pleasant sight to wake up to. The reason she comes very early on Tuesday and Friday is b'coz around here these two days are considered very auspicious and almost every Hindu house will buy flowers to decorate the Puja room on these days. On other days she makes her visits a little later in the mornings.

Coming back to Soppu saaru, this was a preparation I had never seen before coming to Bangalore. The way my Mom prepares greens is very different from this and the taste is entirely different too. Frankly I prefer Mom's preparation, but this version is supposed to be extremely nutritious as it contains not 1, but atleast 4 to 5 types of leaves.
 
Mixed greens, 4 or 5 types, which includes spinach, coriander leaves and gongura leaves, washed and chopped, about 4 cups
Toor dal, or sambhar dal, 1/2 cup
Moong dal 1/2 cup
Garlic 10 cloves
Tomato 1
Green chillis 6-8
Turmeric 1 tsp
Water 1 cup

Cook all the above together in a pressure cooker for 5-6 whistles or till both the dals are cooked well. Remove from heat and when it cools, add salt and use a heavy ladle to mash the contents a little.

Coconut grated, 3/4 cup
Jeera, 1/2 tsp
Turmeric 1/2 tsp

Grind the above to make a smooth paste. Add this to the curry.

Tamarind pulp, 1 tbsp (If you are not adding gongura leaves, then you'll have to increase this to 2tbsp)

Add to the curry along with the coconut mixture. Mix well. Let it simmer for 5 minutes.

For the garnish:
Coconut oil, 1 tbsp
Mustard, 1/2 tsp
Dry red chillies, 2
Shallots, sliced 2tbsp
Curry leaves, a few

Heat the oil, add the ingredients in the given order and fry till the shallots turn golden brown. Then add the curry leaves, pour onto the curry, close the lid for about 10 minutes. You can add a dollop of ghee too, but that would be a lil on the heavier side. I usually avoid the ghee, even though it improves the taste drastically.

This curry goes well with rice, chappati or Ragi ball or Ragi Modde, as its called in Kannada. It tastes best when accompanied with curd and fish fry.