Kakadiche Gharge /Kakadiche God Vade (Sweet Cucumber Poori)

Gharge means sweet poori. Gharge is a traditional Maharashtrian recipe made with rice flour, jaggery and cucumber or red pumpkin or banana or jackfruit.
Today, I am showing you Cucumber Gharge.
In our Kokan region, Kakadiche Gharge are made in generally during Ganpati festival for goddess Gouri.

हि पाककृती मराठीतून वाचण्यासाठी इथे क्लिक करा. 

Ingredients:

• Jumbo Cucumber (Shravan kakadi/Tavas), peeled, grated and squeezed- 2 cups from 1 cucumber
• Jaggery (gul)- 1 cup (Grate or cut into small pieces)
• Cardamom powder- ½ tsp
• Rice flour - approx 1 ½ cup
• Fine Semolina (Barik Rava) - ½ cup
• Hot refined oil (mohan) - 2 tbsp
• Salt - a pinch
• Refined Oil to Deep fry- as required

Method:

• Peel and discard the seeds from cucumber. Then grate and squeezed tightly cucumber and keep aside. 
  
• Soak rava in ½ cup of juice of cucumber for 15-20 minutes.  
  
• Combine jaggery and grated cucumber in a heavy bottom or non-stick pan.
  
• Cook together, saute in between. 
  
• Once jaggery is melted and mixed well with cucumber, remove from the flame. Let it cool a little. 
  
• Add cardamom powder and mix well.
• Take rice flour, add hot oil (mohan) on it and mix well.
• Now combine soaked rava, rice flour and cucumber mixture. 
  
• Mix well and make a firm dough. The dough should be neither too tight nor too lose. (If you feel it is loose you can add some flour to it.) 
  

Cover the dough and rest it for 15-20 minutes.

• Make small balls of dough. Pat them out with fingers on the greased plastic sheet. 
  
• Deep fry on medium heat in hot oil until golden brown from both sides. Drain Gharge on a tissue paper. 
  
• Gharage taste better with rice kheer.

Tips:

• Gharage can be stored for 2-3 days without refrigeration.
• Don't add extra water to dough try to knead dough in juice released from a cucumber.
• Traditionally gharge are patted on a banana leaf.
• You can make drink from remaining cucumber juice. Add some lemon juice, some mint leaves, a pinch of black salt. and jeera powder

Valachya/ Pavatyachya Dalichi Amati ~ Val Dal

We eat different types of dals in India like toor dal, mung dal, masoor dal etc. but very few people know about this val beans dal. This dal recipe made only in Maharashtra and Gujarat, but the method is quite different. This dal has different, unique but nice in taste. This dal goes very well with hot rice and fried fish or dried fish. 

Val beans dal (valachi dal):

Ingredients:

• Val dal- ½ cup (You may use Pavta dal instead of this dal.)
• Fresh coconut, scrapped or grated- 2 tbsp
• Cumin seeds- 1 tsp
• Garlic- 4 to 5 cloves
• Onion, roughly chopped- 1 small or  ¼ cup
• Homemade mix masala or Malvani masala- 1 tsp or (½ tsp chilli powder + ½ tsp goda masala)
• Turmeric powder- ½ tsp
• Asafetida (Hing)- ¼ tsp
• Mustard seeds- 1 tsp
• Curry leaves- 4 to 5
• Jaggery- ¼ tsp
• Kokum petals- 2 to 3
• Oil- 2 tbsp
• Salt to taste
• Fresh coriander leaves, finely chopped- ¼ cup

Method:

• Wash and soak dal for minimum 2 to 3 hours.
• Griend fresh coconut, cumin seeds, garlic together. Add this ground mixture in the soaked dal.
• Cook valachi dal in a cooker as like other dal. You may take one or two vistles more to cook this dal properly because this dal little tough to cook.
• Open the lid of the cooker when the pressure reduces completely. Whisk well with a ladle so that the dal gets slightly mashed.
• Heat oil in a casserole or kadai (wok). Add mustard seeds for tempering. When the mustard seeds begin to sputter/pop, add chopped onion, curry leaves, hing, turmeric powder and sauté for a few seconds. 
• Add mix masala or (red chilli powder+goda masala) and sauté for a few seconds. 
• Then add cooked dal in this mixture. Add water to adjust the consistency of aamati/dal as per personal choice. 
• Now add salt, kokum and jaggery. Stir it and boil for few minutes. 
• Garnish with chopped coriander. 
• Serve hot with rice.

वालाच्या/पावट्याच्या डाळीची आमटी : हि रेसिपी मराठीतून वाचण्यासाठी इथे क्लिक करा. 

Kolambiche Kalvan/Sar ~ Konkani Style Prawns Curry

We make prawns curry with two methods. The first method is by using dried and roasted coconut paste, we called it Kolambicha Rassa. And today I am showing the second method.
Here we are using fresh coconut. 

Ingredients:  

• Tiger prawns- 12 to 15 
• Turmeric powder- ½ tsp
• Hing- ¼ tsp
• Fresh coconut, scrapped- 1 cup
• Black peppercorns- 3 to 4 
• Fennel seeds- ½ tsp
• Coriander seeds- 1½ tsp
• Dry red chillies- 6 (I used Byadagi chillies, these are not hot.)
• Garlic-7 to 8
• Ginger- ½ inch (optional)
• Chilli powder- 1 tsp (optional: use if you like spicy)
• Kokum- 5 to 6
• Salt- to taste
• Coriander leaves, chopped- 2 tbsp
• Oil- 2 to 3 tbsp

Method:

• Remove shell, head and vain of prawns. You can also remove the tail. Wash the prawns. 
• Apply some salt and turmeric on them and keep aside.
• Soak red chillies, fennel seeds, coriander seeds black peppercorns for 15 minutes. 
• Transfer soaked chillies and other spices in a mixer jar. Add scraped coconut, garlic and ginger. Make a smooth and thick paste. 
• Heat oil in a deep pan. Add hing, chilli powder and saute while. You can add 2-3 curry leaves also. Personally, I don't like curry leaves in a fish curry.
• Add the ground paste and saute till the raw smell of the garlic is gone. It's take hardly 1 minute.
• Add a cup of water and bring to boil.
• Add the marinated prawns and kokum. Give a nice stir.
• Cook on low heat for 5 to 6 minutes. Keep stirring in between.
• Garnish with coriander leaves.
• Serve hot with bhakari or rice.

Crispy Bombil Fry ~ Bombay Duck Fish Fry

Bombil or Bombay duck fish founds only at the Konkan belt. Bombil has lots of water content if we squeeze out this water, bombil becomes crispy. I am giving a trick to make bombil more crispy and tasty. Yes! I use rava but this is not trick. This is a traditional trick used by everyone from our area of Konkan.

Ingredients:

• Bombay ducks or bombil- 8 to 10
• Turmeric powder- ½ tsp
• Asafetida (hing)- ¼ tsp
• Homemade masala or Malwani masala or Sunday masala or agari-koli masala- 3 to 4 tsp
• Garlic cloves- 8 to 10
• Kokam petals- 6
• Rice flour- 2 tsp
• Fine semolina/barik rava- approx ½ cup
• Salt to taste
• Oil for shallow fry- as required

Method:
Grind garlic and kokam together with minimum water into smooth paste. (options: plz read notes)
Cut the bombils as shown in pictures. 
Cut the head, tail and fins of both sides as well as stomach part.

Cut into two parts.

Slit and open the fish flat like a fillet.

Wash all pieces with water and apply some salt and turmeric powder on them. Put all cut pieces in a thin cotton or muslin cloth and make pouch/potali. Band it tightly.

Place the plate in slightly slant. I keep the one side of plate on the border plate of kitchen platform. You may use a plate. Keep board or another plate on it. Keep something heavy on it. Thus maximum water from bombil come out. My mom keep "Pata-varavanta/silbatta" on this potali.

After 20 to 30 minutes to drain almost water out. Marinate the fish pieces with masala, hing, kokum-garlic paste and some salt.

Combine rice flour and rava in a dish. Add little salt and masala in it and mix it.

Heat some oil in a tava.

Coat each piece of bombil in rava mixture and shallow fry till crisp.

Serve hot with bhakari or with fish curry and rice.

Tips:

• Do not use ginger for this style of fish-fry.
• I make usually garlic-kokum paste in a huge quantity and store in freezer. Because two reasons......first is, it is difficult to grind smooth paste in small quantity in the grinder. My mom uses "Pata-varavanta/silbatta" to make smooth paste. Second is, it saves time. (Grind together ½ cup garlic and ½ cup kokam with minimum water.) 2-3 tsp paste is required for med sized fish.rava or
• Malwani masala is easily available in the market. You can use also aagari-koli masala. All masalas from Konkan region are quite similar in taste. But store-bought masala can not give proper taste. 
• If you don't have enough time for all procedure, you could just use a paper towel to absorb all the moisture from the fish.

Konkani Style Surmai /Kingfish Fry

Fried Kingfish or Surmai is a popular Konkani recipe. This fish is available in huge quantity and good quality in Konkan belt. It has very good taste and texture. This fish is used for curry also.

Ingredients:

• King fish- 3 big sized pieces
• Salt- to taste
• Turmeric powder- ½ tsp
• Asafetida (hing)- ¼ tsp (optional)
• Garlic paste- 2 tsp (approx 8 to 12 cloves)
• Kokum paste or Kokum extract (Aagal) or Tamarind pulp- 2 tsp (Kokum gives an authentic Konkani taste.)
• Homemade masala or Malwani masala or Sunday masala- 3 to 4 tsp 
• Fine semolina / barik rava- 3 to 5 tsp
• Oil for shallow fry- as required

Method:

• Wash fish fillets with soft hand for 2 times and drain, because this fish is delicate.
• Apply salt, masala, turmeric powder, hing, rava, kokam- garlic paste. Mix well and rub gently this marinate on fish. 
• Marinate for minimum half an hour. 
• Heat 2 tbsp oil in the grill pan or griddle, shallow fry the fish from both sides on low-med. flame. Pour some oil if required. Do not overcook. 
  
• Serve hot with bhakari or in a meal with fish curry and rice.

Tips:

• Don't use ginger for this recipe, you can't get authentic taste.
• Use iron or aluminium tava for fish fry. It gives better result than non-stick tava. 
• I used big sized surmai, however you can use whatever size is available .The procedure remains the same .
• You can grind garlic and kokam together with minimum water into smooth paste.
• I make usually garlic-kokum paste in a huge quantity and store in freezer. Because two reasons......first is, it is difficult to grind smooth paste in small quantity in the grinder. My mom uses "Pata-varavanta/silbatta" to make smooth paste. Second is, it saves time. (Grind together ½ cup garlic and ½ cup kokam with minimum water.) 2-3 tsp paste is required for med sized fish.
• Kokum extract (Aagal) is available in the market.
• You may use rice flour instead of semolina. It works also good. But I prefer rava.
• I dont like to use lots of rava, too many rava make fish mild in taste.
• Malwani masala is easily available in the market. You can use also aagari-koli masala. All masalas from Konkan region are quite similar in taste. But store bought masala can not give proper taste.

Pangi / Pange

Pangi or Pange means rice flat bread which is wrapped and cooked in banana leaf. This is one more our Konkan special recipe. The banana leaves give a wonderful flavor to this bread.
This is made by different ways....
1. Sweet Pangi - is made with ripe banana or cucumber. (I have given this recipe here.)
2. Savory Pangi- which is made with green chili, cumin seeds, coriander leaves etc.
3. Plain Pangi- which is served with curry or chutney as a roti.

As our family tradition, we are made this in ganesh festival especially on the day when Gauri Mata arrives.

Ingredients:

• Rice flour- ½ cup
• Fine semolina/ barik rava- 1 tbsp
• Jaggery- ¼  cup or as your likes
• Nutmeg powder- a pinch
• Ripe bananas- 2 
• Pure ghee- 1 tbsp
• Salt- a small pinch
• Banana leaves- for wrapping 

Method:

• Grate jaggery and dissolve in very little water.
• Mash the bananas well.
• Combine banana mash, nutmeg powder, salt, rava and rice flour. Mix well.
• Add jaggery water and knead well. Use water if needed. The dough should not be too thick or too loose.  
  
• Add ghee and knead again. Rest this dough for 30 minutes.
• Knead dough again and divide into 3 parts.
• Heat a griddle/tawa or pan.
• Take one banana leaf. Using wet hand, spread the dough into a circle using your fingers. The disc should be even and not too thick. You can make more thin. 
  
• Fold the leaf and make a parcel.  
  
• Shift the parcel on the preheated tawa. Cover with a lid. 
  
• Let it cook on medium flame for about 2-3 minutes or till the banana leaf underneath appears roasted/burnt.
• Flip the banana leaves parcel using a tong and cook on the other side. Then carefully put out the pangi from the banana leaf.
  
• Serve hot with pure ghee and milk.

पानगे/पानगी

कोकणात पानगे/पानगी आणि पातोळे हे दोन पदार्थ केले जातात. हे दोन्ही पदार्थ पूर्णपणे वेगळे आहेत. पानगे सुद्धा वेगवेगळ्या प्रकारे केले जातात.
एक प्रकार म्हणजे केळ किंवा काकडी वापरून बनवलेले गोड पानगे, दुसरा प्रकार म्हणजे  जिरे, मिरची, आलं चे वाटण लावून बनवलेले तिखट पानगे आणि तिसरा प्रकार म्हणजे भाकरीप्रमाणे  ना गोड ना तिखट, चटणी किंव्हा कुठल्याही रश्यासोबत खायचे.
आज मी त्यातला गोड प्रकार दाखवणार आहे. गौरीचे आगमन झाल्यावर त्या संध्याकाळी नैवेद्यात हे पानगे आमच्याकडे बनवतात.  
केळीच्या पानात भाजल्याने पानग्यांना एक छान सुवास येतो.

साहित्य:

• तांदूळ पीठ- १/२  कप
• रवा- १ टेबलस्पून
• गुळ- १/४  कप किंवा आवडीप्रमाणे कमीजास्त
• जायफळ पूड- चिमूटभर
• पिकलेली केळी- २
• मीठ- एक छोटी चिमूटभर
• साजूक तूप- १ टेबलस्पून
• केळीची पाने- गुंडाळण्यासाठी

कृती:

• गुळ हाताने मोडून किंवा किसून घ्या.  आणि अगदी थोड्याश्या पाण्यात विरघळून घ्या.
• केळ कुस्करून घ्या.
• त्यात रवा, तांदुळाचे पीठ , मीठ घालून व्यवस्थित कालवून घ्या.  
• नंतर त्यात गुळाचे पाणी टाकून मळून घ्या. तूप टाकून पुन्हा मळून घ्या. कणिक फार घट्टही नको आणि सैलही.
• अर्धा तास हे कणिक झाकून ठेवा.
• अर्ध्या तासानंतर पुन्हा मळून त्याचे ३ ते ४ गोळे करा.
• पाण्याचा हात लावून केळीच्या पानावर भाकरीप्रमाणे थापून घ्या. खुप जाड थापू नका. (माझ्या सासूबाई फार पातळ थापत नाहीत पण तुम्ही आमच्या पानगीपेक्षा पातळ थापले तरी चालेल.)
• पानगा थापून झाला कि पण दुमडून त्याचे पाकीट बनवावे.
• हे पाकीट गरम तव्यावर झाकण ठेवून २-३ मिनिटे भाजून घ्यावे.
• नंतर दुसऱ्या बाजूने २-३ मिनिटे भाजून घ्यावे. केल्याचा 
• भाजून झाल्यावर पानातून हलकेच सोडवावे.
• गरम गरम पानगे साजूक तूप आणि दुधाबरोबर खायला द्यावेत.  

टीप: आम्ही एकदा तांदुळाच्या पीठाऐवजी गव्हाचे पीठ आणि चिमूटभर बेकिंग पावडर वापरून पानगे केले होते. छान झाले होते.  

Kalingadache Thalipeeth / Dhodak ~ Watermelon Rind Pancake

Kalingadache Thalipeeth / Dhodak is mainly made in Southern Konkan and Goa. Normally Bhajni/Roasted multi-grain flour is used for thalipeeth, but here semolina is used for thalipeeth or dhodak. 

Thalipeeth is also made from big cucumber (Tavas, Tavshe, Tavsal). This is made as sweet also.

This is a season of watermelon. Usually, we discard rind. But here is a delicious way to use watermelon rind. Try this in your breakfast.

  

Ingredients:

• Watermelon rind, grated- 1 cup
• Fine semolina (rava), roasted- ½ cup
• Rice flour- 1 tbsp
• Fresh coconut, scraped- ¼ cup
• Green chillies, finely chopped or crushed- 3 to 4
• Ginger, finely grated- 1 tsp
• Cumin seeds, coarsely crushed- 1 tsp
• Turmeric powder- a pinch
• Fresh coriander, finely chopped- a handful
• Salt- to taste
• Oil for frying- as required

Method:

• Grate watermelon rind. Do not grate green part.
  
    
• Combine grated watermelon rind and rava/semolina. Let it rested for atlest 15 minutes.
• Add remaining ingredients except oil. Do not use water. Mix well. This is loose dough. Divide into 4 parts. 
  
• Drizzle little oil over griddle/tava. Take 1 part of dough and place it in the centre of the pan. Spread the dough into a circle using your fingers. The disc should be even and not too thick. 
  
• Place this tava on high flame. Spoon some oil along the sides of the dodak and center hole. Cover with a lid and turn the flame to medium. 
  
• Remove after a minute or when the top appears dry. Turn over and fry on the other side. 
  
• Serve hot with tomato ketchup or chutney.

Tips:

• You can use Bhajani to make this thalipeeth.
• You can make sweet version of this thalipeeth. Use 2-3 tbsp jagerry and pinch of nutmeg powder. Omit chili, ginger, coriander leaves and cumin seeds.  

Drumstick Flower Dry Curry ~ Shevagyachya Fulanchi Bhaji

Drumstick flowers are edible and small, round, yellowish-white flowers. They fulfil with energy, moisture, protein, fat, carbohydrates, fibre, calcium, Iron and Phosphorus. Here is simple stirfry from my Aai/Mother's kitchen.

Ingredients:

• Drumstick Flowers- 2 cups
• Onion, chopped- 1 cup
• Mustard Seeds- 1 tsp
• Garlic, crushed- 4 cloves
• Turmeric powder- ½ tsp
• Asafetida (Hing)- ¼ tsp
• Homemade mix masala/Malwani masala- 2 to 3 tsp or (1½ tsp Red chilli powder+ 1 tsp Goda masala)
• Oil- 2 to 3 tbsp
• Jaggery- a pinch or to taste 
• Salt- to taste
• Fresh coconut, scrapped- 2 tbsp
• Fresh coriander, finely chopped- ¼ cup

Drumstick Flowers:

Method:

• Wash flowers and chop roughly.
• Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds. When they crackled, add garlic and onion.
• Saute onion till it turned pink.
• Add hing, turmeric powder and mix masala or chilli powder. Saute a while.
• Add chopped drumstick flowers. Sprinkle little water and mix well. 
• Cover and cook on low heat for 10 to 15 minutes or till cooked. Saute in between. Sprinkle little water if needed.
• When flowers are cooked add salt and jaggery. Add goda masala if you are using. Sprinkle very little water and cook for a minute.
• Switch off the gas. Garnish with chopped coriander and scraped coconut.
• Serve hot with roti or rice and dal.

Drumstick Tree (Shevaga/Shekat):

Kelfulachi Bhaji ~ Maharashtrian Style Banana Flower/Blossom Curry

Authentic, delicious and healthy curry is made with banana flower and val/field beans.
In Asia banana flowers is used as a vegetable. Like artichokes, both the fleshy part of the bracts and the heart are edible. Banana flowers contain various vitamins like Vitamin A, C and E. They also contain potassium and fibers. This makes them an excellent health food and a source of healthy nutrients. Calculated intake of banana flowers reduces blood sugar levels. Banana flowers boost the supply of milk that helps the new mothers feed their young better.

How to clean Banana Flower: 

• Take care of your clothes while handling the banana flower. It's juice stains clothes.
• Discard upper dark pink petals of banana flower. Discard the petals until you will get tender, soft and yellowish or pale white core of flower and you will feel hard to peel more. 
• Also discard tough and rubbery flowers of first 1-2 layers. 
• 
• Remove the long stem (like matchstick) inside each flower along with the outer stiff petal (like nail or feather). 
  
• Chop flowers finely also chop inner tender core of flower. Discard the stem of core.
• Immerse the chopped banana flower in the salty water or thin buttermilk. 
  

Ingredients:

• Kelful (Banana Flower), chopped- approx 2 cups from 1 medium sized flower 
• Va beans, spourted & peeled- ½ cup (from ¼ cup dried val beans) 
• Oil- 2 to 3 tbsp 
• Onion, chopped- 1 med or ¾ cup 
• Garlic- 3 to 5 cloves 
• Mustard seeds- 1 tsp 
• Cumin seeds- 1 tsp 
• Hing (Asafoetida)- ¼ tsp 
• Turmeric powder- ½ tsp 
• Homemade mix masala or Malwani masala- 3 to 4 tsp (or 1½-2 tsp red chili powder + 1½ Goda masala) 
• Jaggery- ¼ tsp 
• Kokum /aamsul- 2 to 3 
• Fresh coconut, scraped- ¼ cup 
• Fresh coriander finely chopped- a handful 
• Salt- to taste 

Method:

• Drain the water and squeeze it. 
• Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds. When the splattering starts, add garlic and onion. 
• When onion become pink, add turmeric powder, hing, masala and sauté for a minute. 
• Add val beans, little water and salt to taste. (Use salt carefully if you immersed flowers in the salty water.) Mix well, cover and cook for 8-10 minutes on simmer. 
• Add squeezed flowers and mix well, cover and cook for 10 minutes or till cooked on simmer. Stir occasionally. Sprinkle little water if needed. 
• Add jaggery and kokum. Mix well, cover and cook on simmer for a minute. 
• Garnish with scrapped coconut and coriander. 
• Serve hot with chapati, bhakari or dal-rice. 

Variation:
You can use other pulses like Kala Vatana (Black peas) or Chana (Bengal gram) or Red Small Chavali (Lobia) instead of Val beans.

Soak pulses overnight. Don't need to sprouted them like val. Pressure cook these pulses before using to save the time of cooking. Do not overcook. Rest of recipe is same. You can omit kokum and jaggary when you are using these pulses.

We also make vade/cutlet using these banana flowers. 

Rushichi Bhaji ~ Rishi Panchami Subji

Rushichi Bhaji, a dry curry with mix vegetables is made on Rushi Panchami. But this is not a regular mix vegetable curry. The uniqueness of this vegetable curry is used only vegetables which grow without ox's labour. This curry contains fruit vegetables, root vegetables and leafy vegetables too. This vegetable is made without oil and spices. Only green chillies are used in this curry. This curry is extremely healthy, low-cal and tasty too. Because of use of organic, seasonal and fresh veggies and absence of any fat/oil.
Next day after Ganesh Chaturthi is Rushi Panchami. This day is devoted to 'Saptarshi' means seven rishis. This day is of special relevance to signify the purity of body and soul. This meal is a glimpse of rishis food and their lifestyle.

हि पाककृती मराठीतून वाचण्यासाठी इथे क्लिक करा.  

This curry prepares various ways in a different part of Konkan. I am giving here our recipe. In my childhood, my grandmother used to cook this curry in an earthen pot on wood fire stove. That taste of curry was awesome, I never forget that taste. 

Ingredients:

• Colocasia/Taro leaves with steams  (Aluchi pane),peeled & chopped- 1 cup
• Pumpkin (Lal bhopala), peeled & chopped- ½ cup
• Amaranth leaves (Math), chopped- ½ cup
• Kurdus (wild local leafy vegetable), chopped- ½ cup (optional)
• Yam (suran), peeled & chopped- ¼ cup
• Ladyfingers/Okara (Bhendi), chopped-  ¼ cup
• Green beans (Shravan ghevda), chopped- ¼ cup
• Cluster beans (Gavar), chopped- ¼ cup
• Snake gourd (Padwal), chopped- ¼ cup
• Ridge gourd (Shirali), peeled & chopped- ¼ cup
• Sponge gourd (Ghosali), chopped- ¼ cup
• Green chillies, chopped- 3 to 5 or as per your personal choice 
• Tamarind pulp - 2 tsp or to taste
• Fresh scraped coconut-  ¼ to ½ cup
• Sea salt- to taste

Method:

• Wash and chop all veggies as desired size. Chop yum into small pieces, it takes more time to cook. 
• Combine all veggies in a big heavy bottomed vessel. 
• Add chopped green chilies and salt. Mix well.
• Cover with S.S plate. Pour some water on a plate. Do not add water, the veggies release water and enough to cook these veggies. 
• Cook on low heat till all veggies cooked well. Stir occasionally with soft hand. Check in between by pressing hard veggies with fingers. 
• Add tamarind pulp and scraped coconut. Mix well and cook for 1-2 minutes.
• Serve warm with bhakari/rice roti.

Tips and Variations:

• These vegetables which grow without ox's labor are available in market on the day of Rushi Panchami.
• My aai/mom uses all veggies which she grow in her backyard. She uses home-grown tomato also for this curry.
• I have given here quantity of veggies, thus you will get idea. But actually you can add the veggies as your personal like and availability. 
• Depends on availability of veggies, one or more vegetables mentioned can be skipped.
• My MIL adds some homemade white butter in this curry. 
• Pumpkin and scraped coconut give sweetness to this curry.
• You can add other monsoon/seasonal veggies like sweet potato, white corns, cucumber, raw banana, bottle gourd etc. 
• Pressure cook whole corn cobs with little salt before using in curry. Cut into small pieces.
• Rice which used for cooked rice and roti is also grow without ox's labor. This rice is called "Paynu tandul" in Marathi. This is also available in market on the day of Rushi Panchami. This rice is grind on stone grinder/Jate for roti/bhakari. This rice is also organic and unpolished. (I used here for photo regular rice.)
• This chutney contains only salt, fresh coconut and chilies. You can add raw mango if available. 

Mugache Birde/Bhirde or Muga Gathi ~ Maharashtrian Style Sprouted & Peeled Moong/Green Gram Curry

Mugache Birde or Muga Gathi is the one of delicacy of our Konkani cooking. Sprouted green grams are full of protein and are good to include it in our daily diet.

This curry specially is made on Monday in Shravan month. We do not eat onion-garlic on Shravani Somvar, so we make this curry without onion-garlic but you may use. Trust me...without using onion-garlic, this curry is also extremely delicious.

Ingredients:

• Whole moong beans (Green gram)- 1 cup 
• Oil- 2 to 3 tbsp 
• Mustard seeds- 1 ½ tsp 
• Asafoetida (Hing)- ½ tsp 
• Turmeric powder- ½ tsp 
• Curry leaves- 5 (optional- I don't use.) 
• Homemade mix masala or malwani masala- 3 tsp (or 2 tsp chili powder + 2 tsp goda masala) 
• Goda masala- 1 tsp (I use goda masala with our homemade masala for this curry.) 
• Salt- to taste 
• Fresh coconut, scrapped or grated- ½ cup 
• Cumin seeds- 1 tsp 
• Kokum/ aamsul- 4 (if not available, use tamarind pulp) 
• Coriander leaves, finely chopped- 2 tbsp 

If you want to use:- Onion, chopped- ½ cup and Garlic- 4 cloves

How to sprout the Moong/Green Gram?

• Wash and soak moong overnight or for at least 6 to 8 hours in double quantity of water. 
• They would soak water and would swell. Drain the water in the morning. Wash again in the running water and drain again. Thus they they don't become sticky. 
• Wrap in a thin cotton cloth or muslin cloth and keep them in a large bowl and cover it with lid. 
• Place it in a warm place to sprout. It would take around 16 hours depends upon weather. If there is cold weather, then would take more time and there is hot weather, then would take less time. Due to the warming the sprouts come out nicely. The moong have bigger sprouts now. 
• Once moong have sprouted, transfer the sprouts to a larger vessel/patela and fill the vessel with water almost up to the brim. This would get moisturize to the beans and peeling off the skin would be easy. 
• Keep aside for minimum 3-4 hours. Rub moong gently with palms. Several green peels (70-80 % of it) will float on the surface of water. 
• Remove the floated green peels and rub again moong. 
• The remaining peels remove manually. After removing the skin, moong are ready to be used for cooking. 

Means if you want to make "Mugache Birde" for Monday lunch, then you have to soak moong at Saturday night.
Peeling of moong beans is really time spending and patiently work but the taste of curry is always well worth....

Method:

• Grind together fresh coconut, cumin seeds and garlic (if you are using) with some water. (Add hot water if you are using frozen coconut.) Grind into fine paste. 
• Wash these sprouted & peeled moong and drain. 
• Heat oil in a kadai or pan. Add mustered seeds for tempering. When mustered seeds are popping, add onion (if you are using. Sauté till turns pinkish.) 
• Add hing, turmeric powder and masala or chilli powder. Sauté for a second. 
• Add moong and saute for a while and add water. Mix well and cover the wok with s.s. plate. Pour some water on a plate. Cook for 2-3 minutes on low heat. 
• Add coconut paste and salt. Add some water (adjust consistency of curry as per personal choice). 
• Mix well and cook for 15-20 on low heat or till the beans become tender (not too soft). Stir occasionally with soft hand. Check in between by pressing one with fingers. 
• Add goda masala, kokam petals, jaggery and water if needed. Cook another 2 minutes on low heat. 
• Garnish with coriander. Serve hot with chapatti or bhakari or rice. 

Tips:

• Due to over cooking of moong, the taste would ruin and partially cooked moong tastes not good. Experience gives you perfection. 
• Moong are very delicate so handle and mix it with soft hand otherwise kernels breaks. Do not overcook. Remember that do not cook soft like smashed dal, moong kernels should stay whole.