Poddale Beeye Sanna Polo

I recently posted a recipe for Poddale Dalithoy. The poddale was so fresh and tender I saved the seeds to make sanna polo. I wonder how people of our ancient generation made use of all most everything in a vegetable. This sanna polo is called Poddale Beeye Sanna Polo.

A very unique to konkani community sanna polo is a spicy dosa which is eaten as a side dish with rice and gravy. This dosa can be made with kirlu, cabbage, onion, poddale seeds etc. To make this dosa you need to have tender (tarne in konkani) snake gourd. The seeds have to be slightly crushed in mortar and pestle.

The seeds being tender is a must in this process. To check and make sure the seeds are tender just deseed them and hold it at one end and press it. The seed should easily get mashed. If the seed is not tender it will pop out from the other side.

If you see my picture closely, you will notice greenish seeds in it. That's how the texture should be of seeds in batter. This will give a crunchy taste to both seeds and dosa when you fry it on tava. Completely mashing the seeds in mixer with batter may not make the dosa taste different.

Urad - Moong Dosa/ Udid-Mooga Polo

Recently I wrote a brief note on upvasa khana. This recipe is my first contribution to that new section.


I prepared this dosa last month on Ekadashi day. This is a simple dosa to prepare as the batter does not need fermenting. Serve it with butter or homemade fresh "loni" with any simple chutney. 

Adgai/ Young (Green) Jackfruit Pickle

Adgai is a pickle prepared with young jackfruit or green jackfruit. We call green jackfruit as Kadgi in Konkani. There are many dishes which we make with young jackfruit like kadgi uppat, kadgi phodi, kadgi upkari, kadgi chakko etc. Out of all chakko is yummylicious !

Adgai is unlike other traditional pickle. Adgai does not have a very long shelf life. Though there is no coconut used in it it wont last longer than 2-3 weeks only if refrigerated. The initial step to make this pickle to boil raw mangoes and green jackfruit in boiling water. I am assuming the water content is what makes the shelf life shorter. However this is a very tasty pickle and our friends really loved it. Goes very well sheeth, dalithoy or even panna polo. 

Though raw mango definitely adds flavor I have made it without mangoes when mangoes are not in season. The key is to put right amount of spices and also frying it without letting it burn. The only pickle I prepared so far is adgai :-)...the other two were raw mango and also lime but I just bought the ready powder and mixed it according to steps mentioned. So I really wont say i have made pickles at home !

Steamed Jackfruit Idly/Ponasa Muddo

This year we have been very regular in buying fresh jackfruit from Ranch. They were very sweet and fresh. My husband being a very big fan of jackfruit we totally relish it every time we get it. For Sutta Punav I had to make something for dessert and I decided to go with Ponasa Muddo.

I have prepared these before but when I was new to this place I was not aware Ranch carries fresh jackfruits in season. I always got canned ones. Though it came out very well the taste we get when we make with fresh ones is different.

With the same batter we can make  mulik. Mulik is a deep fried version. But because we like muddo more I make it more often than mulik. Because I do not have the traditional pedavena, I steam these in my idly cooker. Except for the shape there was no difference.

Bamboo Shoot in Coconut Paste/Kirla Sukke

We used to often have bamboo shoot while in Thirthahalli. After I moved to Bangalore it drastically decreased. I don't remember seeing any store which had bamboo shoot. When I saw this in Japanese market I was really very happy and the very thought of eating it was just mouth watering ;). I immediately bought few of them and prepared couple of items. We call it as Kirlu in konkani. Try it out with rice and dalitoy. Simply amazing !

Fresh bamboo shoot are available from late November to May. But canned once are way too handy and is available during anytime of the year and in various sizes and shapes. When I bought fresh ones, I peeled them, cut and store it in a air tight container with salt. But I omit this process when I buy canned. Usually canned vegetables are already pickled, soft and tender. Adjust salt according to which bamboo shoot you use.

Kai Holige

Wish you all a Very Happy Ugadi. Ugadi festival reminds me of childhood days. New clothes, lots of food and not to forget yummy ubatti. I still remember that song of our school days "Uga Ugadi Kaledaru"...what a lovely and meaningful lyrics. My cousin mentioned this festival is also called as "Ubbati Parab". Ubbati is a sweet dish prepared specially during Ugadi and Parab means festival in konkani.

My DH is not a big fan of chana dal. So I decided to replace ubbati with kai holige this time. He loved it ! My grandmother used to make this holige every year without fail right after Gauri festival. Because we celebrated Gauri puja at home, there used to be lots of coconut which is typically called as "vaina". It was her belief to make only sweet dishes out of vaina she used to make kai holige and distribute among her kids and their family.

Kai holige is made with coconut stuffing whereas ubbati with chana dal stuffing. We call this coconut stuffing as huran and the outside layer made with all purpose flour or maida as "kanik".This is my second attempt in preparing kai holige and this time the preparation was a bliss. Rolling after placing coconut dumpling came out perfect. This surely is a time consuming sweet dish and needs patience ! But the end result is something you can relish :)

Aamras/ Mango Pulp

Its mango season again :-) ! I just love mangoes. I used to avoid eating mangoes with a fear of gaining weight. Recently  I started reading about nutritional facts of mangoes and if it really causes weight gain the answer was "no". Wow what a relief to me ! I can have mangoes this season without any guilt !

I always buy mangoes for my DD from wholefoods. Those were so sweet and totally yum ! But I just love the ones we get from Indian grocery stores. The first mango I bought this year I could not stop myself from preparing aamras with poori. Yumilicious !

Kukka Bonda/Chinese Potato Bonda

I started this blog as a database for all the recipes I get from my family and friends. Recently one of my very good friend emailed me if I am still blogging about my collected, tested and tried recipes. Well, I completely have stopped blogging after Stuti is born. She keeps me so busy all day long ! I thought I should kick start it again. Atleast couple of recipes a week :-)

Chinese potato is nothing but kukka which we get in Mangalore. DH loves it and so does DD. When I was talking to my SIL she mentioned about this being available in US and I thought we should give it a try. Now chinese potato has been my go to "quick side dish" every time I run out of time. I make sure I always have a stock of these in the freezer.

When I mentioned about its availability to my aunt she said I must try bonda. Though I am striving to maintain a healthy non-fatty food diet, I could not resist trying this. All the ingredients and methods are exactly same as aloo bonda I posted long ago. Worth a try !

Mango Sweet Curry/Ambe Upkari

Let me first tell you that this is not the authentic recipe of "Ambe Upkari" which we originally prepare in India. This dish is prepared with very small mangoes, which we call it as "gonto ambo" ( I am not sure what those are called in kannada or english). When I saw mangoes this season the very thought of "ambe upkari" made me feel I need to prepare it. So I went ahead with mangoes which I found here. This did satisfy my craving but I love the original recipe of this.

Mango in Coconut Milk/ Ambe Rasayana (Hashale)

During July and August New India Bazar had lots of fresh mangoes. Those were so rich and tasty. We have hogged quite a few. I also prepared some of the authentic dishes. Ambe Rasayana or Ambe Hashale is one among them. Ambo in konkani is mango. Rasayana is made with mangoes, coconut milk and jaggery. Of course high in calories ! Since mangoes are not available widely round the year I did prepare this. I love to have these with puris. But I had to stop myself from making puris which will simply add some more calories :-). We just had this hashale (this is how we call it at home) as a dessert. 

Spicy Potato/ Batata Song

Batata song is a very spicy dish prepared mainly with boiled potato and coconut, usually served with rice and dalitoy. I have seen people preparing this differently. When this is prepared during any auspicious occasions we do not use onion in it. This recipe is from my aunt. This can be had even with neer dosa.

Black Eyed Peas Ridge Gourd Curry/ Poddale Randayi

I always have few different types of beans stocked up. Black eyed peas is one among those. We call it as "alasande bi" in konkani. Ridge gourd and black eyed peas are the best combination I have liked. Again this dish has the main ingredient coconut in it. These types of curry goes well with boiled rice.

Cooked Leaves in coconut gravy/ Bhajje Sasam

These leaves are called edible amaranth or red leaf . These are mostly used in China town and Southern Asia.
We in konkani call it as tambdi bhajji. Tambdi is red and bhajji is leaves.At my home right from my childhood I have seen this being used in variety of dishes. We can prepare simple stir fry as it is nutritious yet very tasty. These are available even in Ranch 99 stores.

I make sure we eat at least one green leafy vegetable once a week. Many a times we bring multiple leafy vegetables but minimum one is compulsory. The leaves were truly fresh and I had to pick them up. I relish most of the dishes prepared with green leaves. I prepared my mom's recipe sasam. This is my favorite !

Jackfruit Seeds Curry/ Bikanda Hinga Udda

Bikand in konkani means jackfruit seeds. I always wonder how our elders found these recipes ! My grandmom had a recipe for almost every edible part of a vegetable or fruit. That nature has faded a lot through generations. Well all these recipes just makes me feel nostalgic about my childhood. 

I bought a pack of jackfruit seeds from New India Bazar :) couple of months back to prepare alvatti and sukke. Whenever my husband opened the freezer he reminded me of these leftover seeds lying there ! Today I decided to finish left over seeds.The easiest and tasty dish to prepare was "hinga udda" which is hingu means asafoetida and udda means water.

Mushroom Curry/ Alambe Ambat

We get fresh little mushrooms at 99 Ranch. Though these are not typical "gudu gudu alambe" these are button mushrooms and tastes good. Last time when we bought this I had some cucumber also and I decided to prepare ambat and it really came out well. 

Plantain Stir Fry/ Kele Upkari

I love stir fry and I prepare it with all possible vegetables. Plantain stir fry is one such dish which is tasty and comes very handy during any festival or even busy days. I usually prefer dalitoy - kele upkari combo but very rarely prepare this with even rasam or kadi.

Black Bean Curry/ Saaru Upkari

Long time back I bought some black bean from Safeway. I am not very sure what bean were those but it looked very much like "kali tori" we get in Mangalore. In Bangalore we used to buy these from Mangalore Stores. I prepared saaru upkari last week and the bean tasted exactly like "kali tori". Saaru is soup and upkari is stir fry in konkani. This dish can be served with rice and the bean can be eaten as a side dish or even with chapathi or dosa.

Cilantro Saru/ Kothambari Palle Saru

Kothambari Pallo is cilantro. I had a whole bunch in fridge and my mom reminded me of kothambari palle saru, chuntey and tambli. The first thing I prepared was saru. Came out perfect and both of us liked it :). A quick recipe during busy days !

Mango Sweet Curry/ Ambe Sasam

Its been exactly two months I haven't updated my blog. I was referring to many other blogs especially Vah chef for everyday cooking. We tried different recipes both veg and non-veg and to our surprise every dish we prepared was awesome ! Now I am back here again to update authentic konkani recipes. There are so many recipes from my good old childhood days which I have forgotten and I felt the blogging should go on. It helps me maintain all the recipes at one place. 

We bought few mangoes last week which were very sour to eat. The best was to prepare ambe sasam or ambe upkari. Both are my favorites. I prioritized sasam as it is very easy and simple to prepare. Ambe upkari is surely on my cards this week. This sasam is usually prepared during special occasions or even festive days as it does not contain garlic and onion. This is typically prepared with a combination of ambe-avanasa (ambo = mango, avanasa = pineapple). Few people also add few grapes. I did not have pineapple and I prepared it with only mangoes.

Radish-Garlic Fry/ Mulangi Talasan

White radish are available widely here both in Indian and Chinese stores. Even the leaves are very fresh and I always get tempted to buy it only because of the color and freshness. Though my husband is not a picky eater he doesn't like to eat radish for the that fact that it is smelly. My mom used to very frequently prepare ambat and talasan out of it. But I usually prepare "talasan" with lots of garlic. The smell fades to great extent and this goes well with rice.