Mushroom Gassi

Gassi is a rich, creamy sauce spiced with cumin, coriander and simmered with coconut milk. It’s a Mangalorean style curry usually made from seafood or chicken. But, this is a vegetarian version of the dish.

Ingredients	Quantity
Mushrooms	1 bowl or 250gms
Onion	2 chopped
Tomato	2 chopped or puree 1 cup
Ginger Garlic paste	1 ½ tsp
Coriander seeds	1 tbsp.
Cumin seeds	½ tbsp.
Fenugreek seeds	½ tsp
Red chilies	10-15 or to taste
Turmeric powder	½ tsp
Grated coconut	2 tbsp.
Coconut Milk	1 cup
Garam Masala	1 tsp
Oil	2-3 tbsp.
Coriander leaves	to garnish
Curry leaves	handful
Salt	to taste

Method

Wash thoroughly and pat dry mushrooms. Chop in half or quarters.

Take a pan and add oil. When hot add mushrooms and fry on high heat. After a while add salt and switch off. Keep aside. Mushrooms should be crunchy, just roast from outside.

In the same pan add oil and once heated add coriander seeds and roast it. Then add cumin seeds and fenugreek roast it. Add red chillies and fry till it becomes crisp. Remove and Keep it aside.

In the same pan add onion, tomato and grated coconut. Add garam masala. Saute it till onion is soft. Let it cool down for a while.

Add all of the above mixture in a blender (mixer) and make a paste adding little water.

Take deep pan, add 1 tbsp oil. Add curry leaves. When they change colour slightly, add ginger garlic paste, fry for a minute. Then add the paste we prepared (gravy). Add turmeric powder, salt and fry till the raw smell goes and oil separates.

Now add mushrooms back and cook for 2-3 minutes. Later add coconut milk. Garnish it with
coriander leaves. Serve with dosa, rice or roti.

Points to remember

·        For best result and authentic flavor use coconut oil for cooking and drizzle some coconut oil just before serving.

·        If you do not prefer strong smell of coconut oil you could use vegetable oil for cooking and omit the drizzle of coconut oil.

·        While roasting mushrooms they might let out some water, you could strain it and keep aside and add back to gravy for more flavor.

·        The best combination will be kori roti, boiled rice or neer dosa along with this curry.

Gobi Fry

Gobhi fry also known as Gobhi talasani in konkani, is a simple dish that makes me nostalgic. My mom used to cook this for me in childhood. Even now I ask her to cook this for me when I feel like eating this yummy dish.

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 10-15 minutes

Serves: 2 people
Recipe Courtesy – Smitha Pai (My mom)

Ingredients	Quantity
Cauliflower (cut into bite size pieces)	1 cup
Tomato	1 small (finely chopped)
Red Chili Powder	1 ½ tsp or to taste
Oil	1 tbsp
Salt	to taste
Water	to boil cauliflower
Lemon juice	to taste (optional)

Method

Boil water in a deep vessel on high flame, once the water starts to boil add 1 tsp salt and cauliflower to it. Bring to a boil and simmer. Once the cauliflower starts turning translucent turn off heat and drain water using a strainer and hold the strainer under tap water to stop cooking.

In a wok add oil, once it is hot add the cauliflower pieces. Fry for 2 minutes. Add tomato and keep frying for a minute. Add salt and fry till tomato is completely dry (approx. 5 minutes). Add chili powder and mix well so all the pieces are evenly coated with chili powder. Fry till the raw flavor of chili powder is goes.

Check for salt at this point and add more if required. Add lemon juice just before serving.

Points to remember

Ø  Add less salt than required, as this dish tends to get salty since cauliflower and tomato shrink when we cook.

Ø  Make sure you keep an eye on the cauliflower after adding tomato as they tend to burn. Keep stirring every now and then.

Ø  You can also cook cauliflower in microwave. Add cauliflower, water and salt in a microwave dish with lid. Mix well and cook with lid for 2-3 minutes at high heat.

Corn Cheese Balls

This is my version of the famous Cheese balls with a twist!

Ingredients	Quantity
Corn	1 cup
Cheese grated	1 cup
Green chilies finely chopped	2
Coriander leaves finely chopped	1tbsp
Corn flour	1tbsp
Maida	2tbsp
Ginger chopped	1tsp
Pepper powder	1/2 tsp
Salt	to taste
Lemon juice	2tsp
Baking Soda	1 pinch
Red chilly powder	1/4tsp
Cumin powder	1/4tsp
Oil	to deep fry

Method

Grind corn slightly in a mixer just so that few corn kernels are crushed few are whole.

Take corn in a mixing bowl, add cheese,  green chilies, coriander leaves, cornflour, maida, ginger, pepper powder, salt, lemon juice, red chili powder, cumin powder and little water. Mix together and make dough. 

Apply oil to palms and make small balls. Keep the balls as firm as possible. Deep fry till golden brown. 

Serve hot with ketchup.

Daal Double Tadka

This daal is a unique combination of three types of daals. You can blend this into a smooth daal or just enjoy the texture of the chana daal.

Ingredients	Quantity
Toor Daal	1/3 cup
Mung Daal	1/3 cup
Channa Daal	1/3 cup
Water	3 cups
Oil	1 tbsp
Onion finely chopped	1 medium
Turmeric Powder	1/4 tsp
Cumin Powder	1/2 tsp
Coriander Powder	1 tsp
Garam Masala	1/2 tsp
Red Chili Powder	to taste
Salt	to taste
For Tadka (Seasoning)
Ghee	2 tbsp
Mustard Seeds	1/2 tsp
Cumin Seeds	1/2 tsp
Asafoetida	pinch
Curry Leaves	few
Garlic finely chopped	2 cloves
Ginger grated	1 tsp
Green Chili slit	to taste
Lime Juice	to taste

Method

Combine all the daals, wash well and soak for 20-30 minutes. Drain out the water and put it in a pressure cooker. Add Water and a little bit of salt. Cover and pressure cook on medium heat and allow it to whistle 3 times.

Meanwhile, in a pan, heat oil on medium flame. Once the oil is hot, add in the turmeric powder and the asafoetida. We can then add in the onions and a little salt and cook the onions till they turn translucent. Add in the dry powders – cumin, red chili, coriander and garam masala.Cook for 10-15 seconds.

Stir in the daal, check salt and water consistency and allow it to boil for 4-5 minutes. Pour in a serving dish and set aside.

For the tadka, take a small skillet and heat up the ghee on medium heat. Once hot, add in the mustard seeds and allow them to pop. Add in cumin seeds, curry leaves, green chilies, garlic, ginger and cook for a few minutes. Top the daal with this tadka and lime juice.