Of all the different styles of cooking dal, Varn is my favorite. As coconut is a staple part of the Konkani diet, we end up adding it to our dal too :) This is one of the most simple dishes to cook and for me its my comfort food.

In Mangalore, Varn is only made during mourning occasions but we have no such rules in North Karnataka where I come from.

This is the perfect comfort food for me and eating Varn with a spoonful of warm ghee and rice with some pickle makes my day. I am sure you will like it too. Very hard to go wrong with this recipe.

Here is my mom's Varn Recipe.




Ingredients
Toor dal  - 1 Cup
Coconut - 2 tbsp 
Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
Green Chilly - 1
Turmeric - a pinch
Oil
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Curry Leaves - a sprig for seasoning
Salt

Method

1. Pressure cook Toor dal with turmeric and 2.5 cups water for 2 whistles. Remove from the gas and keep aside
2. Heat 1 tsp oil in a small pan. When hot, add Cumin seeds and chillies. When the cumin starts popping, remove it from heat and grind it with coconut  and little water to make a coarse paste.
3. Add the paste to the cooked dal (mash the dal if needed) and bring it to boil. Adjust the salt and turn of the heat.
4. Heat 1 tsp oil in a seasoning pan and when oil is hot, add mustard seeds and when they splutter, add curry leaves and let it splutter.
5. Add this to the dal and cover with a lid so that the aroma from the seasoning is absorbed well.
6. Serve hot with rice and add a dollop of ghee for extra flavor and richness.

Was seeing a show on Food Food channel the other day and came across this recipe by Harpal Singh Sokhi. Was intrigued because he mixed Indian spices in a Chinese dish. Had to try it and have to say it turned out to be perfect for the Indian palate.
I like the flavor and crunchiness the till seeds gives to this dish. Kids love to eat the crispy fried chicken before adding it to the gravy and hence remember to reserve some for them.

Here is my recipe for this dish.

Ingredients

1. Chicken breasts - 500 gms
2. Onions (medium) -2 , cubed
3. Red Capsicum -1/2 piece, cubed
4. Yellow Capsicum - 1/2 piece, cubed
5. Sesame seeds - 4 tsp
6. Ginger  - 1 inch piece, finely chopped
7. Garlic - 5-7 cloves, finely chopped
8. Green chillies -2 , finely chopped
9. 2 tsp chicken masala - I used Kitchen King masala; you can use 1 tsp of garam masala instead
10. 1 tsp ginger garlic paste
11. 2 tsp soya sauce
12. 2 tsp red chilli sauce
13. 1 egg - white separated 
14. 2 tsp corn flour
15. Spring Onion for garnishing

Method

1. Cut chicken breasts into long thin slices. Marinate with salt, ginger garlic paste, chicken masala, soya sauce, red chilli sauce for 15-30 mins.
2. Now add egg white and cornflour to this mixture and deep fry it in hot oil till crispy brown. Drain the chicken and keep aside.
3. Now in a pan, take 2 tsp oil. When the oil is hot, add 2 tsp sesame seeds (till) and roast it till slightly brown. Take care not to burn it.
4. Add finely chopped ginger garlic and green chillies and saute for a minute
5. Add onions and red and yellow capsicum  cut into cubes and saute for 2-3 mins
6. Add 1 tsp of red chilli sauce and soya sauce each and mix well.
7. Add 1 tsp of chicken masala or 1/2 tsp of garam masala and saute
8. Adjust the salt and saute it till the capsicums are cooked. You can add a bit of sugar here in case you prefer the dish to be a bit sweet.
9. Add the fried chicken to it and mix well
10. Garnish with spring onion and roasted sesame seeds 

 In case you want it to be of gravy consistency, you can add some water after adding garam masala and cook it. This dish goes very with fried rice.

I have many complaints that I dont publish many vegetarian dishes. So here is one specially for my vegetarian friends.
Matar Paneer is a popular North Indian recipe and is one of my staple cooks when I have vegetarian friends over.  Its a very simple recipe and doesnt need much fine chopping and saves a lot of time.




Ingredients
250 gms paneer/cottage cheese cut into triangular 1 inch pieces
1 cup frozen peas
3 medium sized ripe red tomatoes, roughly chopped
2 green chilies, chopped
1 inch ginger, chopped
5-6  garlic chopped
5-6 cashews

4 to 5 black peppercorns
2 to 3 cloves
½ inch cinnamon
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp kasoori methi
½ tsp cumin seeds/jeera
¼ tsp turmeric powder/haldi
¼ to ½ tsp red chili powder
½ tsp garam masala powder
1 tbsp cream
½ tsp sugar 
2 to 2.5 tbsp oil or ghee
Coriander leaves

Method

1. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan. When the oil is hot, add 1 inch cinnamon, cloves, pepper corns, 1 tsp coriander seeds, 1 tsp cumin seeds and saute. 
2. Add onion and a pinch of salt and saute for 5 mins till translucent.
3. Add green chillies, ginger, garlic and saute for another 2-3 mins. 
4. Now add tomatoes and cashews and saute till the tomatoes are mushy. Keep this mixture aside to cool and then blend it in a blender to get a coarse paste.
5. Now heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan and when hot add ½ tsp cumin seeds.
6. When the cumin splutters, add the paneer and saute it for a bit.  You can add the paneer pieces directly later into the masalas too if you dont liked it sauteed in oil.
7. Now add the masala paste and mix well. 
8. Add the frozen peas and mix well
9. Add a pinch of turmeric powder, 1 tsp red chilli powder, 1 tsp coriander powder and 1/2 tsp garam masala powder and mix well.
10. Cover and cook till a good boil. Add salt according to taste and add water if you find the gravy too thick. I add a pinch of sugar to this - however you can decide based on your taste.
11. Garnish with 1 tbsp cream (or more based on your taste) and a 1/2 tsp of crushed kasoori methi and cook for 2 mins.
12. Garnish with freshly chopped coriander leaves and serve this hot with chapatis

Note: In case you are using fresh peas, you may have to cook the peas separately in water till cooked and then add it to this gravy as frozen peas is almost cooked and doesnt need much cooking.

It is difficult to live in Hyderabad with Konkani tastes :) . I have had fish 2-3 times in a week for most of my life but we do not get good fresh sea water fish easily in Hyderabad.

WhiteBait is one fish which is slightly easily available. Apparently this fish flows from the sea to the river and hence probably it is available here...or maybe it is just transported from the coasts. So I deep fried WhiteBait (Belanji in Konkani, also called Bolanjeer ) for lunch today. 
This is one fish which can be eaten with its bones. Since its a small fish we deep fry it and the bones add to crunchiness to the fritters.

Here is my Konkani simple fish fry recipe

Ingredients
250 gms of white bait,cut, scaled and cleaned
Pinch of turmeric, 
1 tsp red chilli powder 
1 tsp ginger garlic paste
Salt to taste
Oil - 500 ml
Rava - Semolina - 100 gms
Method

1. Clean the fish. Remove the head, the tail and the scales. 
                                         

2. Marinate it with salt, turmeric, red chilli powder and ginger garlic paste and keep aside for 15-30 mins. 

                                        
3. Heat oil in a vessel for deep frying on medium heat till it is very hot (almost smoking).

4. Roll the fish in Rava (Suji, Semolina) and rice flour (in 3:1 proportion) and deep fry on medium flame. Fry in batches of 10 fish at a time. Fry on both sides till the Fish is golden frown and crispy. Since this fish is very small it cooks easily.

This recipe can be used to fry almost any fish but since it  needs a lot of oil, I prefer the Tawa fry Fish. WhiteBait is too small and hence this is the preferred way to cook it. 

Note: Reposting this today with a clearer picture 

Was in a mood today for some south Indian flavors of chicken. As was searching online came across this simple and quick recipe Curry Leaf and pepper Chicken recipe from my favorite chef - Sanjay Thumma.
The best part about this dish is that it doesnt require any fine chopping and dicing and hence saves a lot of time. Once ready, I am sure you are going to love the aroma of Curry leaves and pepper that fills the house :)
Here is my recipe for Curry Leaf and Pepper Chicken

Ingredients
Chicken  - 500 Grams
Curry leaves  - 3 Sprigs
Onion - 2 medium sized roughly chopped
Tomatoes   - 2 Medium sized roughly chopped
Ginger - 1 inch cut into small pieces
Garlic - 5-7 cloves
Grated Coconut  - 2 tbsp

Fennel seeds -  1 tsp
Oil   - 2 tbsp
Coriander powder  - 1 tsp
Chilly powder   - 2 tsp
Turmeric  - a pinch
Pepper -  2 tbsp roughly crushed
Coriander chopped - optional


Method

1. Take 1 tbsp oil in a pan. Heat it and when hot, add onions and saute. Add some salt to fasten the cooking. 
2. 2 mins into the sauteeing, add roughly chopped ginger and garlic and saute
3. When the onions are translucent (no need to brown it), add the tomatoes and saute well.
4. Cook for 2 mins and then add turmeric, chilli powder and coriander powder and grated coconut
5. Saute well, add 1/2 cup water, put the lid on and let it cook for 5 mins.
6. When done, remove from heat and let it cool. Blend in a blender to a coarsepaste. I like it rough because that goes well with the chappatis.
7. Heat oil in a pan and when hot, add fennel seeds.After a minute add a handful of curry leaves and saute.
8. Now add the chicken pieces and some salt and 1 tsp crushed pepper and saute for 5 to 10 mins till the chicken is white and almost cooked.
9.  Now add the onion -tomato paste, mix it well with the chicken and let it cook for 20 minutes with the lid on. Adjust the water and salt according to your taste.
10. Add some more crushed pepper and serve with chappatis, dosa, appams or rice.
11. You can also garnish with chopped coriander.

This dish is like the western concept of Sunday Roast for my family. We grew up eating this tasty chicken curry prepared with all the traditional Konkani spices on most Sundays, accompanied by Sol Kadi and Fish Fry . Though chicken is not part of our staple diet, somehow this curry is prepared in this same way in most Konkani households. I always wonder how and when this dish entered into our traditional recipes.
This dish has a very strong aroma and I somehow associate the aroma of this dish with Sunday afternoons :)

Here is my mom's recipe perfected over the years. This dish has all the ingredients that go well with chicken and I have never gone wrong with this one. 


Ingredients

• Chicken - 1 kg
• 4 medium Sized Onions - finely chopped
• Tomato  - 2 finely chopped
• Coriander leaves -1 bunch
• Ginger-garlic paste 2 tea spn
• Sun flower Oil 
• Ghee
• Salt

Brown Masala

• Pepper 7-8
• Cloves 4
• Cinnamon  - 2 inch
• Shahi jeera - 1 tsp
• Coriander seeds - 1 tsp
• Cardamom (Elaichi) - 1
• Red chillies (Bedgi)- 7-8
• Poppy Seeds(Khus Khus) 1 tsp
• Fennel seeds (Saunf)- 1 tsp
• Coconut  - 1 cup
• 4-5 cloves of garlic
• pinch of haldi
• Tamarind - lemon sized ball

For the Green Paste

• 1 cup of coriander leaves with stalk
• handful of mint leaves
• 2-3 green chillies
• 1 inch ginger piece
• 5-6 cloves of garlic

Method

1. Make a fine paste by grinding together roughly chopped ingredients listed under for the green paste.
2. Take a pan and dry roast all the ingredients under Red Masala except the tamarind. Take care not to burn the spices. When the spices leave out a good aroma, cool it and then grind it to fine paste with tamarind and water. Keep this red masala aside.
3. Clean and Marinate 1 kg chicken with green paste and salt for atleast an hour before cooking
4. Take a pressure cooker and add 1 tsp sunflower oil and 1 tsp to it. When the oil is hot, add the finely chopped onions and saute it till brown.
5. Add 2 finely chopped tomatoes and saute it till mushy.
6. Add the marinated chicken to the cooker and mix well.Add 1/2 cup of water and pressure cook it for 1 whistle and then simmer on low for another 10 mins. Be careful here to not overcook the chicken. If you are unsure about using a pressure cooker, you can just cover and cook it till the chicken is almost (80%) cooked.
7. Now add the brown masala to the chicken and cook it for good boil. You can add some dried Sol for additional color and sourness.
8. Cook it for 10 more mins on a slow flame.Adjust the salt and water according to taste.
9. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with Pav (Bread) or Chapatis