Dangar: Frying up leaves!

                                                                                             

After the Knotty Affair, another recipe post so soon? Well yes. That's because I tried this last evening, and it turned out so nice (much better than what I expected), that I couldn't resist putting it up here. 

A friend would often remark that we konkanis like to fry anything available; if someone in Carstreet fried grass and sold it, we'd relish that too! Now, I realise he's right!

What you need:

-Two handfuls of roughly chopped leaves* 

-Masala: Toor dal (1/2 cup), Rice (1/2 cup), Red chillies (15-18, depends on how spicy you want it to be), Tamarind (grape sized lump), Hing (raisin sized lump)

(*leaves: traditionally prepared with tora leaves called Thaikilo in Konkani, or drumstick leaves. Last evening, I used red amaranthus and spinach/palak)

Masala Preparation:

-Soak the rice and toor dal together, for about an hour

-Grind it along with chillies, tamarind and asafoetida

-It should be as dry as possible, using minimum quantity of water

-If it ends up too watery, you can add some besan (chickpea flour) or rice flour to thicken it up

  [You may also like: Kichdi- konkani style, Maralva panna podi (leaf fritters)]

Method:

Mix the masala with the finely chopped leaves. You should be able to make small lemon sized balls that retain shape when you gently drop them into the hot oil- you should adjust the consistency accordingly.

Heat oil in a kadai; I use coconut oil usually, you can use whichever you're used to.

Drop the balls slowly and fry on medium flame. 

The colour turning dark-ish indicates that it's cooked well.

Done!

Other non-vegetarian Konkani recipes: Vaali-khubbe randai (malabar spinach with shellfish), Kurle ambat (crab curry), Sungta humman (prawn curry), Neeli dishes (mussels), Phannaupkari