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


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



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