Ashgourd & dry shrimps curry

Ingredients :

1 Kg of Ashgourd
3/4 cup of dried shrimps

For grinding the Masala
7 dry red chillies
1 tsp cumin seeds
3 tsp coriander seeds
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
2 flakes of garlic
1 small onion
1 lemon size tamarind
10 tsp desiccated coconut
4 tbsp coconut milk powder

Grind the above masala with 1 cup of water to a fine paste. keep it aside.

Peel the ash gourd and cut it into small cubes as below.




















Dry roast in a pan the dry shrimps till you get a nice aroma. Keep it aside.




















Take a vessel add the cubed ash gourd, ground masala & roasted shrimps.
Add 1 1/2 cups of water, add 1 tsp salt.
Let it boil on slow fire till the ashgourd is cooked (it will take approx 10-12 minutes) Ashgourd will appear translucent when cooked. Check the salt, if you need more add as per your taste. Put off the flame.

Now Temper the curry with 1 medium sliced onion and few curry leaves.

For Tempering :
Take in a frying pan 4 tbsp oil, once the oil is hot add the sliced onion till it browns, now add the curry leaves. Add this to the curry as below.




















Enjoy it with plain white rice.

Red Amaranth Dry Vegetable (Tambdi Bhaji)

2 bunches of Red Amaranth Leaves (nicely picked, chopped & washed 2-3 times) Leave it aside in a strainer for 1 hour to strain the water as the leaves have lots of water.

1 big onion sliced
2 green chillies sliced
5-6 flakes of garlic (chopped)
1 tsp mustard seeds
3 tbsp oil
1/2 tsp salt
6 tbsp Desiccated Coconut (or 1/2 cup of fresh grated coconut)




















Take a vessel add 3 tbsp oil and heat the oil.
Once oil is hot add the mustard seed till it crackles.
Add the sliced onion, sliced green chillies and garlic. stir fry for a minute.
Add the chopped red leaves.
Add salt. Mix well and now add the desiccated coconut.
Lower the flame and let the vegetable cook for another 10 minutes till all the water has dried up.

Bombay Duck Curry

10 Bombay ducks (clean & cut into 2 pcs)

Masala for grinding :

1 1/2 bunch of coriander leaves
6 green chillies
6 cloves of garlic
1/2 inch pc of ginger
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 small marble size tamarind
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 onion chopped

For tempering :

3 tbsp oil
8 cloves of garlic roughly chopped

Process to prepare the gravy :

Grind the masala into a fine paste & keep it aside.

Take a vessel add 3 tbsp oil.
Heat the oil, once its hot add the garlic and fry till it browns.
Now add the ground paste and fry for another 2-3 minutes.
Add 1 1/2 glass of ground masala water.
Add salt as per taste and let the gravy boil.
Add the clean bombay ducks and let it simmer for 2 minutes.
Put off the flame , tangy aromatic curry is ready to be served.

Serve it with plain rice and crisp fried bombay ducks.

Crisp Fried Bombay Ducks

10 pcs of fresh Bombay ducks (clean & cut it in the center to remove the thorn)as shown in the picture.















Ingredients for the marinade
1 tsp of red chilli powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp vinegar

To fry :
5 tbsp Oil
1/4 cup semolina

Make the marinade in a small glass bowl.

Now add the marinade to the clean fish and leave it aside for an hour.

When you want to fry the fish, spread the semolina on a plate & dust the fish with semolina till it is well coated.

Take a frying pan , add oil, once oil is hot fry the bombay ducks till it is crisp on both sides.

Khubbey Mutlin - Manglorean Delicacy (Mini rice dumplings with cockles)

Thank you Mai (my grandmother) for your great love and care. She was an excellent cook who not only loved to cook but eat and share with everyone. She never missed any occasion whether it was a birthday, engagement, anniversary, wedding, roce or portopon. She would happily go 2-3 days in advance and cook some of her authentic manglorean delicacies like Indaad, Sarpatel, Pathradey, Kualo bafat, Mutton Polov, Beef Roast, Chicken Sukka, Sannas. Khubey Mutlin & Pathradey are my favourite. Mai, I’m dedicating this recipe remembering you and relishing every bit of it. I love you MAI.

Mutlin Ingredients :
½ Kg boiled rice ¾ tsp salt























Process to Make the Mutlin : Soak the boiled rice for 3-4 hours (Remove the starch, cleaning it with water for 4-5 times). Grind it in a food processor with salt to a thick dry paste. Make small dumplings by taking little dry batter in your hand, shape them into tiny balls and with your finger make a small thumb print in the centre. Steam these little mutlins in a steamer for 15-20 minutes. Cool , separate them (as they will stick while cooking). Keep it aside.


Cockles (khubey) : 1 Kg (leave it overnight in lots of cool water to release the sand from the shells, if any.)

Put the cockles in a pot and let it steam for 5-10 minutes. Cockles will open leaving all the juices in the pot. Cool, open the cockles separating the flesh to one side of the shell.

Masala to grind for the Gravy :
8 Kashmiri chillies
2 tsp coriander seeds
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp cumin seeds
½ tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp mustard seeds
4 garlic flakes ( Chopped) 1 marble size tamarind
4 cloves 1” pc of cinnamon stick 10 tsp of desiccated coconut
2 medium sized onions (Sliced)

For Coconut Milk : 1 ½ cup of luke warm water + add 10 tbsp coconut milk powder). Mix it well till there are no lumps.

Dry roast in a pan all the above ingredients except the tamarind lightly on slow fire (do not burn them or else your gravy will taste bitter). Now grind the masala with 1 cup of water to a fine paste. Add more water if you need to grind it finer.

Process to make the Curry :
Take a vessel add the ground masala, add the cleaned cockles with its juices. Add little salt as per taste. If the gravy is thick add another cup of water and let it boil for 5 minutes. Now add the steamed dumplings in the gravy and let it simmer on slow fire for another 10 minutes. Now add the coconut milk, stir. Put off the flame.

For Tempering :
Take 5 Tbsp of oil in a frying fan, add 1 thinly sliced onion. Brown the onion. Temper the gravy with this browned onion. Khubey Mutlin is ready to be served. YUM YUM ….ENJOY the hot Khubey Mutlin……..