PHAGILA KISMURI ( TEASEL GOURD MASALA)
There are some veggies that make an appearance only during some seasons. The fans of these veggies wait eagerly for this season so as to make all the dishes they can using this. One such veggie is Teasel Gourd/Spiny Gourd or Phagil in my mother tongue, Konkani. This is called Kantola in Hindi,
Phagils are almost universally loved by all Konkanis when they makes an appearance in the monsoon months! They have a few health benefits as well.
Elsewhere in this blog, you will find recipes for some dishes we make with phagils, such as:-
Today' s side dish is for Phagila Kismuri,whch is easy to make yet is so totally delicious!
Normally this is deep fried but I prefer to shallow fry as this method uses less oil.
Ingredients:-
- Phagils, Teasel Gourd, 4 or about 250 gms
- Coconut Gratings, 1/3 cup
- Roasted Byadgi Red Chillies, 3
- Small-sized Onion, 1
- Tamarind, a small piece
- Coriander Seeds, 1/2 tsp
- Salt, to taste
- Oil, to deep fry or shallow fry, as required
Method:-
Wash the phagils thoroughly and snip off the two ends
Cut them into small pieces
Apply salt to the cut phagil pieces and leave it to marinate for about 30-45 minutes
Squeeze out the water ( released when salt is applied) from the phagil pieces
Finely chop the onion
In a kadhai, heat oil and deep fry the phagil pieces till they turn brown and crisp
Take care they are not burnt
Alternatively, you can shallow fry the phagil pieces using less oil
The shallow fry method takes a little longer
Keep aside
In a small mixer jar, grind together the coconut gratings, roasted Byadgi red chillies, tamarind and coriander seeds and salt as required, with very little water to a coarse paste. Remember that some salt has been added to the phagil pieces while marinating
Remove the ground paste from the mixer and combine with chopped onion
This gives you the masala for the kismuri
Finally, mix well together the fried phagils with the freshly prepared masala to make the Phagila Kismuri
Please note this mixing should be done just before you are ready to serve this dish, as otherwise the phagil will become soft and lose its crunchiness
Serve as an accompaniment to the meal of hot steamed rice and dalithoy.
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