Skip to main content

Konkani Bhaji (Amaranth Leaves) Upkari

Bhaje Upkari
Most of our weekend meals are special delicacies, loaded with calories.... high carbs, something cheesy, oily, fried. On Mondays, we crave for something simple, less spicy home cooked desi food. Such days, we like to relish good old Konkani food - Dal Rice, Upkari, Papad and Lonche (Achar). Upkari is a simple veggie stir fry with a coconut flavor.

Ingredients:
Amaranth Leaves/Rajgira/BhaJi - a bunch
Shredded Coconut (fresh or frozen) - about 1/2 cup
Mustard Seeds/Sasam - 1/2 tsp
Asafetida/Hing - 1/4 tsp
Dry Red Chilies/Tamdi Mirsang - 2
Green Chilies/Tarni Mirsang - 2 (optional)
Jaggery/Gul/Gud - about 2 tsp
Salt
Oil

How to cook Konkani Bhaji Upkari:
  • Amaranth leaves are both green and red in color. In Marathi, these greens are called as Rajgira Bhaji. Red Amaranth leaves are also known as Lal Math in Marathi. In Konkani, the green Amaranth leaves are called as Dhavi Bhaji and red as Tambdi Bhaji. And in Kannada, these are known as Harive Soppu. You can cook this upkari with both green and red Amaranth leaves.
  • Separate the amaranth leaves and tender stems. Wash them well and drain the water. Use a colander or a salad spinner to remove excess water.
  • Finely chop the leaves and tender stems. Slit the green chilies lengthwise.
  • Heat 1 - 2 tsp oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds, red chilies and asafetida. When mustard seeds pop, add chopped leaves and stems. Saute for few seconds and add about 1/2 cup water. Cook it covered until the leaves wilt.  Add green chilies, coconut, salt to taste and jaggery. Cook it covered until the stems are cooked. Cook it longer if you like dry Upkari.
  • If jaggery is not available, you can use molasses or brown sugar. Add more or less jaggery to suit your taste. Green chillies add slight heat to the upkari, its optional.
    Amaranth Leaves
Serve BhaJe Upkari with steamed rice or roti.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Comments, Suggestions and Feedback are welcome.
Any comment with a Link/URL or any kind of promotion will not be published.

Popular posts from this blog

Indian Dal / Lentils

Lentils, known as Dal are a staple in an Indian diet, especially vegetarian. For me, dal is comfort food. 5 different dal varieties - Toor, Moong, Chana, Masoor and Urad are commonly used in Indian sweet and savory delicacies. You can cook dal with just one kind or a mix of two or more. I generally cook dal with 1:1 Toor and Moong dals. But then, we like Panchmel or Panchratna Dal too, which is made of all five. Most dal recipes have Toor dal as the primary ingredient. It is also known as Toovar or Arhar dal or Split Pigeon Peas . Some of our family favorite dal recipes are Dalitoy (Konkani Dal)  Tadka Dal Among all lentils, moong dal and masoor dal take lesser time to cook. Moong dal is also known as Split Green Gram or Split Mung Bean . Moong dal is also used in making sweet dishes like Mung Dal Kheer  Mung Dal Puranpoli Chana dal is also known as Split Bengal Gram or Split Chickpeas . Chana Dal takes a little more time to cook as compared to toor dal....
Post a Comment
Read more

Naval Kol Bhaji / Kohlrabi Stir-fry

Green Kohlrabi called as Navalkol in Marathi and Navilkosu in Kannada, belongs to the cabbage family.  My Mom used to make this stir fry very often.  Just like cabbage, this vegetable in available in two colors - green and purple.  I was quite hesitant about the purple one, as I haven't seen that back in India.  Anyway, I picked the green bulbs and Navalkohl Bhaji with Chana Dal was part of our healthy vegetarian meal today.
14 comments
Read more

Ricotta Cheese Pedha / Peda

Once or twice every week, my Dad used to get some treats on his way back home. Somedays it used to Kandi Pedha or Kesar Pedha. This is my attempt of making Indian Mithai at home. I might dare say, I was pretty successful. Touch Wood! Tasted and looked great! If you are a fan of milk sweets, do try this easy home made Kesar Pedha recipe made of Ricotta Cheese and milk powder. Ingredients: Ricotta Cheese (full fat) - 15 oz (about 400 gm) Milk Powder - 3/4 cup Whole Milk - 1/2 cup Sugar - 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp Ghee/Clarified Butter - 1 tbsp Green Cardamom/Elaichi - 2 pods Saffron/Kesar - few strands Pistachios/Pista - 3 How to make Pedha using Ricotta Cheese: Crush cardamom seeds and saffron in a mortar pestle to a fine powder. Finely chop or slice the pistachios or any other nuts of your choice. Heat ghee in a heavy bottom kadhai or pan. Add ricotta cheese and stir continuously. Stir until water from the cheese is evaporated and starts forming a lump. It will take about 15 - ...
10 comments
Read more