Jhan-janit Saoji Karela

Jhan-janit Saoji Karela

(ಝಣ್-ಜಣಿತ್ ಸಾವಜಿ ಕರೇಲ)

If not anything, let the name of the recipe be interesting! What say?

I hardly know anyone who doesn't like spicy food. Remember those days when you are very hungry or tired of festival sweets and suddenly there's an urge to eat something spicy, something bitter? I felt it too today. So I prepared this recipe. The bitter truth is also that Karela happens to be my most favorite vegetable. Yeah.

Ingredients:
Bitter gourd - 2
Onion - 2
Garlic cloves - 5
Ginger - a small piece
Tamarind
Jaggery

For Saoji masala- Dry roast (or pour a little oil if you want) the following spices :-


- 2 teaspoons Coriander seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 2-3 Cloves
- 3-4 Black peppercorns
- 2 Green cardamoms
- 2 Bay leaves
- 2 Whole dry red chillies
- 1 teaspoon Poppy seeds
- 1/4 teaspoon hing(asofetida)
- 1 inch stick cinnamon
- Dry grated coconut - a handful.

(let me be honest, i was tired of typing, copy pasted above stuff from a website but I promise, the recipe is mine :) )

1. Finely chop onions.

2. Cut bitter gourd in rings. Take off the inner seeds.

3. Either boil the rings or stir fry depending on your choice. Somehow i feel if we boil Karela, the bitterness remains in them and when you fry, bitterness is gone and so do the essentials. Since I like Karela more bitter, I boiled them.

4. Dry roast or add little oil, all the spices listed. Let it cool.

5. Make a powder of these roasted spices. If you want thicker gravy, you can also add roasted groundnut powder. You can also keep this masala for a longer duration if you don't add water in it.

6. Take a pan, heat oil. Add mustard, cumin and my favorite curry leaves. Do the ritual, smell it and say aaah! and then continue... 

7. Add Garlic Ginger paste (I always prefer freshly made but you can use readymade ones also). Add turmeric powder and saute for some time till the onion is golden brown. (You can sprinkle a little water to this to avoid onions burning)

8. Add the boiled (or fried) bitter gourd rings in to this, stir a little while before adding the Saoji masala. Add salt to taste, and cook for a while. Then add tamarind (either water or paste). Allow to boil with the lid closed. Upon cooking, add some jaggery and simmer it for 2-3 minutes. Turn off the gas and keep it closed for some time. This is how it looks after cooking.

Remember one thing, (my secret this) if the food you cook doesn't taste that great the moment you taste after you cook, do not lose hopes. Just do the finishing touch up and keep it closed. Something happens and your food really tastes better once you reopen it for the next meal! Try it to believe it. :)

And I forgot to mention one thing. While eating such a spicy food, keep next to you coke. That will add taste to a tasteless food and if the food is good, it'll be even better. 

Happy cooking !

Intense look

ನಿನ್ನ ನೋಟ ಮೋಡಗಳ ತೆರೆಗಳಂತೆ 

ಹಿಂಡು ಹಿಂಡಾಗಿ ಬಂದು 

ಧಗಿಸುವ ಒಂಟಿತನದ ಜ್ವಾಲೆ 

ಮುಚ್ಚಿ ಹಿಂದೆ ಸರಿದಂತೆ 

ಬೇಗೆ ಜಾಸ್ತಿಯಾದಾಗ 

ಕಾರ್ಮೋಡಲೋಪಾದಿ 

ಪ್ರೀತಿಯ ಮಳೆಯ ಹುಯ್ದಂತೆ 

ಮುದ್ದು ಮಳೆ ಅತಿಯಾಗಿ 

ವ್ಯಾಜ್ಯಕ್ಕೆ ಬಂದು ನಿಂತಾಗ 

ಬಾಲಿಶತನವ ಕೊಚ್ಚಿ ಕೊಂಡ್ಹೋದಂತೆ

ಉಬ್ಬರದ ಅಬ್ಬರ ಕಡಿಮೆಯಾಗಿ 

ಚಂಡಮಾರುತದನಂತರದ 

ಹಿತವಾದ ನೀರವತೆಯಂತೆ 

ಪುನಃ ಜೀವಕಳೆಯಾಗಿ

ಹಸಿ ಮನದಲ್ಲಿ ಚಿಗುರೊಡೆಯುವ 

ಆಸೆಯ ಸಸಿಯಂತೆ 

ಗಿಡ-ಮರವಾಗಿ ಹೆಮ್ಮರವಾಗಿ 

ಅನುರಾಗ ಸೂಸುವ 

ಪ್ರೇಮ ತಂಗಾಳಿಯಂತೆ 

ನಿನ್ನ ನೋಟ ಚಂದಿರನ ಚಂಚಲ ಕಿರಣಗಳಂತೆ - VV

ಪೂರ್ವಾಗ್ರಹ

ನಾನು ನಾನೆಂದು ನಾನು ವಟಗುಟ್ಟಾಗೆಲ್ಲ 

ನಾನು ಯಾರೆಂದು ಹೇಳುವರು ಬೇಕು 

ನಾನಿರಲಿ ನೀನಿರಲಿ ಎಲ್ಲರಿರಲಿ ಎಂದೆಲ್ಲ 

ಸಾಗರದ ಗರ್ಭದಲ್ಲಿ ಬಾಳುವರು ಬೇಕು - VV

ಆನಂದಬಾಷ್ಪ

ಬೆಂಕಿ ಬೆಂಕಿಯನು ಆರಿಸಬಹುದೇ 

ನೀರು ನೀರನು ತೋಯಿಸಬಹುದೇ ?

ನಿನ್ನ ವಡನಾಟ ಬೆಂಕಿಯಂತಹದು

ಮನವ ತಣಿಸುವ ನೀರಿನಂತಹದು 

ನಗು ನಗುವನು ಮೀರಿಸಬಹುದೇ 

ಅಳು ಅಳುವನು ಸಾಂತ್ವಿಸಬಹುದೇ ?

ನಿನ್ನ ನಗುವು ಅದೆಂಥ ಕಾಂತಿಯಂತಹದು

ಅತ್ತು ಸುಮ್ಮನಾದಾಗಿನ ಶಾಂತಿಯಂತಹದು   - VV

Epiphany

Punching bag is always enjoyable. But more joy is when the punching bag punches back. - VV

Bagara Baingan Recipe

I am a cookoholic and a food lover. I like to try mixing and matching recipes as long as the outcome of the delicacy can be conceived in the mind. More often than none, things have gone awry also. Whenever my wife asked me (after tasting good food of course) the recipe of the dish I’ve prepared I used to tell her ‘it’s a secret’. Not because I didn’t want to share but it would have so much jumbled up that I would have forgotten what all I had put! :) So this time around, I made it a point to take pictures of my recipe and hope you will like it. But you have to try the dish yourself before. {Actually this is my favorite dish and i started cooking with this dish only. So henceforth if i post anymore dishes here, i would like to dedicate and start with Bagara Baingan. My close friends know this and have tasted this. }

Ingredients:

Small eggplants – 6-8

Onion – 2 big

Garlic – 1

Tomato – 2

Groundnuts – a handful

Usual spices, red chilly powder, salt etc.

Preparation:

1. Cut the eggplants in plus shape till the stem for filling. Roast them on open fire. You can also use wire mesh or grill them. Make sure they do not get burnt too much. Don’t forget to keep the stem intact. Aah! I like the smell of burnt brinjal!

2. Roast groundnuts in a cooking pot or a pan; take off their skin, let them cool down. After cooling, grind them to powder.

3. Cut onions in two shapes. One and half in big pieces and another half chopped in small pieces.

4. Cut tomatoes in big slices.

5. For the filling, prepare a mixture of groundnut powder, oil, chopped onion, masala poweder, chilly powder, little turmeric, little lemon juice and little salt. Make a little more than what is required for the filling. Fill this mixture in the roasted eggplants. Keep aside the left over mixture.

6. Fry big slices of onion and tomatoes, cut garlic and asafoetida. After cooling, grind them to a thick paste.

7. In a pan, heat oil, add mustard, sesame seeds, let them sputter. Add curry leaves and two dry red chilly. I love this part in the cooking the most as smell of curry leaves is intoxicating. Say ahh, wah couple of times to make your cooking more interesting and exciting. Smile brings in the best taste in the food you cook you see.

8. Add the paste to the chaunk (tadka) and let the oil separate from the paste. You can smell the aroma by sprinking a little water in it, it’s awesome.

9. Add the filled eggplants in to the paste and mix well, making sure that the filling doesn’t fall out. Add remaining mixture also in this.

10. Add red chilly powder, more masala powder, salt to taste, and turmeric. Cook for 5-8 minutes.

11. After 5 minutes of cooking, stir once and close the perforated lid. This is the secret of retaining the aroma of the cooked food, in low flame.

12. Did I tell you? Your interest and love for cooking play a major role. I know that the above recipe isn’t new or a rocket science but what is more precious is to pour love on the recipe you are cooking. That makes it more tasty :)

13. Serve hot. Or cold. Or medium. Your wish. Actually it tastes good anyway if you have prepared well! ;) Comment after you tried it my style.

Happy cooking!

(well, if the above is neatly kept in a bowl and garnished with coriander, it would have looked more presentable i know, but it was morning rush hour! so swalpa adjust madi! )

ನಿರಾಕರಣೆ

ಆಳದ ನೀರಿನಷ್ಟು ಕೆಳಗೊಯ್ಯುವ ನಿನ್ನ ಅರಿವು 

ಮೇಲ್ನೋಟದ ತರಂಗಗಳಂತೆ ಚಂಚಲವೂ ಕೂಡ 

ಕಂಡೂ ಕಾಣದಂತೆ ಮುಖ ತಿರಿಗಿಸುವ ನಡತೆ 

ಕಣ್ಣು ತಪ್ಪಿಸಿದರೂ ಅರಿವು ತಪ್ಪಿಸುವದೇ ಮೂಢ ? - VV

Legitimacy

You can only enjoy what is given to you if the giver enjoys giving. - VV

दिल ही तो है

Loose translation in Kannada, of following Ghalib's ghazal.

दिल ही तो है न संगो-किश्त 

दर्द से भर न आये क्यों 

रोयेंगे हम हज़ार बार 

कोई हमें सताए क्यों 

दैर नहीं हरम नहीं 

दर नहीं आस्तां नहीं 

बैठे हैं रहगुज़ार पे हम 

ग़ैर हमें उठाये क्यों 

कैद-ए-हयात-ओ-बंद-ए-ग़म 

अस्ल में दोनों एक हैं 

मौत से पहले आदमी 

गम से निजात पाए क्यों 

हाँ वो नहीं खुदा परस्त 

जाओ वो बेवफा सही 

जिसको हो दीन-ओ-दिल अज़ीज़ 

उसकी गली में जाए क्यों 

'ग़ालिब'-ए-खस्ता के बगैर 

कौन से काम बंद हैं 

रोईये ज़ार ज़ार क्या 

कीजिये हाय हाय क्यों  - Mirza Ghalib

--------------------------

ಹೃದಯವಿದು ಕಲ್ಲು- ಇಟ್ಟಿಗೆಗಳ ಗೂಡಲ್ಲ

ದುಃಖದಿಂದ ಕೂಡಿ ಬರದಿರುವುದೇ ?

ಅಳುವೆನು ನಾ ಸಾವಿರು ಸಲ 

ಯಾರೆಲ್ಲ ನನ್ನ ಪೀಡಿಸ ಬಹುದೇ ?

ಗುಡಿ ಅಲ್ಲ, ಮಸೀದೆ ಅಲ್ಲ 

ಬಾಗಿಲಲ್ಲ, ಮೆಟ್ಟಿಲ್ಲಲ್ಲ

ಕೂತಿರುವೆ ದಾರಿಹೋಕ ಮಾರ್ಗದಲ್ಲಿ 

ಯಾರೋ ಬಂದು ಎಬ್ಬಿಸಬಹುದೇ ?

ಜೀವನದ ಸೆರೆ, ದುಃಖಗಳ ಸರಪಳಿ 

ನಿಜವಾಗಿ ಎರಡೂ ಒಂದೇ 

ಸಾವಿನ ಮುಂಚೆ ಮಾನವ 

ನೋವುಗಳಿಂದ ವಿಮೋಚನೆಗೊಳಬಹುದೇ ? 

ಹೌದು ಅವನಲ್ಲ ಧಾರ್ಮಿಕ 

ಇರಬಹುದು ಕೂಡ ನಾಸ್ತಿಕ 

ಯಾರಿಗೆ ಧರ್ಮ-ಹೃದಯಗಳ ನಂಟಿದೆ

ಅವರು ಅವನೂರಿಗೆ ಹೋಗಬಹುದೇ ?

ನಿರ್ಭಾಗ್ಯ 'ಗಾಲಿಬ್' ನ ರಹಿತವಾಗಿ 

ಯಾವ ಕೆಲಸ ನಿಂತಿವೆ 

ಇಷ್ಟು ಕಹಿಯಾಗಿ ಏಕಳುವುದದು

ಇಷ್ಟು ಹಾಹಾಕಾರ ಮಾಡಬಹುದೇ ?

ರಾಗಿಣಿ

ನಿನ್ನ ಮೊಗ ನನ ಮನದಲ್ಲಿ  

ಕಂಡು ಮಾಸುವ ಬಿಸಿಲುಗುದುರೆ 

ನಸುನಗೆ ಕೋಲ್ಮಿಂಚಿನಲ್ಲಿ 

ಹೊಳಪು ಸೂಸುವ ನೆರಳುಗೆರೆ 

ಓರೆಕಂಗಳ ಓಲಾಟ ಮಾ-

ತು ಹುಡುಕ ಹೊರಟ ಮಾಟ

ಮುಂಗುರುಗಳ ಹಾರಾಟ 

ಮಾಯೆಯೋ ಇಲ್ಲವದು ದಿಟ 

ಬರದೆ ಅಳುವ ತರುವ ನೀ  

ಅಂತರಂಗ ಮರುದನಿ

ಬಂದೊಮ್ಮೆ ನಗಿಸಿ ಹೋಗು ನೀ 

ಶಾಂತ ಮನದ ರಾಗಿಣಿ - VV