Sautekaayi saasve (raw cucumber curry) - cooking a delicious dish without actually "cooking"

She gets up at the crack of dawn, takes a bath and enters the kitchen. The kitchen is her work shop where the artist and the scientist in her compete and collaborate with each other to bring out the best. It is a large family that she has to feed and the demands are varied. A husband who goes off to work in the morning and doesn't return until evening, he doesn't carry a lunch pail with him so the first meal of the day has to be nutritious and sustainable (add fibers, lentils or pulses that digest slowly and release energy over time), an older daughter who always rushes out in the morning (what is it with college kids and getting up late in the morning:-)) without time for a sit down breakfast (make something that is quick and easy to eat, and no there were no cereal bars available at the time), oh she needs a lunch box too as she doesn't get home until late in the evening (something that is not too dry nor too watery to carry easily on the bus). And then there are 3 younger ones in different grade schools that need to be fed nutritious meal as well(in goes vegetables, some ghee to make it rich and healthy). All taken care of? well not really, this dish was made just last week and this vegetable was in 2 meals ago, the same old, same old is not going to cut with this family..

Sounds familiar? I am sure it does ring a bell with most of you reading it. I try to close my eyes and imagine this routine of nammamma for decades. At the beginning of her married life, she was part of the larger, joint family with parents in laws, sister and brother in laws that she took care of and towards the end it was the extended family of sons and daughters in laws and the grand children. The routine kept changing shape like boggarts do depending on the phase of life she was in but the busy schedule itself didn't change much. There were hardly any back up plans or substitutes for her work and much was taken for granted..

I was probably the pickiest of all her children. While the rest of the family was happy eating what was prepared, I would be the one troubling her to make 'something else' but never telling her what I really wanted :-). Her immediate reaction whenever I said I was hungry was to make something and feed me, I get it, I am a mom now and that is a very easy to idenitfy with 'mommy nerve'! After a long day of being in the kitchen, all she probably wanted to do was to sit back, have some 'me' time and read a book. The moment one of us started the hunger siren she would be scrambling to get something infront of us. Even with my nitpicking, there were always a number of favorites that I would never say 'no' to and she knew the trick very well :-). Spicy dishes have been my weakness and if she offered me something from that genre, I would immediately back off my protests and sit down to eat. I think that was the beginning of reverse psychology moms so effectively use on kids :-)

This Sautekaayi saasve is one such dish I never refused. The recipe is unimaginatively simple. There is no cooking involved - chop the vegetable, grind a spice paste with all raw ingredients, mix the two together. You have a tantalizing side dish/salad ready to eat in a matter of minutes. This recipe is from the heart of Malenadu/Malnad (known for its simple, homely and mouth watering dishes with a big emphasis on fresh coconut  and mostly sweetened with jaggery:-)). Malnad cuisine is a great example of food made with easily available ingredients and the vegetables are almost always from the backyard as the region is blessed with abundant rains and fertile soil. The food is saatvik, onions and garlic are rarely used.

Saasve is the Kannada name for mustard. The dish is also called saasve in this case as mustard is the central flavor in it. Coconut and roasted gram add body and taste to the curry while mustard elevates it with a unique flavor. Since there is no cooking involved (if you discount the seasoning ofcourse), this is also called hasi (raw) gojju (curry). I like to eat it as a 'dressed up' salad but it is great to mix with rice or have with rotis.

What do you need to make Sautekaayi saasive? 
1 big cucumber (I used the English cucumber which are tender and hardly have any seeds)
To Grind:
small key lime sized tamarind
1/2 Tsp jaggery
3/4 Tsp salt (adjust to taste)
1/2 cup water
1 Tbsp roasted chana/kadle
3/4 Tsp mustard
1/2 Tsp cumin
1-2 green chilies (adjust to taste)
1/2 cup grated fresh coconut

Seasoning: 
1 Tbsp oil
1/2 Tsp mustard
1 dry red chili (broken into pieces)
pinch of asafoetida
2-3 curry leaves

How do you make Sautekaayi saasive? 

• Wash, pat dry the cucumber. 
• Peel and chop into tiny pieces (see picture for to get an idea of the optimum size, smaller or bigger is your choice :-))

• Take all the ingredients listed under 'To Grind' and grind to a smooth paste. 
• Mix the ground paste with the chopped cucumber. Add water if needed to bring to your desired consistency. Remember cucumber leaves additional water when mixed with salt, so start with a slightly thick gravy. 

• Heat oil on medium heat, add items under 'seasoning' and let mustard pop. Switch off the stove.
• Add the seasoning to the gravy, mix and let it sit for 10 mins before serving. 

• How easier than this can making a curry get :-))

Notes: 

• If you are using regular cucumbers that are mature, remove the tiny bits from both ends, peel and remove the seeds before chopping it. 
• Soak tamarind in a couple spoons of water to soften it up before grinding. 
• I like to refrigerate this for about an hour before eating since I mostly eat it by itself as a salad. The resting time helps the flavors mingle together. 
• This curry needs to be a balanced on all the tastes - sweet, sour, salt and spice. Feel free to adjust to suit your palate. 

Beetroot tambuli - Cool, cool tambuli - Summer essentials

Summer is officially here, I don't mean the weather. With schools out and a 2 month 'no school' period, it really felt like Summer but the feeling was short lived as DD packed her bags and left for a 10 day trip, visiting her cousin and off to a summer camp. It is back to the usual run at work, come back and do 'non work' stuff at home for the two of us :-). I am dreading the day when the little girl goes off to college :-(.  My childhood summers are always associated with unrestricted play time - our gang used to be all over the place, running around in streets, putting up a play in someone's back yard with hand made costumes, accessories and make ups or belting out songs we had learnt.  There were 3 older girls in our neighborhood who always had exams a month or so after ours ended and they used to be so mad at us for making all the racket through out the day and into the long evening hours not allowing them to study in peace :-).  Then we didn't really care.. My daughter's Summers are way different than mine, especially this one looks more packed than her regular school time. Times have changed and I am just going with it always hoping that she is having a great time and making memories for later on.

Summers are also the time for leisurely enjoyment of food, while the heat doesn't let you stand in front of a stove for long, there is no dearth of cool, cool dishes that define Summer. Tambulis are quintessential Kannadiga fare. Sure, there are distant cousins of this genre in other cuisines but the distinct aroma of roasted cumin, pepper and either the herbs or spices used in Tambulis are very unique. If you visit the Malnad region (Chikmagalur belt and the western ghats) or South Karnataka (Mangalore, Udupi), you will see a lot of tambulis in everyday home meals. Most common Tambulis are usually made with herbs (doddapatre ~ Cuban Oregano) or spices (fenugreek, sesame seeds) etc. I have written about ginger tambuli here. These are considered coolants because of the yogurt in them and hence you will see them frequently during Summer.

If less is more think how much more more should be :-) ~ Frasier Crane from Frasier

But when you come to Tambulis, less is actually more. It uses a very few ingredients and dishes out a flavorful and yummy side dish. By altering the consistency, you can use this as a dip or something to mix your rice in. 

My favorite tambuli is the doddapatre (dodda~big and patre~leaf) tambuli, it has an exotic flavor. The leaves are used to make deep fried bajjis (a delicacy) and also used to treat common head aches. I had a thriving bush of doddapatre in a pot before we moved and the leaves used to be picked often as all my friends liked it, I am waiting for my baby doddapatre to grow tall and strong here before I pick them. Then I will treat you all to the Doddapatre tambuli. The closest to this flavor is oregano which you can find in most garden stores but the regular Italian Oregano is not as thick or sturdy as the doddapatre. I finally found out that there is a Cuban oregano which is the real doddapatre, haven't found in stores anywhere here though it seems to be available online.

In Mysore, we always had this herb in the side garden, it used to grow wild and we would have frequent tambuli treats :-). I have a friend here from Mysore who also misses her tambuli and while I was talking about it to another friend who happily eats them in her Bengaluru home, she told me to make beet root tambuli instead as it is commonly prepared in Malnad homes. I don't remember nammamma making this ever but I followed the same basic ingredients of tambuli and made it with beets. It tasted fantastic and a very attractive pink hue (my picture does no justice to how it looked) made my day and satisfied my cravings for a good Tambuli. The dish is slightly sweetish because of the beets so balance it by using a day old (preferably home made) yogurt. Here is the recipe for all of you to try.

What do you need to make Beets tambuli? 
1 medium sized beet (1.5 cup grated)
3/4 cup yogurt
1 Tsp cumin
3/4 Tsp black pepper
1/4 cup grated coconut (fresh or frozen)
1/2 Tsp ghee or oil
3/4 Tsp salt (adjust to taste)
Seasoning(optional):
1 Tsp oil
1/2 Tsp mustard
1/2 Tso cumin
4-5 curry leaves

How do you make Beets tambuli? 

• Wash, peel, remove ends and grate (medium size) the beet root. 
• Heat the ghee or oil in a wide pan, add pepper and cumin. Fry for 30 seconds. 
• Add the grated beet, salt and mix well. 
• Cover, lower the heat to simmer and cook for 8-10 minutes or until beets soften up and loses the raw smell. Stir occasionally to ensure it doesn't get burnt. 
• Switch off and let cool completely.
• Blend into a smooth paste, adding coconut and yogurt. 
• Take out into a serving bowl. 
• Heat oil for seasoning, add mustard, cumin and let pop. Add curry leaves, switch off and pour it over the tambuli.

Notes: 

• Tambuli is usually on the thinner side or has a runny consistency. Beets in this recipe add body, and I made it slightly thick today as we also used it as a dip. Adjust the consistency of the tambuli by adding buttermilk or water. 
• It is important to cook the beets well in this recipe until the raw smell is gone. You do not need water but make sure, you lower the heat and cover the pan so it cooks in the steam. 
• Use good quality yogurt (preferably home made) in this recipe.