Sajana Chhuin Besara - Drumsticks in mustard sauce

-


Before I start writing the recipe.. Let me tell you that 20th March is World "Pakhala" Day !!! 

 You know, when we start to talk about "pakhala bhata" all we Odiyas go crazy...Yes.. we are crazy for food.. we are food "crazies" !!

The side dishes for "pakhala" are simple to make and yet delicious..one of them which I adore is drumsticks in mustard sauce...

Ohh, please do not think that it is some curry.. it is quite dry.. and yummy...

Since this takes mustard paste, mom used to make a lot and store in glass closed containers. Why make the paste again and again? Odiya kitchens use mustard paste for many many other things.. Drumsticks are just one teeny tiny part of that..

What she used:
  • 6-7 medium sized drumsticks.
  • 4 table spoons mustard seeds.
  • 6 fat garlic cloves
  • 4 green chillies
  • 1/2 spoon panch phoran (If you don't have panch phoran, you can use only jeera and mustard seeds)
Mom would clean and cut the drumsticks very carefully. The hard scale should be scrapped off.

A wet paste would be made with mustard seeds, 4 garlic cloves and 4 green chillies. She adds water also to this paste so that its smooth like silk.. yes.. thats what she says.. and believe me, when its ready it looks like light green silk..

Here's her process now:
  • Heat pan and add 1-2 spoons of mustard oil
  • Mean time, crush the rest garlic with a pestle.
  • Add panch phoran when oil is hot.
  • Then add the crushed garlic
  • Immediately add the drumsticks and fry for like a min or so.
  • Then add a little bit of water (like 2 spoons) and cover.
  • Leave the whole thing covered for 3-4 mins.
  • After 4 mins, remove cover and stir fry by adding turmeric and salt.
  • By this time, drumstick will be half cooked.
  • Now add 2 tbl spoons of mustard paste with 2tbl spoons of water.


Let it simmer away. Simmer until the water dries up. By the time water dries up, the drumsticks are fully cooked and ready to be served.



Enjoy your Odiya favorite food.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Gluten Free Almond Flour Mango Cake

-
Image
 Here's my take on the Gluten Free mango Cake.... There's not a story behind it other than the fact that I am trying to reduce sugar & gluten in my diet due to the health reasons & this cake gave me everything that I need for those late evening sweet cravings without feeling guilty or sad or having to plan extra time on the treadmill the next day.  This cake is made from almond flour so it's on the denser side & not entirely fluffy BUT it is soft & makes for an awesome tea time accompaniment.  Here's what I used... Wet ingredients 1 cup mango puree 3 eggs 2 tsp vanilla extract 1/4 cup vegetable oil (or butter) Dry ingredients 2.5 cups of Almond flour 2 tsp baking powder Process First mix all the wet ingredients in a clean bowl using a wire whisk Then add in the baking powder & almond flour Mix nicely using a spatula - DO NOT USE Wire whisk  Transfer the contents to a greased 10 inch round cake tin Bake until tooth-pick comes out clean on 325 F for ab
Read more

Chicken Patra Poda

-
Image
 Since the last few days, I have been binge watching YouTube videos of some Odiya Vloggers in the US. There are some really entertaining folks who sing & dance & go about their lives while sharing ups & downs with us (their subscribers). Sometimes they get too personal but it's the age of Social Media so I guess that is perfectly fine if the creator is OK with that. These folks that I watch are mostly girls ..Actually they are all girls.. hmm.. time for me to expand the scope a bit?? may be !!.  Anyways, one of the girls, lives in the eastern part of US & has a HUGE Odiya friends circle who meet almost every week for a party or picnic or potluck and she makes these yummy (almost) contemporary style Odiya food recipes that it makes me want to go back to the east coast & make her my sister. Yes, I used to live there & the first chance I got I left because of the harsh winters. I just could not bear the mere thought of getting up at 7am in the morning & spe
Read more

Masala Atta Chakuli

-
Image
"Chakuli" in Odisha comes in mainly three forms: Regular Chakuli - Made with Dosa batter (Rice + Urad Daal) -  Maida Chakuli - Made with Maida a.k.a Refined All-purpose flour And finally Atta chakuli - Made with "Atta" a.k.a Whole wheat flour Atta Chakuli is usually a form of sweet pancake in Odisha. It is a very good breakfast usually made on week days where making roti/paratha is either boring or time consuming. Growing up, I was not a fan of the dish though because it is sweet & as a kid I did not have a sweet tooth. I still don't & I think I am blessed because sugar kills (like literally).  This recipe was a result of three things... - I was sick of eating rice & poha (basically gluten-free) and wanted something different but should have tons of veggies 🍅 🌽 🌶  - I wanted something that is NOT sweet - I did not want to make roti (I am not very good at it & the Rotimatic is resting in the garage) Because of the above mentioned reasons, I sta
Read more