Konkani Dishes - Part 1

What better way of ending the Konkani saga of articles other than food? Mangalorean food mainly includes sea food and varieties of curries and starters, but there are specific food items that are mostly, if not completely, exclusive to Amchigeles. These dishes are found basically in every Konkani household and are most frequently served at Samradhane or weddings.

There are several Konkani dishes that are unknown to people. Here’s a list of my most favourite Konkani dishes.

1. Ambe upkari

Translated into Mango curry, Ambe upkari is a must during summer. It’s made with ripe mangoes, jaggery, green chillies, a few spices and topped with mustard tadka. The dish is spicy, tangy – sweet to taste and is served at every wedding or Samradhane during summer.

The mangoes need to be hand peeled and it’s pulp needs to be squeezed out using hands only, thus preparing it might be a little messy. However, eating it might be even messier, if not eaten properly. The proper technique of eating Ambe Upkari is to first chew the pulp from the mango seed and then use the seed as a spoon to drink the remaining curry. We prefer it to be diluted and hot.

2. Ghajbaje

As the name suggests, Ghajbaje is a mixture of all vegetables ( Konkani style Mixed vegetable curry). The gravy is made of ground coconut and spices, in which all kinds of vegetables like Pointed guard (Gointa), Teasel guard (Phagilu), Pumpkin (Duddi), Mangalorean cucumber (Magge), Sweet corn (Jolu), Tender bamboo shoots (Keerlu) etc. are used. At the end, tadka with curry leaves and mustard seeds is also added.

This is eaten with either hot rice or Kheeri (another Konkani dishes). Ghajbaje is made during all important Konkani festivals like Ugadi, Chavati(Ganesh Chaturthi), etc.

3. Kuvale sasam

Kuvale in Konkani means Ashguard(lauki). Though, there are so many people who hate this vegetable, this dish somehow manages to make us love it. Kuvale sasam has a spicy – tangy taste and is liked by most. Sasam is a gravy made by coconut, tamarind, chillies, mustard, turmeric and salt. There are different types of sasam made with different vegetables. There’s Taushe sasam (cucumber), avnasa sasam (Pineapple), etc.

Kuvale sasam is pretty famous as it is made during Samradhane and weddings. The ash guard is cut into small cubes and is heated in a pressure cooker so that it becomes soft. This is then added to the gravy made of coconut, tamarind etc. Finally, the tadka is added. It’s no surprise by now that almost all Konkani dishes have tadka in it.

4. Dalitoy

I would get kicked if didn’t write about this. Dalitoy is our main dish, there is possibly no Konkani person who doesn’t like Dalitoy. It’s jokingly called our “Kuldev” because that’s how important it is to us. Dalitoy is just a cousin of Dal but for us, it’s far more superior. Made with lentils and spices, dalitoy is every Konkani household's treasure. The added hing and turmeric (optional) brings the fragrance that every Konkani relates to. It’s obvious that it has the final mustard and curry leaves tadka at the end. Dalitoy is best made at home served with hot rice (people even add lemon juice) but it’s seen in every wedding, every festival and every Samradhane.

With this, you must have already understood how important Dalitoy is for us. Dalitoy for Amchigeles is not just a dish, it’s an emotion.