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Showing posts with label kasundi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label kasundi. Show all posts

Saturday, September 6, 2014

Tomato Kasundi

When I first heard about it on the latest season of Masterchef Australia Season 6, my salivary glands went on a overdrive. The red oozing out of the burgers was too much to resist. I decided to Google the recipe and voila....there are dozens of Tomato Kasundi recipes floating around in the blogosphere. And each version happened to be quite different from the other. I finally settled for my own version ( inspired by the Odia Tomato-Besara ). Though it takes some time and effort, the investment is well worth it !! This versatile sauce can be had with white rice, slathered over bread/wraps and even as a hot dip for all kinds of fritters.

While I have used mustard powder/one can just use whole mustard in the tempering. The mustard introduces a slightly bitter note along with the heat but some varieties can be quite bitter. Yellow mustard is a safe bet for folks who can not accustomed to the mustard-y taste/flavour.

Read on -




















Preparation Time - 25 mins

Ingredients -

  • 5 medium sized ripe tomatoes
  • 4-5 garlic flakes
  • 1 inch fresh ginger
  • 1 tsp mustard seeds
  • a pinch of cumin powder
  • 4 tsp vinegar
  • 1 tsp red chili powder
  • 2 tsp powdered jaggery
  • 4 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1-2 green chili 
  • salt to taste
Preparation - Grind the mustard into a fine powder.

Grate the ginger and garlic.

Put the tomatoes in boiling water for 5-6 mins. Remove and wash under running water. Peel and chop them.

Take all the ingredients (except oil) in a mixing bowl and toss together.

Cooking - Heat the oil in a wok. Add the green chili and fry till it starts to turn brown. This would release its heat and flavor into the oil.

Add the contents of the mixing bowl and allow to cook on medium heat.

Once the water evaporates and the oil starts to separate into another layer, it is done.

Allow to cool down before storing it in disinfected bottles. Stays good in the fridge up to 6 months to 1 year.

Monday, March 17, 2014

Aam Kasundi Begun (Eggplant in a mango-mustard sauce)

Aam Kasundi Begun. Sounds almost poetic, doesn't it ???. Ever since I read this name in the TOI last week,  I have been scouring the net and some of my cookbooks/paper cuttings to get the exact recipe. After referring  quite a few sources (including Bong Mom's Cookbook) , I decided to take a bit from here and a bit from there. And the result was almost magical. It surpassed my expectations by a plenty of notches. Tangy, tart, hot, titillating, fragrant.

This is the first time I made it. And since I havn't tasted an authentic 'Kasundi' dish ever, I can not vouch for its authenticity. But the taste is something that I can vouch for...quite unforgettable. "Cholbe naa", I can almost see some of my Bong friends shaking their heads. And I almost wish for Ushnish da to appear out of thin air and reveal the magical recipe to me. On second thoughts, I think I will drop a note to him and ask him to rate my recipe. Till then this has to do (already planning for an encore on Thursday).

Read on for my version of an 'Aam Kasundi Begun':


















Preparation Time - 15 mins

Ingredients -


  • 2 cups sliced eggplant
  • 1 tsp mustard seeds
  • 2 tsp grated coconut
  • 4 tsp roughly chopped raw mango
  • 2 garlic flakes
  • 2 green chillis
  • 2 tsp chopped coriander leaves
  • 1/5 tsp turmeric
  • salt to taste
  • 3 tsp mustard oil


Preparation - Add a little salt and turmeric to the eggplant slices. Keep aside for 15 mins.

Dry grind (fine powder) the mustard seeds first. Then add raw mango, coconut, green chilli, coriander and garlic flakes to the same grinder cup along with a few teaspoons water. Grind into a smooth paste.

Cooking - Heat the oil in a wok till it smokes.

Add the eggplant slices and stir fry till almost done.

Add the kasundi paste and coat all the slices. Fry for 1-2 minutes.

Add 1 cup boiling water and cover with a lid. Cook on medium heat till almost all the water evaporates.

Serve with white rice.



















Note - If you find mustard to be too hot/spicy, then replace half of the quantity of mustard used with poppy seeds. Also treble the quantity of coconut used in the gravy to mellow it further.

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