Monday 27 August 2012

Kothalguti aru Bahgajor Khaar


Kothalguti aru Bahgajor Khaar (Curry of Jack fruit seeds and Bamboo shoot)

                     A few Assamese terminologies : 
                     1. Kothal : Jack fruit
                     2. Guti : seeds 
                     3. Bah gaaj : Bamboo shoot
                     4. Masoor daal : Red lentil
                     5. Omita : Papaya 
                     6. Kol Khaar : The alkaline ashes of dried bark, peel and root of plantain tree.
            Method of making Khaar :  sun dry banana peels and trunks of banana plant and burn to collect the ash. Then pour water, keep over night, strain and store the clear brown liquid to use in curries.
Khaar is believed to be nutritious, very common and is used in a variety of dishes all over the North Eastern part of India.

Ingredients :
1. Masoor : 1/4 cup
2. Bamboo shoot : 1 small (fresh)
3. Kothal guti : 20
4. Omita : 1/2 of a small, around 15 cubes
5. Kol Khaar : 2tbsp (can be substituted by a generous pinch of soda-bi-carbonate)
6. Ginger paste : 1 tbsp
7. Garlic paste : 1 tbsp
8. Mustard seed : 1/2 tsp
9. Mustard oil : 1 tbsp
10. Salt : to taste
11. Green chilly : 2 or 3
Method to clean and cut :

The seeds of ripe Jack fruits are washed and sun dried. They can be kept for several days. There are various ways to eat Kothalguti, whatever the method, it tastes delicious. 


To clean Kothalguti : Take off the outer (white) shell and soak in water for an hour. 


Scrape the brown skin (optional). Some like it with the brown skin on. Kothalguti can be cooked whole or halved for this recipe. 


Wash and soak masoor for half an hour.


To clean Bah gaaj : Keep taking off the layers till the very tender portion is found. Wash before slicing. 


Bah gaaj is cut into different shapes and sizes according to the recipe. For this particular one, we cut length wise like the picture above. 


Peel, wash and cube raw Omita. 

Method to cook : 


Heat oil, splutter mustard seed. Add chilly, ginger+garlic paste leaving a little aside to add later and saute for a minute. 
Add kothalguti (I have halved them), masoor, omita, bah gaaj and salt. Stir well and saute for a few minutes. 


Add 2 or 3 cups of water. Cook in medium heat. Add kol khaar when half cooked, stir well. 
Cook till done. 


Water should dry up, but the curry should not be too dry. Add the ginger+garlic paste and a few drops of raw mustard oil when cooked.  


Kothalguti aru Bahgaajor Khaar is ready to be served. 

22 comments:

  1. Loved this recipe.. never had this before..

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    Replies
    1. Thanks a lot. This is delicious. I have cooked exactly the way my mom would, years ago.

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  2. Khaar, my all time favourite..and bamboo shoot khar is the ultimate..thanks for sharing..

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    Replies
    1. Thank you so much Ranita Sinha, I'm so glad you like it.

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  3. Ruprekha,

    I love to have jackfruit made dry like cauliflower or ladiesfinger. I will show this to my wife to try it sometime.

    Take care

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    Replies
    1. Yes, please do Jack. I'm sure you would like it. In fact, while writing I thought at least this time I could post a vegetarian dish for you. :))
      You can also try this tender jack fruit cooked dry. Here's the link :
      http://rupascloset.blogspot.in/2011/03/assamese-delicacies-3-kothalor-aanja.html

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  4. Maam... neat and articulate presentation...we Assamese are fondly termed as kharkhuwa as we have khar as substitute for salt which is the only commodity not found in Assam..

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    Replies
    1. Thanks a lot. Yes we are :) and love our khaar preparations :)

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  5. great! your "Feelings" are treat to the eyes!

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  6. yummy yummy , So when you inviting me for lunch or dinner or BOTH for this dish he he hehe :)


    Bikram's

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    Replies
    1. I'm so glad you like it. Finally I could come up with some dishes for my vegetarian friends :) Would love to serve "BOTH", if you plan to come to this part of the world sometime, you are most welcome.

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  7. Sounds interesting! We, Mangalorians make lot of dishes out of Jack fruit. But the seeds are used while making saambaar. One day I must taste this bamboo shoot. One day I will visit Assam and look for this! Thank you!



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    1. Yes you are most welcome to this beautiful part of the country Sandhya. This particular recipe of jack fruit seeds and bamboo shoot is one of my favourite preparations of khaar. Hope some day I can cook for you.
      Thanks a lot.

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  8. very interesting and very different

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    1. Thank you Onkar. I'm so glad that my post has been of some interest to my friends staying in other parts of the country and abroad.
      Indigenous cooking of North Eastern part of the country is indeed very interesting.

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  9. Welcome back, Rupa! It's been a while.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you gigihawaii :)
      Its getting rather difficult to find time to devote to my blog these days. The workload in office and more field work has practically bogged me down, leaving neither the time nor the stamina to write anything. Will try and write whenever I find some quality time though.
      Hope to see you in November.
      Take care.

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    ReplyDelete
    Replies
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