Bendekayi -Amtekai Palya | Okra cooked with Indian Hogplum

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I am missing all the pampering and nice dishes that my mom served when I was home last month. Coastal style traditional vegetarian dishes were my favorite in childhood. Bendekayi Amatekai palya i.e., Okra cooked with hogplum was one of those dishes I liked. The hogplaums are crushed in a stone pestle and added to Okra masala. The most cherished part was the crushed hogplum that was cooked in all the masalas and Okra. That was oh so delicious! Here is my mother's recipe. It's a very traditional no fancy recipe. I also didn't get much time to click better pictures. Since one of my friends asked me for the recipe I am sharing with not so great looking pictures. But who cares when taste is the king 😊

 
Ingredients:
Bendekayi /Okra : 500 gms
Onion: 2 medium
Garlic: 3-4 cloves
Amatekai/Indian Hogplum: 4-5
Coconut Oil: 2 tbsp
Mustard seeds: 1/2 tsp
Curry Leaves: 1 sprig.
Jaggery: 1/2 tsp
Red Chilli powder:  1 tsp
Grated Coconut: 3-4 tbsp
Salt to taste
Coriander leaves: for Garnish

Method:

1. Wash and dry okra completely, chop into 1 inch pieces and keep aside. Wash the hogplums and crush them in a mortar pestle and keep aside until needed.

2. Heat oil in a deep wok and add mustard seeds, when it splutters add curry leaves and crushed garlic and saute for a min

3. Add finely chopped onion and saute until golden in color.

4. Add okra and fry for 2 mins, add the crushed hogplums and saute for 5-6 minutes.

5. Add salt, jaggery, chilli powder and grated coconut and mix well and cook until the okra is done.

6. Garnish with Coriander leaves and serve as a side dish with rice and rasam/sambar:)

Notes:
1. I usually make it with kundapur masala powder instead of plain red chilli powder and skip garlic in the tempering. If you have the powder handy you could use the same, it brings out the authentic coastal taste. Click here for : Kundapur Masala powder recipe.


2. These hogplums are too sour in taste and adding jaggery will cut the sourness. Adjust the amount jaggery according to your taste.

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Kundapura Chicken Sukka | Chicken cooked in coconut masala

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Chicken sukka is by far one of the most popular bunt dishes. It's made differently in different regions of coastal Karnataka. It's a dry dish made with a perfect blend of coconut and spices.

My grandma would dry roast the spices and make a paste and cook chicken in it along with roasted coconut paste. that's the authentic way of doing it. I follow my mother's quick fix sukka recipe that she makes with Kundapura Masala Powder. The result is almost the same and the method is much easier and quicker.

It can be made as a dry item or with a little gravy. It tastes delicious with Neer dose or white/brown rice. Here is the recipe from my mother's kitchen to yours.

Ingredients:

Chicken : 1/2 kg

Turmeric : 1 tsp

Lemon juice: 1 tbsp

Clarified butter/ghee: 1 tsp

Garlic: 6-8 cloves

Ginger: 1 inch

Onion: 3 medium sized

Kundapura masala powder: 2 tbsp

Fresh coconut: 1 cup

Coconut oil: 2 tbsp

Tomato: 1

Salt to taste.

Method:
1. Clean chicken and cut into medium size pieces. Apply turmeric, lemon juice and ghee and keep it aside for 15 minutes.

2. Heat coconut oil in a pot and fry chopped garlic for a min. Mix in chopped onion and ginger and saute until onions turn light golden in color.

3. Add the marinated chicken and saute until the raw smell disappears - about 5 minutes.

4. Add salt and Kundapur masala powder and mix well, cover and cook until the chicken is almost cooked. Chicken will cook in its own juices but sprinkle a little water if it's too dry.

5. While the chicken is cooking roast the fresh coconut on low flame for 3-4 minutes, put it in the mixer jar and pulse it 2-3 times. Add this coconut to the chicken and mix well.

6. Adjust salt and water and cook the chicken on low flame for another 10-15 minutes. 

7. Next add in chopped tomatoes and mix well. Let it cook until all the flavors have combined well and the chicken is well cooked.

Note:

If you want a drier version you can skip tomatoes and add very little water while cooking the chicken. 

Click here to know how to make Kundapura Masala Powder.

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Kundapur masala powder

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Kundapura masala powder is one of the main ingredients for many kundapura/mangalorean dishes like fish masala fry, chicken sukka, chicken curry, chicken/seafood ghee roast etc. This masala powder can be saved for up to 2 months with the flavors intact. Having it in store reduces the cooking time every time I want to prepare some of these dishes. Here is the simple way of making this masala powder.

Ingredients:

Dry long red chillies: 100 gms

Coriander seeds: 25 gms

Cumin seeds: 15 gms

Peppercorn : 1 tbsp

Fenugreek seeds: 1 tsp

Turmeric powder : 1 tsp

Garlic : 3-4 cloves

Coconut oil : 1 tsp

Method: 

1. Heat oil in a pan and roast all the ingredients except turmeric and garlic.

2. Cool them down a bit and put in a mixer jar along with turmeric powder.

3. Grind to a coarse powder and add garlic cloves and pulse for a minute.

4. Remove from the jar and cool the powder completely and store in an airtight jar.

Notes:

1. Use Byadagi or Kashmiri variety of chillies which gives good red color and are mild on spice.

2. Do not over-roast the ingredients as it will make the masala bitter in taste. 

3. You can skip coconut oil and dry roast the ingredients. I use coconut oil as it enhances the color and aroma of the masala powder.

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