Yesterday in our breakfast brainstorming at 7 pm, we were discussing what to do this time around with breadfruit. Mom wanted to make a Trivandrum style Koottu Kari but I wanted to increase the protein content so thought of pairing Cheema Chakka with black chickpeas. I googled the combination and I came across this rather interesting JeevKadgi Ghashi by Jaya V Shenoy in her book on Konkan Saraswat Cuisine . I find Saraswats very interesting. They are scattered through out the west coast from Mumbai to Trivandrum probably concentrated around Goa. They are supposed to have migrated from Kashmir a long time ago,so there is some similarity with the Pandit cuisine in the absence of onion, garlic & even tomato ( rare) & the profuse use of asafoetida.Their language & cuisine varies according to where they are settled. Depending on where they are settled, they take elements from the cuisine around. For example in the case of Mangalore Saraswats, they use quite a bit of tamarind as well. Jeev Kadgi Ghashi uses chickpeas, tender cashews & breadfruit . The spicing is minimal with 5-6 red chillies, 2 tsp of coriander seeds & 1 tsp of Urad dal roasted with 2 tbsp of coconut & ground to a fine paste with 1 tsp of turmeric powder & a small ball of tamarind. Care should be taken that the ingredients are lightly toasted to a golden color & then the boiled veggies & the masala is tempered with cumin, mustard seeds , curry leaves & whole red chillies in coconut oil. If you look at it, the masala is similar to Kadala ishtoo of Namboodiris I have posted before. The difference comes in the finer elements like the addition of Urad dal, tamarind & toasting of coconut. After trying out a lot of Brahmin recipes of South India, I have kinda realised one of the most important spices in their scheme of things is indeed Coriander which is the primary flavoring agent in a lot of dishes like sambaar, rasam or a Ghashi! The delicate Flavorful Ghashi was paired with Nachne Polo, an unfermented ragi dosa with equal parts of rice & finger millet flour.A gluten free, vegan breakfast yet again! #jeevkadgi #breadfruit #gashi #saraswat #shenoy #veganbowl #veganplate #veganisme #veganindianfood (at Trivandrum, India) https://www.instagram.com/p/CCcifpglSrO/?igshid=1k9mexyoxdrnx
