Kanda Bachali - Andhra Food Series

This is an ongoing series that I am attempting to do. Put all the recipes on Andhra food ( at least all the ones I know and also the ones I would like to learn) in one place. I think a food blog should be a store house of all your favourite recipes and those of your family in addition to expressing personal views and being your personal space on the World Wide Web.

Writing is a hard thing to do. The creative juices do not always flow readily from either the brain or the fingers. I sit in front of the keyboard hoping that magically the words will simply flow out. But I guess perseverence is the key. Keep at it and it will happen. This is one of those occasions that I have everything ready - the recipe, the photo but no write up.What do I do now? Head straight into the recipe or make a pretence of writing a bit more? I think not. I shall put you out of your misery and move straight on to Kanda Bachali for now and let the creative juices flow for the next post.

Kanda Bachali is a very typical Andhra preparation. Kanda ( in Telugu) is Yam aka Sena Kazhangu in Tamil ( I hope I am right with the spelling) and Suran in Hindi.

Bachali is a type of spinach with thick leaves. It is also known as Basella in English and Basalai Keerai in Tamil. There are two types of leaves. One with small round shiny leaves and purple berries. The other is a little longer leaves. I am not too sure of the different varieties of this particular spinach or their names.

Image from http://forumhub.com/southfood/

The taste of Kanda Bachali is a very acquired one. It has a little bit of a bitter taste from the mustard paste and a little tang from the tamarind. The chillis give the right amount of spice to the dish.

Now for the recipe..

Ingredients:

1/2 kilo Yam peeled, diced and boiled with a little salt.

2 cups Bachali washed well and chopped finely

2 table spoons Tamarind juice

1 teaspoon Mustard

2 Red Chillies

1/4 tea spoon Hing ( Asafoetida)

Salt to taste

1 teaspoon Chana dal

1 teaspoon Urad dal

3 tablespoons Oil

2 Green Chillies chopped finely

1 tablespoon Curry Leaves

Handful Coriander Leaves

1 inch piece Ginger chopped finely

Method:

Grind the mustard, hing, red chillies, salt and turmeric into a fine paste.
Heat the oil. Add the chana dal and urad dal and fry till browned.

Add the green chillies, curry leaves, ginger, and the spinach. Fry for 10 minutes.
Add the boiled yam and tamarind juice. Leave for 10 minutes on low flame. After removing fom fire add the mustard paste and coriander leaves.
Serve hot with rice and melted ghee.

Enjoy!!