Kesuvina Soppu/ Colocasia leaves Chutney.

 Kesuvina Soppu/ Colocasia leaves Chutney.

Kesuvina soppu is used commonly for its well-known dish called “Pathrode” and its several variations. But it also lends itself for many other dishes including Chutneys. This recipe with a final “Garlic Voggarane/Tadka” , I learnt from my sister Sharath Kumari – a.k.a Kumari or Vijayalakshmi Ballal of Kinnimulki, Udupi.  

Ingredients:

  1) One or 2 large or many smaller leaves, washed and stem cut off and thick veins shaved off and  cut into small pieces – 1 ½ to 2 cups.        2) Tamarind – one lime sized.    and             3) Salt as  needed.                                                                                          

 4) Three to 4 tsps of Urad dhal. 5) Five to 6 red chillies (Byadgi or Ghati menasu).  6) Chana Dhal – 1 tsp. 7) Mustard – 1 tsp.  7) Curry leaves – a few. 8) Cooking oil - 4 tsps. 9) Turmeric powder – ½ tsp.  10) Coconut pieces or gratings - 2-3 tablespoons. 11) Garlic pods – about 15. 12) Ghee – 2 tsps.

Large Kesuvina Ele, Tamarind & salt for pressure cooking.

      

Ingredients: Soppu with tamarind & salt, Chana dhal, Red chillies, Tadka items in small plate , Urad dhal, Turmeric & Garlic pods.

                                  

Same as above, but with coconut in place of leaves. 

                                  

Method:

 Pressure cook Soppu, softened, cleaned tamarind and adding salt as needed with little water for 2 whistles and allow it to cool.

With one to 1 ½ tsp. oil in a kadai/pan fry urad dhal, chana dhal, red chillies mustard, few curry leaves and finally coconut and turmeric powder. 

                           

Ingredients fried with little l and allowed to cool.

Allow these to cool and grind first in a mixie.

Then add to mixie the cooked leaves /soppu also and grind to fine paste.

Heat the entire paste in a pan with about 2 tsps of oil – so that the reheated chutney would later keep for 7 – 10 days in the fridge.  Transfer to serving dish and garnish with crushed garlic pods and curry leaves in about 2 tsps of ghee.

Heating the ground paste with 2 tsp oil.

Final product after garnishing with Garlic and curry leaves.

It is now ready to serve. Eat with hot white rice & ghee or with curd rice. 

Can be kept in a fridge for up to 10 days using it as & when needed. For reuse, just allow it to come to room temperature by keeping it out of fridge for about 30 minutes.

Preparation time – 25 to 30 minutes.

Serves 8 - 10 persons at lunch or dinner.

Ganige Soppina / Kaage Soppina Tambli.

Ganige soppina/ Kaage Soppina Thambli.

Thamblies are a special group of Udupi speciality dishes very commonly and often prepared in many homes as well as on special large scale lunches and dinners too. It is a curd based dish, used in small quantities and eaten mixed with white rice, in the beginning of a meal. It is believed to be healthy and expected to stimulate appetite and promote digestion.

This plant is also called “Kaage Soppu” in Kannada, “Manathakalli Keere” in Tamil, Telugu  and Malayalam. It is called in simple English “Black Night Shade” and botanical name is “Solanum nigrum”.*

                  

Picture of plant showing leaves, flowers, unripe & ripe fruits * 

       

Kaage Soppu plant in our Suvidha kitchen garden 

Ingredients:

  1) Ganige Soppu/leaves – one bunch – after cleaning and removing thick stems, but retaining all flowers and fruits, both ripe (Black coloured) and unripe (green coloured) – Totally about 1 ½ cups. 2) Black pepper – 1 tsp.  3) Jeeragam – 1 ½ tsps.  4)  Coconut gratings or finely cut – 2-3 tablespoonful.  5) Items for garnishing – mustard – 1 tsp, curry leaves and curd chilli -1. 6) Oil – for cooking and garnishing. 7) Salt as needed.  8) Sour curd – about one small cup.

    

Main ingredients: Kaage soppu, Black pepper, Jeeragam, one spring of Kaage soppu for demo, Tadka items on small plate and coconut.  

       
  Method:

In a Kadai with about 2 tsps of cooking oil, fry jeeragam, pepper for a minute or two on medium flame, then add the Kaage soppu and coconut. Fry well for about 3-4 minutes on medium flame. The leaves shrink to 1/3 to 1/4^th the quatity.

Fresh leaves on Kadai before frying

After frying all ingredients + Beaten curds.

  

Cool the contents and grind fine in a mixie with some water as needed to make a paste. Add salt as needed and beaten sour curds about a small (or more as desired)cup and mix well and transfer to a serving container. Garnish with mustard and curd chilli and curry leaves. Now ready to serve. May be kept in the fridge.

                                     

Final product after the garnishing.

Before adding curds and tadka, if paste is too much for day’s use, the paste or chutney can be kept in the fridge to be prepared and used after 1 or 2 days. But not to keep for more than 3 days, as the taste get altered on long storage.

 To be eaten mixed with mashed rice on your eating plate as the first dish at lunch or dinner.

Preparation time: About 20 to 25 minutes.

Serves 4 – 6 persons.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solanum_nigrum *  The leaves and seeds/fruits have lots of medicinal properties like anti-tumourogenic, anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, hepato-protective, diuretic, anti-pyretic etc.