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.