Wednesday

Feeling saar-y...

I believe most Konkani homes make a 'saar' with just about everything but the kitchen sink. Alright I am exaggerating but you get the idea :-)
These thin soup-like curries (similar to the rasams of the South) do not take long to cook and pair well with rice. Twenty minutes from start to finish and dinner is served. So it is hardly surprising that every available ingredient is stewed in water then transformed into a delicious saar with a tadka.

Saars are made with tomato, kokum, cilantro, peppercorns, sprouts... the list is endles. Though they taste pretty good all year round a big bowl of piping hot saar in the winter is a real treat.

The recipes are highly flexible and can be tweaked to suit individual preferences or the contents of your fridge. If you don't have tamarind use lemon juice or tomato, use garlic in place of asafoetida; really the most essential ingredient is water!

cilsaar4

KOTHMIR SAAR (Cilantro Soup)
a handful of cilantro (tender stalks and all)
1 small green chilli
1-2 tbsp grated coconut
1/4 tsp tamarind paste*
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
a few curry leaves
a pinch of asafoetida
salt & jaggery to taste

Grind cilantro, coconut and green chilli to a paste. Heat oil in a sauce pan, then add mustard seeds, curry leaves and asafoetida.

Add the ground paste. Cook for a few minutes. Add a cup of water (or less/ more for desired consistency), jaggery and tamarind. Season with salt, bring to a gentle boil and serve hot (pairs well with plain rice as well as pulao and masale bhaat).

* This saar is made on the tangier side to complement the herbs.

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26 Comments:

Blogger Meena Kandlakuti said...

Ashwini,
simple yet sounds tasty;-) and healthy too. Love to try. Thanks for sharing.Happy holidays:-)

3:06 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

...and here I was thinking that saar is only made with tomatoes!

Your saar sure has me feeling saar'y that I don't have a bowlful of this to slurp up. Looks fantastic Ashwini!

cheers!

3:37 PM  
Blogger FH said...

Love the Saaru! well.. I am Mysoorean so I got add a 'U' in there!:D
Great color.Never tried though.When I use lot of cilantro for chutney,it turns dark even after adding lemon juice.I will try this one day though.
My Jihva entry is coming on 27th!:)
Happy Holidays Ashwini.

4:30 PM  
Blogger Priya Bhaskaran said...

wow thats a easy and simple recipe to make, every weekend I make rasam, I shall try your version this weekend:) Happy Holidays:)

4:54 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Tomato cha saar used to be my favorite! Never had a kothimbiricha saar. Sounds delicious esp for the kind of weather we're having!

9:21 PM  
Blogger Ashwini said...

Meena - happy holidays to you too

Saffron - I put you in a saar-y state then didnt I?!!! Okay okay enough already ;-)

Asha - Thanks. Eager for your entry

Priya - thanks and let me know if you try it. Happy holidays to you too

Manisha - its great for winter, though tomato saar is my no 1 favorite too ;-)

10:05 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I can almost taste it as I read it :) Sounds interesting!!!!! And I am all game for anyhtign which is quick fix!!!!! Thanks Ashwini!!!

3:21 AM  
Blogger Paul said...

mmm.. sounds and looks divine, but (excuse my ignorance) what is jaggaery?

4:00 AM  
Blogger TNL said...

I love the simplicity of this recipe, and it sounds like it would be very refreshing too. Thanks!

Merry X-mas!
Trupti

7:59 AM  
Blogger Nidhi said...

WOW! What a beautiful Color and nice presentation too.

Merry Christmas!

8:58 AM  
Blogger swapna susarla said...

hai ashwini
first time here.nice blog.ciriander soup is looking great.new recipe to try..thanks for sharing.happy holidays..i have seen the JFI..will soon send arecipe to that..:-)

11:49 AM  
Blogger Ashwini said...

Rooma - oh yes its quicker than most other dishes that we make

Gourmand - jaggery is a type of unrefined sugar used extensively in Indian cooking. It is considered 'purer' because the process doesnt involve chemical agents. Though it is used in most sweet preparations, it is added to savory dishes such as this soup to balance other flavors. See this wiki stub for more info - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaggery

Trupti, Nidhi, Swapna - thanks

12:05 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Hey thats a good one, especially coz we get big bunches of coriander nowadays!

12:06 PM  
Blogger Mandira said...

Ashwini - that sounds delicious. Spicy tomato saar and potato bhaji is my all-time favorite. Thanks for reminding me, I'll go and bug aswin to make some...now...

12:21 PM  
Blogger Kelvin said...

Hello & Seasons Greetings form down under in New Zealand. Simple enogh for a man to try !!! Hope you have a good one. I told another
USA blogger
to have a look at your blog. She has an interesting recipe on her blog using coconut.

3:06 PM  
Blogger Sri said...

Beautiful color...so fresh!!! Qucik and easy to make..will try this soon.

4:26 PM  
Blogger Dr. Soumya Bhat said...

Hey this is really a good one.I love it.Thanks for the recipe

5:57 PM  
Blogger Menu Today said...

Hi Ashwini,
New recipe to try. Thanks for sharing.

6:40 PM  
Blogger Krithika said...

Nice one. Need to try this.

7:46 PM  
Blogger LERA said...

Ashwini, Merry X'mas and happy New Year !!

6:25 AM  
Blogger Shah cooks said...

Wish u and ur family a very hapy holiday!HAPPY NEW YEAR!Nice saar, saare!love 20 min dishes..yum.o!

4:11 PM  
Blogger Anupama said...

I have great respect for the humble cilantro and will love to make this saar. Thanx Ash. Photo is very appetising

1:31 PM  
Blogger Vani said...

Love the heading! :)
We make all kinds of saaru too but kothmir is new to me. I'm sure it tastes delicious!

4:36 PM  
Blogger Admin said...

Merry Christmas Dear Friend!!

8:28 PM  
Blogger Pink Panther said...

Hi,

I like the way u write ur blogs... I am not much of a cook but I generally stick to putting things in onion, tomato & some spices & voila come out something taht has not even been invented as of yet..... ha ha ... nonethless. I like reading about food.

My father talks about the food he used to eat as a child quite romatically but since I grew up with working parents in the big bad Mumbai.... I didnt eat get eat much of those.But over time i have discovered some old, traditional dishes tat i want to know how to cook.... some of them I have found on ur blog... so thank u for that.... But if u could pls help me with some of the ones below... I would be deeply grateful: -
1. Susla - a bhel like preparation which is cooked on the gas but without the chutney - absolutely awesome. I think it is a belgaum dish. It is definetly southindian though.
2. Methi & raw mango achchar - My Gujju granmam used to make it but after her death rarely get a chance. Never did a day pass thats he did not have a bit of it with food

3. Channa - This dish I had at a friend's -kashmiri descent Punjabi so cant say wher it originates from. dont even know what it is exactly called. Its a black spicy tangy viscous dish put on a toast & then garnished with onion & chilly (depending on taste). I know for a fact that this dish is made from a paste that contains mashed pomegranate . Sorry for the terrible explanation, but thats all i got.

4. Sindhi Kadhi - asthe name suggests

5. kokam saar / soup / sarbat (am not too sure) - again my paternal grandma made it only once in memory. Maharshtrian dish

Pls pls pls help me if u can
axel_ashu@yahoo.com

2:39 AM  
Blogger Ashwini said...

PP, wow that's quite a list! Here are my rough guesses based on your description -
1) Sushil (I have heard of this too but no, dont know the recipe)
2)Methamba
3)Pindi chana
5) Tival

You will find chana, kokum saar recipes on my blog. For the rest there is google :) Good luck.

1:47 PM  

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