I was introduced to the delicious world of Havyaka cuisine back in 2005, during my first trip to husband’s native place. Its a quaint little village near Mangalore, Karnataka. The smell of fresh air, the relaxed days, the fact that I could see a clear night sky everyday and most importantly the love I received from everyone I met was simply amazing!

Havyaka food is all vegetarian with tindora/little gourd, eggplant and jackfruit being favorites. I am allergic to all of them. On the first day I couldn’t eat anything. Day 2 one of my husbands cousin, Bharati, decided to treat me with my favorites. So the menu had Bendakayi(Okra) Huli, Potato curry and rice followed by freshly cut pineapple. I didn’t have the heart to tell her that I am allergic(fortunately not the life threatening types, just a little tummy ache) to coconuts too. But then, I enjoyed every last bite of my meal. Thank you Benadryl!

I often get nostalgic, and since I cannot be there in person I cook some of the food instead. This one is my favorite. And with some inputs from my mother-in-law I make a variation for me, using very little coconut. Just enough to get a hint of flavor in.

Time for Prep: 20 mins     Time to Cook: 20-30 mins    Yield: 6 servings    Level: Easy

Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb Okra, Chopped into 1 inch long pieces.
• 1/2 tsp tamarind paste (or soak 1 inch chunk of Tamarind in water).
• 1 tsp jaggery (Use brown sugar if you do not have access to jaggery).
• 4- 5 shallots, cut in half.
• 1/2 plum tomato, finely chopped.
• 1/4 cup toor dal/pigeon peas, cooked and mashed.
• 1 tsp turmeric
• Salt to taste
• 1 tbsp cilantro, chopped

For the spice paste:

• 1/4 cup grated coconut
• 1 tsp oil
• 1 tsp urad dal (white lentils)
• 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 2 tsp coriander seeds
• 8-10 curry leaves
• 3-4 dried red chillies
• 1/4 tsp asafoetida

For Tempering:

• 1 tsp ghee (or coconut oil)
• 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 3-4 curry leaves

Process:

1. Cooking the Okra:
   1. In a pan heat a tsp of oil, add the tomatoes and sauté for a 1-2 mins.
   2. Add tamarind water, jaggery and salt and bring to a boil.
   3. Add the okra and shallots, simmer till okras are soft and still firm.
2. For the spice paste:
   1. Heat some oil in a heavy bottom pan. Add curry leaves, dried red chilli, cumin, mustard and coriander seeds.
   2. Saute till the seeds start leaving a nice aroma and the curry leaves get crisp.
   3. Turn off the heat, add asafoetida and let the spices cool.
   4. Once cool, make a smooth paste of the spices with coconut and a little bit of water.
3. For the Huli:
   1. When the okra is cooked, add the cooked toor dal and spice paste, mix them well. Be careful not to break the okra pieces while mixing.
   2. Add 1/2 – 3/4 a cup of water and boil for a couple mins.
4. For the tempering:
   1. Heat ghee in a small pan, add mustard seeds, cumin seeds and curry leaves.
   2. Saute till curry leaves are crisp. Pour on top of the prepared Huli.
5. Garnish with cilantro leaves.

Notes:

• Other vegetables can be used instead of Okra, so get creative.
• I use only 1 tsp of coconut and sauté it with the spice mix just before turning of the heat.

Welcome to 1 Cup of Joy. Finally my imaginary food blog becomes a real thing.

So why start a blog? I decided sometime ago that I need to somehow document all the meals I prepare, create a recipe book of sorts for future personal use. A database of tried and tested recipes. Right now they are all scattered with pictures in one place, ingredients and instructions either in ‘notes’ of my phone or scribbled in pieces of papers (whatever I could find near me while on the phone with my mom or mom-in-law or aunts). Of course, there is also the added benefits of being able to easily share these recipes with friends.

Before I got started, I went online and checked all the various food bloggers out there. I was (still am) amazed! I don’t know how they manage to do it all: they cook, take apetizing pictures, they share, they spend time building audience and responding to every question that gets posted promptly.

So here’s hoping I can do it all!