Sukha Bhel and Sukha Bhel Chutney

Sukha bhel is one of my favourite street side foods sold in Bombay. Actually when I think of the street side food sold in Bombay, I have to ask myself, which dish do I not like??:). Excluding a dish or two, I think I like all the chaat/rekdi food sold in Bombay, sukha bhel being one of them.

Sukha (dry) bhel, as the name suggests, is the bhel served without (wet) chutneys. The main ingredient which gives this bhel a unique taste is a special dry chtuney used to make this bhel, and my building's bhelwala baiya used to make it the best:). I still miss the sukhabhel I used to get when I was in India. I had been looking for the dry chtuney recipe for such a long time, and atlast I found it on Tarla Dalal's website.

As soon as I saw the recipe, I HAD to try it:). It turned out pretty close to the dry chutney I am used to eating in sukha bhel. Here I am giving you the recipe for making sukha bhel, including the recipe for the sukha chutney.

Sukha Bhel Ingredients:
1 Cup Puffed Rice,
1/4 Cup Fine Sev,
1/4 Teaspoon Black Salt (Sanchal),
1/4 Teaspoon Chaat Masala
2 Tablespoon Roasted and Salted Chana Dal, (I used masala chana dal)
1 Teaspoon Roasted and Salted Peanuts,
1 Tablespoon Chopped Onion,
1 Green Chili, Finley Chopped (Optional)
1/2 Teaspoon Lemon Juice,
1 Teaspoon Sukha Chutney, (Recipe Follows), or to Taste
3 Puris (Used For Sev Puri), Broken into Small Pieces
1 Puri (For Serving/Decoration)

Method for Sukha Bhel:
Combine all of the above ingredients together. Mix well and serve.

Ingredients for Sukha Tikha Chutney (from Tarla Dalal's Website)
1 Cup Mint Leaves, Washed and Patted Dry
1/4 Cup Coriander Leaves, Washed and Patted Dry
1.5 Tablespoon Roasted Chana Daal or Daria, (I used about 2.5 Teaspoon)
2-3 Green Chilies, Chopped, or to Taste ( I used 5)
2 Tablespoon Puffed Rice (Kurmura or Mamra),
Salt to Taste,
A Pinch Turmeric Powder
A Pinch Asafoetida,

Method for Sukha Tikha Chutney

Combine all of the above ingredients and grind to a coarse powder. When ground using a mixer grinder, this should result in a big lump (ball).

Note: I used Tarla Dalal's recipe as a base and modified it to suit my taste. The recipe calls out for 2-3 green chilies, which resulted in a pretty bland chutney for my taste, so I add 2 more chilies. I also added a little more roasted chana dal, because I felt that when I mixed the chutney with the bhel, the lump didn't break down, so it needed to be a bit more drier.

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Stuffed Karela

Karela or Bitter Gourd is a vegetable which has many good medicinal properties, but it is disliked by the most because of its bitter taste. Click Here to read about some of its medicinal properties.

Some people coat this vegetable with salt for an hour and drain out the liquid to reduce the bitterness, and some people add gud (jaggery) for the same. I prefer adding jaggery rather than squeezing out all the liquid because, the liquid has a lot of nutritional value.

I am Gujarati, and as you know that all traditional Gujarati dishes have to have jaggery or sugar added to it:), karela is no exception either. I know some people who make this subzi by squeezing out the liquid (removing bitterness and nutrition) AND adding gud (for better taste). I think it is the worst of all the options.

I agree that karela is too bitter to eat without adding a lot of gud to the subzi, but I think, if you can add some other ingredients to the subzi to subside the bitterness, but still retain its nutritional value, it is more beneficial.

Usually, when I make karela, I make it like any other subzis, but last night, I tried a little different method. I made stuffed karela. I had never made this before, and I didn’t have any recipe to follow, so I added the ingredients that I thought might go well with the subzi. Here is how I made it.

Ingredients:
5-6 Small Karelas (Bitter Gourd or Bitter Melon),
2 Tablespoon Oil (You can add more oil if you want to make the subzi a bit crunchy)
1 Teaspoon Cumin Seeds
¼ Teaspoon Hing (Asafoetida)

Stuffing:
4 Tablespoon Besan (Gram Flour),
2 Tablespoon Coarsely Ground Roasted Peanuts,
2 Teaspoon Jaggery, Shredded or Cut into Very Small Pieces,
1 Tablespoon Sesame Seeds,
Salt to taste
¼ Teaspoon Turmeric,
1.5 Teaspoon Chili Powder, or to Taste,
1.5 Teaspoon Coriander-Cumin Powder,
1/8 Teaspoon Garam Masala

Method:
Mix all the stuffing ingredients and keep aside.

Wash the karelas thoroughly and scrape off the skin. Make a lengthwise slit and hollow them out by removing the seeds. Stuff the besan mixture in the karelas and steam them for 20 minutes or until they are tender, but can still hold their shape.

Take out of the steamer and cut them into small pieces (small rounds).

Heat oil in a frying pan; when it is hot, add the cumin seeds. Once the seeds start to crackle, add the asafoetida. Now add about 1/8th cup water to this. Add the steamed and cut karela pieces and stir gently. Cover and cook on low flame for 5-7 minutes. Take off of the stove, and serve hot with roti or paratha.


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