Vegetable Saagu / Vegetable Stew

Those who are from karnataka or have visited karnataka must definitely know about 'Saagu' which is most of the times served with 'Poori' or deep fried wheat indian bread. We do not want to eat oily stuff every day, so it is always served with rotis or chapathis at my place. You probably find many variations of this dish in terms of spices used. But, the main ingredients remain pretty much the same.

One of my friends pointed out to me that I have too many 'Baking' recipes on this blog. When I actually sat down and counted them, she was right. By now all of you must know that I bake a lot, but I do cook authentic dishes too, not just innovative dishes. So, I thought let me share this dish which I learned from my mother.

Ingredients:

• Green beans cut - About 3 cups or 1 pound
• Green peas - 3 cups or 1 pound
• Chayote squash - 2 chopped
• carrots - 5 medium or 3 large chopped
• Potatoes - 1 big chopped (I have used yams here. You need a starchy vegetable doesn't matter what it is)
• Tomatoes - 2 medium or 1 big chopped
• Salt - to taste

To grind into paste:

• Coconut grated - 1/2 cup - 3/4 cup
• Green chillies - 12 or more
• Cilantro / Kotthambari soppu - 1/2 a bunch (Reduce this if you like light colored end product)
• Cloves - 8
• Cinnamon stick - 2 inch stick
• Cumin - 2 tsp
• Coriander - 1 tsp
• Dalia / Hurigadale - 1/2 cup (If you cannot find this, you can dry roast chana dal or Split chickpeas and use it)

Method:

In a pressure cooker, add all the vegetables and enough water. Add some salt and cook till one whistle. Mean while, grind all the ingredients mentioned in the 'To grind into paste' with very less water. It should be like a little watery chutney consistency. Take out the cooked vegetables in a big pot and add the ground paste and boil till the raw smell of the masala is gone (about 10 minutes). Add more water if required. Check for salt and adjust if necessary.
Serve with rotis, pooris or even rava idlis or just plain rice.

Notes:

You can use any mixture of vegetables that you have on hand. It is good to use one starchy vegetable and couple of watery vegetables. The spice amount given is quite enough, but you can play around to suit your palate. Some people add pepper corns, poppy seeds also. I usually grind the masala with one or two pods of garlic. It enhances the flavor, but since my MIL doesn't eat garlic, left it out. You could add one or two chopped onions to the vegetable mixture too.

Happy Cooking!! Pin It