Fresh Dill (Suwa) for JFI-WBB ~ Greens
I think culinary knowledge is two types – “Knowledge of” and “Knowledge how”. “Knowledge of” is what psychologists call declarative knowledge – knowledge of facts and rules. It is easy to parrot nutritional information and gave instructions like add this much at this step in the recipe. Difficult to write down and explain is “knowledge how”, the procedural knowledge. It is acquired through practice, by observation and internalization. The suitable amount and how much is too much, when to add – this kind of knowledge is what makes people like my mother and mother-in-law extraordinary cooks, in my view.
In the pursuit of gaining some “knowledge how” I used the “knowledge of” a recipe I got from Dilipji. I tried to recreate the dish with little touches here and there, and the end result turned out to be remarkable. The springtime green herb, the soothing dill worked well with tender ridge gourd. And coarsely ground soy nuggets addition gave the dish little bit body. Assembled between two slices of bread, ridge gourd-dill curry tasted quite good.
Ridge Gourd, Fresh Dill and Coarsely Ground Soy Nuggets
Recipe:
3 ridge gourds – peeled, washed and cut to bite sized pieces
1 small bunch of fresh dill – washed and finely chopped – about ¼ cup
¼ cup coarsely ground soy nuggets
(soaked in warm water for about 15 minutes beforehand)
1 small red onion – finely chopped
5 green chillies and 1 tbs coconut – grinded to smooth consistency
¼ tsp turmeric and salt to taste
Popu or tadka ingredients – 1 tsp oil, ¼ tsp each- cumin, mustard seeds
In a wide skillet, heat oil. Add and toast cumin and mustard seeds. Add and saute onion to soft. While onions are cooking, squeeze the water from soy nuggets and add them to the pan. Stir-fry for few minutes. Add dill and ridge gourd pieces. Stir in green chilli-coconut paste, salt and turmeric. Mix and cook, covered for about 5 to 10 minutes, until the ridge gourd pieces become soft. Serve hot with chapati/bread.
I prepared a ciabatta sandwich. Cut and toasted the bread lightly. Filled it with liberal amounts of curry and spooned some yogurt on the top as dressing. Ciabatta bread absorbed the moist curry flavors very well. The highlight of course is fragrant fresh dill in the curry. Delightful Dill made my dil happy and I loved my meal today!
Ridge gourd-Dill Sandwich with Cucumber Slices and a Piece of Karachi Halwa