Mixed vegetable curry or ‘gajbaje’ (randayi means a side dish with coconut masala) is one of the most popular dishes among Konkanis. It is usually prepared using vegetables like okra, ridge gourd and cucumber (Usually a special kind of cucumber called as magge or moggem in Konkani is used for this dish. Cucumber can be used instead of magge since both taste almost same. Unlike cucumber, magge cannot be eaten raw). There are two types of ‘Gajbaje’ popular among Konkanis. Among the fish eating Konkanis (Living in North Kanara district) and Marathis of Belgaum (I am referring to my pachi, mom’s sister, who is a deshpande), this dish is prepared with teppal/tirphal and toor daal. Among the vegetarian Konkanis(living in South Kanara), a lot more vegetables are used for this dish and prepared only with coconut (Vaishali has mentioned the recipe here. I did not know about this version till Aruna sent me the recipe. Then I saw the same recipe in Vaishali’s blog).
At my native, this dish is a must in most of the festivals and weddings. Usually we use the three vegetables mentioned above because most of the people grow these vegetables at home and are easily available in market also. I saw in my pachi’s house, they use lot more vegetables and I loved the corn cob used in the dish(At my native, corn is not available easily and it is not use for this dish). This dish is a must for Ganapathi pooja at their home.
When I read about Independence Day parade, I asked my brother to give me a suggestion for the event. His idea was superb, but a lot more difficult to achieve with my skills. So I simplified his idea and thought of sending this dish to the event. This is one of my all time favorite side dishes and the most famous side dishes I could think of, only after mooga randayi. So this would be an entry from Konkan to the event. (Indira, I hope you accept this. I have tried my best to take good pictures with the limited resources I have).
Since this is an entry for Independence day, here is what I thought about the ingredients. The picture speaks itself.
Ingredients:
Coconut ¾ cup
Toor daal ½ cup
Turmeric a pinch
Vegetables (like cucumber, ridge gourd, corn, okra) 1 and half cups
Teppal/tirphal 3-4
Kokum pieces 2-3
Red chilies 4-5
Salt
If kokum is not available, add tamarind. Teppal/tirphal(also called as sichuan pepper) can be ignored since it is not available here in US. But this gives a different taste to the dish.
Method:
Cook toor daal with a pinch of turmeric.
Cook the vegetables in enough water (take care not to overcook the vegetables, do not cook them along with daal, they cook faster and daal remains hard if both are mixed).
Grind coconut and chilies to a very smooth paste.
Add masala and vegetables to the cooked daal and boil. Add the kokum pieces. Crush the teppal/tirphal in one table spoon water and add it to the curry. Cook till the masala thickens a bit (This is a watery side dish, so do not make it too dry).
Serve with rice and daali thoy.
Serves : 4
Preparation time : 30mins
Wow Shilpa ….What a picture. Its perfect. Miss our country. Gajbaje is prepared alround the year and it is a must during Ganesh Chaturti as you mentioned, which i guess is on the 27th of this month. We use vegetable like beans, tendli, ridge gourd (ghosale), alsando (beans variety – donno the english name),pumpkin, magge (dosa kaai), yam, corn and could me many more (dont recollect) Thanks for sharing
great entry for the parade shilpa:)
Jai Hind!!Creative,Patriotic,Ethnic …a good package indeed
Curry looks delicious. Good entry for the parade. Like the Ashok Chakra 🙂
this dish resembles khatkhate a lot…..is it the same?
Thanks once again Aruna for the information. I will surely give it a try soon.
Thanks Tanuja, Shynee, Krithika. I am happy you all liked my idea.
Supriya, I have heard of Khatkhate, but haven’t tasted it anytime. Khatkhate is not prepared in NK as far as my knowledge goes. From Ashwini’s recipe, I think both dishes are almost similar except, this gajbaje is more watery and the masala is ground very smooth. It also has toor daal in it.
Dear Shilpa:
I am honored to receive such a classic recipe from Konkani region. The arrangement of ingredients in Indian flag colors is creative and beautiful to look at. and the outcome photo also looks gorgeous. I am proud of your contribution and I am sure your fellow konkanis would also agree.
Also please convey my thanks to your brother for coming up with this idea.
That looks delicious! I love the combination of dal and veggies (for the complete nutrition in one pot). Oh, and sichuan peppers are the same as tirphal…how interesting, I did not know that.
Thanks for your kind words Indira :).
Nupur, I am happy to receive a comment from you. One of my reader informed me about Sichuan pepper. Then I saw the link sichuan pepper
Shilpa,
Thanks for sharing a different version of Gajbaje here. And thanks for the link to my post. ‘Tiranga’ with vegetables looks good. A great idea!
dear shilpa
khata or khatkhate or as u call it gajbaje is the same think with different names my aaji was from belgaum and she used to call it gajbaje and my aais side of the fly calls it khata or khatkate it alls the same and tastes the same
i missed this dish since ive come here even though aai had written it for me i was not motivated to make it even though i love it but after seeing it online will surely makev it now
thanks and regrds
shalmali padgaokar
shilpa ghajbaje is toooooo good.
i did it after 2 yrs now…..felt like i am back home!
thanks a lot!!
shambi
hi shilpa,
can u tell me how to prepare VEG HYDERABADI and VEG KOLAPURI?
i am gonna try this… but anybody can also tell me recipe for aluvati (best place to get it is in wadala ram mandir mumbai during ganpati ananth chaturdashi)
Venti randayi
I make a simple raita sometimes.
We from north of Goa make it slightly different. Add crushed tirphal, pcs of sugarcane for a little sweetness. Karandi and kandgi these are slightly thorny spherical tubers the size of a large lime.