This post is about two of my favourite ingredients and two of my favourite Amchi dishes. I hope you tried the Saung and Talasani – trust me they are amazing! So, today, I am on to my fourth and fifth Amchi recipes – Bendi and Amshe Tikshe. Now, Amshe Tikshe literally means sour and spicy and is usually made with seafood. Bendi, on the other hand, is made using vaal or field beans – but it can be made using chauli or black-eyed peas. I usually make it with the latter.
The spice base for both recipes is the same – but the preparations differ slightly. I love to have Amshe Tikshe like a curry with rice, while Bendi is eaten with Tambli – a cold coconut curry preparation (more on that in a future post), that lends a cool sweetness to the fiery, sour Bendi.
ALSANDE BENDI
Ingredients
- 1/4 kg Black-eyed peas or field beans (soaked overnight and cooked till al dente)
- *14 red chillies (if you use the spicy variety, make it 7 spicy and 7 kashmiri – the colour and flavour are what give the dish its charm)
- *2 cloves of garlic + 6-7 for tempering (lightly smashed)
- *1 lime-size ball of tamarind
- *1 tbsp oil + 4 tbsp for tempering
- *5 – 6 Tirphala (without this the dish is incomplete, trust me!)
- Salt to taste
Steps
- Roast the chillies in a drop of oil till you get their aroma.
- Now, add these along with a handful of the cooked beans, 2 garlic cloves and the tamarind into the blender and blend till smooth.
- In a kadhai, put in 1 tbsp oil and add the ground masala and saute for 2 minutes.
- Add the remaining cooked beans till they are coated well and then add water for consistency.
- Put in the salt and lightly crush the triphala seeds with your hand and add to the gravy.
- Now add a tempering of the 6-7 garlic cloves over the whole dish and cover and turn off the gas.
- This goes great with simple steamed rice, but the combination with Tambli is out of the world – where hot meets cold, spice meets cooling coconut and all is right in the world.
A bit on tirphala
Tirphala is nothing but a berry that is dried and used in a lot of Coastal cuisines. It goes beautifully with seafood and sour dishes. It is also the very same Sichuan pepper that is found in Chinese food. The flavour is peppery & astringenty. We call in Teppal in Konkani. When used whole in dishes like the Bendi or Amshe Tikshe, it needs to be crushed lightly to allow it to release its essential oils into the dish.
BANGDA AMSHE TIKSHE
Ingredients
- 5 – 6 medium Bangda (Mackarel)
- Use the rest of the ingredients from above marked *
Steps
- Marinate the fish in some turmeric, chilli powder and salt and set aside.
- Roast the chillies in a drop of oil till you get their aroma.
- Now, add these along with 2 garlic cloves and the tamarind into the blender and blend until smooth.
- In a kadhai, put in 1 tbsp oil and add the ground masala and saute for the consistency you require and reduce to a thick gravy.
- Add the fish and cover and let the fish cook and the gravy continue to thicken.
- Put in the salt and lightly crush the triphala seeds with your hand and add to the gravy.
- Now add a tempering of the 6-7 garlic cloves over the whole dish and cover and turn ofF the gas.
- Serve with steamed rice or chapatti or even rice bhakris!
4 Comments
The Bendi was a saviour during lent days….especially for hardcore non-vegetarians like us… this curry brought in that refreshing change into our kitchen…. Thank You Shanti….
Thanks Megha – so happy you love it!
Must say I have never had this ever and the flavours sound so attractive . Must try this and that too your preparation
Thank you – pls let me know how it turns out