Friday, February 26, 2010

Instant Nimbe Hannina Gojju (Hot and Sweet Lemon Sauce)

Tic-Tac-Toe, Tic-Tac-Toe, Which one, which one do I do?? Dosa-Chutney / Dosa-Potato Palya / Dosa -Chutney Pudi ...I lazily contemplate on a Sunday morning. The usual power cut takes chutney out of question. Ravenous hubby and kids can't wait till I make the Potato Palya. And I don't get much satisfaction out of eating dosa with Chutney pudi.  Instant Nimbe Hannina Gojju  comes to my rescue on such days. 'Gojju' generally refers to a hot-sweet and sour sauce, sometimes plain and sometimes made with a fruit or vegetable added to it for an unique flavor. The very popular ones in this category are Pineapple gojju, Mango gojju and Hagalkayi(Bitter gourd)Gojju. These generally need more in terms of ingredients, time and effort, but definitely worth putting in all three.

But on lazy or rush days, this super quick, tangy and tasty sauce goes really well with hot crisp dosas (also with Rawa Upma made without onions, a must, must try combo) making it a satisfying and filling meal with hardly any effort at all.

Ingredients
Jaggery - 1/4 cup
Rice Flour - 1 tablespoon
Fried Bengal Gram Flour - 1 tablespoon
Sambar Powder - 1 teaspoon
Oil - 1 teaspoon
Slit Green Chillies - 3
Curry Leaves- a few
Mustard Seeds -3/4 teaspoon
Channa Dal - 3/4 teaspoon
Urad Dal - 3/4 teaspoon
A pinch of Hing
Turmeric -1/2 teaspoon
Water - 2 cups
Lemon Juice from half a lemon
Salt to taste
Chopped coriander for garnish - 1 table spoon

Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard and allow to splutter. Add the urad dal and chana dal. Saute for a few seconds. Add the green chillies and the curry leaves, saute for a few seconds. Add the hing and the turmeric powder. Pour the water into this and add in the jaggery. Stir to melt the jaggery. Mix the roasted Bengal Gram powder and the rice flour in enough water to make a smooth paste. Add this paste to the jaggery mixture in the pan, stirring well ensuring there are no lumps. Add the sambar powder and salt. Boil on low heat for about 5 minutes. The sauce will thicken. Take off the fire. Squeeze in the lemon juice. Garnish with chopped coriander and serve hot with dosa or Rawa Upma.

18 comments:

M D said...

I make a similar stuff called Zunka or Pitla, which I learnt from my mum. But it's without sambhar powder. This is a good variation.

Suma Rowjee said...

Hi Mallika! Even I love Pitla, tastes great with chapatis and rice. I usually put only gram flour mixed in curd or buttermilk,and no sambar powder or jaggery. Must try your version of the Pitla too. Am sure its tastes great:-)

Deepa G Joshi said...

hey this looks like a nice dip, and you metioned it right, those lazy sundays when you are bored to make chutney sambhar.this is a great and tasty substitute..

Suma Rowjee said...

Hi Deepa,

Its really a nice dip, do try it out and let me know how you liked it.

FH said...

Gojju sounds and looks mouthwatering, must taste great. I will try.

shubhada said...

hey nice option..will try and let you know.

Suma Rowjee said...

Hi Shubhada! Do try and lemme know..

Suma Rowjee said...

Do try it out Asha! In case you do not have Roasted Bengal Gram flour, substitute with besan.

Anonymous said...

Suma,
Im sure its finger-licking-good! I love gojjus. This one is bookmarked to try soon. Thanks for sharing :)

Nithu Bala said...

This looks interesting and yummy..I love this gojju..

nina said...

Never heard of such a recipe...quite interesting one:)

Jyoti V said...

Looks superb....

Gomathy S said...

This looks very perfect for a lazy day.. following you..

Padhu Sankar said...

Sounds delicious!New here .Do drop by
http://padhuskitchen.blogspot.com/
when time permits

Priya Narasimhan said...

Very new to me Suma. It would go very well with dosa..Bookmarking it..

Renuka Bedre - Rao said...

This is such a simple n quick recipe..loved it!

Anonymous said...

Hey Suma,
I gave this a try and I must tell you that it was finger-licking good. The mingling of spices, sweet, sour, everthing was just perfect. This one is definitely a keeper. You bet I will make this time and again. Thanks so much for sharing this!

Vidya vikram said...

good recipe.. loved it..