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Saturday, November 26, 2011

Baked winter vegetables Indian style

Here is one interesting recipe, which is made with winter vegetables and is absolutely delicious. There are many variations to this but generally it is done as I have described here.
It is known as OOKAD HANDI, POPTI, OOBADIYU AND SOME MORE NAMES.
Basically it is certain vegetables put in an earthen pot and sealed with some leaves that grow wild in this season and a bonfire is lit under the pot or it is kept in a hole/trench and lots of firewood is kept over it and burnt.
This is usually done in late evenings when it feels good to sit around the fire. The pot is opened after about 45 to 60 minutes and the vegetables dug out and eaten hot. No other accompaniment is necessary.
This year I made this a little early as the vegetables were available but the winter has not yet set in. I made this in an oven. To make it traditionally one needs to a lot of it and then it has to be enjoyed in the company of family and friends. With just the two of us at home this way we get to eat ookad handi often.
All the vegetable ready to go in the baking dish

 
The masala ingredients

 The purple yam / kand / konfal

 
Mixed beans

 
ova / ajwain / ajmo / bishop weed seeds

 
The baked delicacy ready to eat.

So here is my way of doing this wonderful recipe.
10 small / baby potatoes
10 small onions peeled
10 small brinjals
5 sweet potatoes cut into big chunks with the peel
2 small purple yams / kand / konfal cut into big chunks
500 gms of various papdi /beans (surti papdi, kadu vaal, toor, gujri papdi) these are the varieties of various beans available at this time of the year.
For the masala:
1 big bunch of corriander leaves
1 big bunch of mint leaves / pudina
1 small bunch of green garlic / garlic with its leaves or 1 big pod garlic peeled
8 to 10 green chillies or to taste
1 table spoon ova / ajwain / ajmo / bishop's weed seeds
Salt to taste
How to proceed :
Wash and clean all the vegetables. Keep potatoes, sweet potatoes with the skin. Prick with a fork or the tip of a knife, potatoes, onions, brinjals, sweet potato chunks and the  purple yam. Clean the beans. Keep some whole and remove some from shells to be used with the rest of the vegetables.
Wash and grind all the ingredients of the masala with a little water to a smooth paste.
Mix everything together. Add salt for the vegetables too. Pour the vegetables with the masala in a baking dish and bake in pre heated oven at 200 degrees Celsius for 2 hours or till the vegetables are cooked through. The vegetables should be cooked but firm and not too soft.
Eat hot. The only thing we have with this is a glass of butter milk as this is supposed to be a hot (with chillies) recipe.