Upkari in Konkani means vegetables stir-fried in minimum oil and garnished with fresh coconut. In most konkani households, dinner is usually paij (rice soup) with an upkari. A konkani blog without a recipe for upkari is like a North Indian restaurant that does not serve Naan/Roti.
Upkari can be made with different kinds of vegetables. Most popular being alsande upkari(long beans), tendli upkari( ivy gourd), bhenda upkari( with okra). A small potato can usually be added with alsande or tendli upkari. The most popular upkari is bibbe upkari, which combines tendli (ivy gourd) with cashewnuts. Bibbe in konkani means cashews and god...they are so good!! I cannot find the bibbe here in montreal, I will post the recipe when I find them.
Usually after I make kolmbo(sambar) or pulao during the week, I find that I have a few beans, carrots and potatoes left. So I combine them together and make this "flag" upkari. I like to call this the flag upkari because it has orange, white and green colors representing the Indian flag :)
If you are watching your diet, you can reduce the oil to just 1 tsp and cook it in a non-stick pan and also bring down the amount of coconut.
Enjoy this recipe...

What you will need:

• Green Beans - 5 to 6
• Carrots - 1 or 2 small
• Potato - 1
• Red chillies - 2
• Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
• Oil - 2 tsp
• Warm water - 1/4 cup
• Coconut - 2 tbsp
• Salt to taste

• Mooga Upkari (Moong sprouts preparation)
• Batate Bhaji ( Aloo bhaji / Potatoes with spices)
• Aloo Bhaji with onions (Potato onion with spices)

What you will need:
Maida/All purpose flour - 2 cups
Powdered sugar - 1 cup
Ghee/Clarified butter - 3/4 cup
Green Cardamom - 8 ,Skin removed and the seeds crushed
Baking soda - 1/2 tsp

How to prepare
Mix the flour, baking soda and sugar together in a bowl. Add the crushed cardamom and mix well. Melt the ghee. Add a little at a time, while mixing and kneading the dough it reaches the consistency of chapati dough.
Cover and keep the dough aside for 4 to 6 hours.
Make small balls out of the dough, around the size of a small lemon and slightly flatten them between your palms and place them on a greased baking sheet. Maintain some gap between the cookies.
Preheat the oven at 200°C. Bake them for about 15 minutes or until u see small cracks on top. Take the tray out of the oven and wait until the cookies cool completely. Store in an air-tight container.

What you will need:
Chicken - 12 pieces, cut into small cubes
Whole dry red chillies - 12 to 15 (or less if you do not like it too hot)
Onions - 2 medium, finely chopped
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Coconut grated - 1.5 cups
Clarified butter / Ghee - 3 tbsp
Tamarind - lemon sized, exctract a thick juice
Garlic - 12 - 15, finely chopped (Use 6 - 8, if using american garlic)
Curry leaves - 2 strands
Poppy seeds - 2 tbsp
Black peppercorns - 6 to 8
Caraway seeds (shahi jeera) - 1 teaspoon
Green cardamoms - 2 to 3
Fenugreek seeds - 1/2 tsp
Coriander seeds - 1 tbsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Salt to taste

How to prepare
Dry roast poppy seeds, black peppercorns, caraway seeds, coriander seeds, green cardamoms, fenugreek seeds and cumin seeds. Cool and grind with coconut and 12 red chillies to a coarse paste, adding the tamarind juice. Add the cumin seeds and grind coarsely. The coconut mixture should be dry and coarse.
Heat half of the ghee in a pan. Add chopped garlic and 2 whole dry red chillies. Add salt and turmeric powder. Now add the chicken pieces and cook until the chicken is almost cooked on a low flame without adding water. Add the coconut and spice mixture and cook for another 5 to 10 minutes until the chicken is completely done.
Heat the remaining ghee in a pan. Add the curry leaves, stir-fry briefly and then add the chopped onion. Fry the onion until golden brown and pour it over the cooked chicken. Serve hot.

What you will need:
Tingalavaro - 1/2 cup
Toor dal - 1/4 cup
Vegetables - 1 cup (potato, beans, carrots etc)
Tamarind - lime sized, soaked in water
Green chillies - 3 to 4
Sambar powder - 2 tsp
Curry leaves - 2 strands
Mustard seeds - 2 tsps
Jaggery - 1 tbsp
Oil - 1 tbsp
Salt to taste

How to prepare
Cook the beans, toor dal and vegetables with some salt, jaggery and green chillies.
Squeeze the juice out of the tamarind soaked in water. Mix the sambar powder with the tamarind juice and add to the beans and vegetables. Bring it to a boil and turn the heat off.
Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. When the seeds crackle, add the curry leaves. Pour the seasoning over the sambar.
Serve with rice, idly or dosa.