Though my mother tongue is Kannada and we speak the same at home, our language gets infiltrated with a few words from the regional language- Tamil.So for a few ingredients / terms I use the Tamil equivalents!
So once when we went to visit my grandparents , grandpa told me that there were a lot of Kaanchay soppu in the backyard and I could take back as much as I wanted. For a minute, I could not grasp what he meant and just nodded my head.My mom who was watching this told me he was referring to Manathakali Keerai, the term I am familiar with!
So that day I learnt the correct Kannada term for Solanum Nigrum which is the scientific name for the plant.Though we call it Kaanchay soppu, the name may vary in the other dialects across the state.
The leaves of this plant is used to treat mouth ulcers and around here people just chew a few leaves to get rid of mouth ulcers. The leaves can also be used to make stir fry or cooked with a little dal.A soup like dish with coconut milk is also prepared which I will post sometime in the future.
When I was noting down recipes for the mega BM themed – Journey Through The Cuisines,[where I am doing an A-Z recipe post through the cuisine of Karnataka], I asked mom for some family recipes that uses these medicinal leaves.
Mom immediately told me about this raita and how grandmom used to pair it with Bisi bele bhath.Since this was grandmoms way of pairing the dish, I too followed the same.
Lil Angel shares my love for yogurt based dishes and she licked the bowl clean ! So this can safely be categorized as a kid friendly dish!
I used:
Kaanchay Soppu / Manathakali keerai – 1 cup packed,chopped
Mosaru / Yogurt – 2 cups
Ingu / Asafoetida – a pinch
Sasve / mustard seeds- 1/2 teaspoons
Odadha udin bele / Split white urad dal- 1/2 teaspoon
Kadalebele / Chana dal-1/2 teaspoon
Ona Menisinkaye / Red chilies- 1 broken
Uppu / Salt to taste
Enne / Oil – 1 teaspoon
Heat oil in a pan and add the mustard, urad dal, channa dal,chili and asafoetida powder.Once the dal turns light brown, add the chopped leaves and saute for a few minutes till it shrinks.Remove from heat and let it cool.
Take the yogurt in a bowl and add salt. Whisk well. Put in the cooked leaves and mix well.
Serve as a side with a flavored rice of your choice.
This post also goes to the A-Z Challenge
Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 63
Though I don't like plain yogurt, I love yogurt based dishes. This is my kind of dish.
PJ… Same pinch. My mother tongue is kannada too but often it gets mixed with Tamil. When I was deciding recipes for this BM, amma was suggesting all the kannada ones and some were a mix between both. So eventually dropped that and went with TN cuisine. Love this soppu. Never tried raita thought. Will sure give it a try.
Very refreshing and delicious looking raita.
Excellent raita, never tried raita with this healthy greens, seriously very interesting.
Is it the plant that grows as weed and has edible tiny black fruits? I think it is called kanchi soppu in B'lore area if I am referring correctly.
I didn'the know rata is prepared with this soppu. Sounds healthy.
Yes Suma, its the same one..
This is a great way of making kids eat greens. The raitha looks so yum…
The raitha sounds so interesting PJ..and thanks for introducing the regional names and such wonderful dishes..will be making it soon..
Interesting raita PJ, very refreshing and delicious:)
Wow! I am not sure we have used these greens though I faintly remember having seen these weeds around our house. Good one, PJ.
That is one flavorful raita you got there!! Lovely pick PJ 🙂
Was thinking what is this soppu after I read your intro.then understand in Telugu we call this as kamanchi koora. but not a very popular keerai in Andhra cuisine. very cool and refreshing raita..
This dish is so soothing for the stomach. Lovely recipe to make to cool down the body heat.
I dont know what this green leaf is but regardless I am sure this was a tasty dish
what a wonderful option for raita
This is so new to me. Love this recipe