Uppu Saaru Khara (masala)
Uppu saaru means 'salt curry' in kannada, as only salt is added to the curry, but a masala 'chutney' or 'khara' is prepared and served separately and mixed with the curry while eating. Some households add the khara to the curry and bring it to boil before serving. This along with ragi balls is a staple diet of the farmer community in rural parts Karnataka. The entire meal can be devoid of added fat, if ghee is not added ! I will explain the preparation of uppu saru in a different blog.
There are two variants of khara, with green and red chilli. Khara is prepared with minimal or no added water and hence can be refrigerated for many weeks. I always store both types of khara, as they are very handy to prepare several other dishes as mentioned below.
Protein Soup : When chana , green gram or horse gram is cooked with water, the gram is separated and seasoned to make husali. With the remaining enriched water or soup, we do make a curry called Bussaaru. Sometimes when curry is not needed, just add a bit of either green or red khara to the hot soup. You could add a dash of lemon. Sip it hot on a rainy day or when you have cold/cough. It is very soothing and tastes great. It can be used as a good starter. Highly nutritious with protein from the grams and with goodness of pepper and garlic, etc.
Fish Fry : Mix green or red khara with some sooji and a dash of oil and smear on to fish slices, marinate for at least 30 min and tawa fry with minimal oil. Tastes great. Add some chilli powder and salt while marinating, if needed
Churmuri (chat) : With the green chilli version, you could make Mysore churmuri at home. Mix the khara with 1-2 tbsp of oil and lemon juice, then quickly mix crisp puffed rice, red chilli powder, fried peanuts, chopped onion and tomato, grated carrot and fresh chopped coriander and the churmuri is ready !! try it
With rotti : Green or red khara tastes very good with ragi rotti (popular with farmer communities), or with bandli rotti.
Note : The green and red chilli versions are different only in the chilli used, all other ingredients remain constant. Khara is high in garlic. If you are averse to garlic, use ginger instead, but the taste will be very different.
Ingredients for Uppu Saaru Khara
Copra: 2 -3 tbsp or 2X2 inch piece, sliced
Red chilli : ~10 (7 bydagi, 3 guntur) OR
Green Chilli : 6-8 depending on spiciness
Coriander leaves : handful
Garlic 10 large pods/half bulb
Black pepper : 3/4 tsp (or powder)
Tamarind : about a marble size
Table salt : 1/2 tsp or to taste
Method
First saute chillies with a dash of oil, break the green chillies, else they may burst open. Then add garlic, coriander and saute. Cool it and blend it along with other ingredients without water or minimal boiled, cooled water. It need not be a fine powder/paste. Consume it fresh or transfer to a glass bottle and refrigerate.
INFORMATION
HEALTH BENEFITS :
Khara has the health benefits from garlic, pepper, coriander, etc. Along with uppu saaru, it is low calorie and highly nutritious.
Chillies : A study of more than 16,000 people in the United States revealed that individuals who consumed red chili peppers had a lower risk of death from all causes over an average of 18 years than those who did not eat the spicy food.
ORIGIN
Chilli pepper (Capsicum annum) belong to the nightshade family (Solanaceae) and are related to brinjal, tomato, etc. Peppers are native to tropical America and are particularly important in the cuisines of tropical Asia and equatorial America. Traces of pepper fruits have been found in prehistoric remains in Peru and Mexico, and the plants were widely grown in Central and South America by various pre-Columbian civilisations. Originally mistaken for a form of black pepper (Piper nigrum), the first pepper seeds were carried to Spain in 1493 and from there spread rapidly throughout Europe and the rest of the world.
WATER FOOTPRINT (IS LITRES OF WATER NEEDED TO PRODUCE THE FOOD) :
Chilli : 380 L/Kg
GENERAL TIPS
Avoid using bare hands for the entire process, use a wooden or plastic spoon. This will prevent contamination and increases shelf life.
DID YOU KNOW
Chilli Pepper, genus Capsicum has more than 30 species, several of which are extensively cultivated for their edible, often pungent fruits, including the mild bell peppers that are used as a vegetable and the hot peppers, that are used as relishes, pickled, or ground into a fine powder for use as a spice. Some peppers are grown as ornamentals.
The spiciness of chillies is due to a substance called Capscaicin and is measured in Scoville Units. World's hottest chilli, Carolina Reaper delivers an average of 1,569,300 Scoville Heat Units (SHU). As a comparison jalapeno peppers score between 2,500 to 8,000 SHU.
The ghost pepper, also known as bhut jolokia (which literally means ghost chili in Assamese) is the hottest chilli in India and is cultivated in the states. It is 400 times hotter than Tabasco sauce, with a rating of more than one million SHUs.
REFERENCES :
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/315262 https://waterfootprint.org/media/downloads/Report47-WaterFootprintCrops https://www.britannica.com/plant/pepper-plant-Capsicum-genus https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost_pepper