Vegetable Sagu

Vegetable Sagu

Mixed vegetable sagu is a popular dish in most parts of South India. This dish goes well with puris, Chapati, dosas, appam, and rice. The first time I had this dish was in one of the restaurants in Hyderabad and just loved it. Tried it many times at home and finally came up with this recipe. There are various ways of making sagu, but this is how I prepare it.


Ingredients:

For sagu masala: (makes around 1/2 cup of masala)

• 2 tea spoon urad dal
• 1 -2 roughly chopped green chillies
• 4-5 kalimeeri (peppercorns)
• 2 tea spoon coriander powder (dhania)
• 1/2 tea spoon cumin seeds (jeera)
• 1/2 inch cinnamon stick (dalchini)
• 3 lavang (cloves)
• 4 table spoon grated dry coconut

Other Ingredients:

• 2 cups chopped mixed vegetables (carrot, beans, green peas, potato)
• 1 finely chopped onion
• 8 -10 curry leaves
• 1 tea spoon mustard seeds
• 1/2 tea spoon hing
• 1 tea spoon urad dal
• 2-3 dry red chillies broken into half
• 1/2 tea spoon turmeric powder/Haldi
• 2 1/2 table spoons sagu masala
• 2 tea spoon red chilli powder
• 5 table spoon freshly grated coconut
• 8-10 cashew nuts
• coriander for garnishing
• 2 table spoon oil

Method:

To make sagu Masala:

Take a pan and dry roast urad dal on a medium flame, stirring continuously till it becomes golden brown in colour and keep aside.

In the same pan dry roast grated dry coconut on medium flame till it becomes golden brown and keep aside.

Then dry roast green chillies and keep aside.

When cool, take roasted urad dal, roasted dry coconut and roasted green chillies in a blender along with all the other ingredients listed under sagu masala and grind it into a fine powder. You sagu masala is now ready to be used in the vegetable.

 

To make vegetable sagu:

Heat oil in a vessel (kadhai). Add mustard seeds when they splutter, add urad dal, curry leaves, dry red chillies, hing and haldi. Fry well. Add onions and saute them on medium flame till they turn translucent.

Now add all the vegetables and saute them for a minute, then add 2- 3 cups of water and salt, mix well, cover and cook the vegetables till they turn tender. Do not overcook the vegetables. The vegetables should neither be raw nor too mushy

In a small pan take some oil and roast 2 1/2 table spoon of sagu masala and 2 tea spoon of red chilli powder for half a minute, then add 1/2 cup of water and boil so that the masala doesn't burn. Now add this to the above vegetable.

Make a fine paste of freshly grated coconut and cashew nuts with a bit of water and add this to the vegetable. Mix gently, add water if required and simmer it for five to ten minutes. Turn off the heat.

Garnish it with coriander leaves

Serve it hot with puri, chapati, dosa etc...