Bele southekai bendi/ Jackseed or halasina beeja and cucumber curry

 

Hello, here is a blog post after a long break. I am sharing a authentic zero waste dish, bele southekai bendi. Bele is nothing but jackfruit seed/ halasina beeja, that is how it is called in havyaka language. Southe kai is sambhar cucumber or mangalore southe.

Though Jackfruit is abundantly available and consumed in coastal Karnataka, the seeds are mostly ignored or wasted. As these seeds are nutritionally rich, it is definitely good to include in anyone’s diet. If it is used thoughtfully, there is no doubt which will help in having food security and fighting against hunger. When I wrote this I meant it as jackfruit seeds can be stored for longer almost until the next season arrives. It is worth trying though preparation & pre-processing of jackseeds before cooking is a tedious job.

Our ancestors were thoughtful enough while handling food articles and having food. They were leading sustainable life and never wasted food. There are plenty of #zerowaste recipes from them. Now let us see how to make this curry with jackfruit seed s and cucumber. Various versions possible, recipe varies family to family.

If you have no jackseed at present, wait for couple of months and try this dish in the next season.

 

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Cooking time: 30 minutes

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

Jackfruit seeds -12-14

Colored cucumber/ sambhar cucumber – 1 (small)

Cumin seeds – 1.5 tsp

Red chilli powder – 1 tsp

Salt - to taste

Jaggery – 1-2 tbsp (adjust to your taste)

Oil – 1 tsp

Mustard seeds – ½ tsp

Dry red chilli – 1

Curry leaves – 1 sprig

 

Method:

• 
  Remove the outermost skin of jackfruit seeds. To ease the effort, crush the seed slightly with the pestle which will help in peeling off the skin easily. Wash well and pressure cook with 1.5 glasses of water and little salt.
• Wash cucumber, cut into cubes after removing seedy core.
• Cook the cut cucumber pieces with required water and salt as required.
• Add chilli powder and jaggery too.
• When pressure is released, add the cooked jackseeds too to the cucumber.
• In parallel to the cooking process, prep for the gravy.
• Take freshly grated coconut, and cumin seeds in a mixer jar. Grind to make smooth paste.
• When cucumber and jackfruit seeds cooked, add this ground paste. Ensure cucumber isn’t overcooked.  And bring to quick boil after adding water as per required consistency. This should not be too watery.
• Prepare a seasoning of mustard, dry red chilli, curry leaves in coconut oil and add it to the curry.
• Serve with rice and a dollop of ghee.