Gajbaje ( Mixed vegetables in coconut gravy)

The word "Gajbaje"  literally means "mix-up" in the konkani language. I think that is a very apt name for this rather popular tradional konkani side-dish. This dish is a go-to when you have little bit of this and little bit of that  in your fridge/pantry but not enough quantity to make a complete dish with one single vegetable and you want to use it before it goes bad! This dish is also commonly used during holy days or festival days when we do not use/cook/consume onion or garlic in our food. It is really a easy dish and healthy too. I hope you guys try it and like it!

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

Zucchini: 1 medium, chopped lengthwise  into 2 inch pieces
Carrots: 2 small, chopped lengthwise into 2 inch pieces
Potatoes: 2 medium, diced big ( I used red potatoes, any potato can be used.
Chayote: 1 medium, peeled and diced big.
Cauliflower: 8-10 big florets.
Salt to taste.
Water: 1 cup


For the sauce/ gravy ( masolu):
Freshly grated coconut: 1 cup
Red chillies( dry): 3-4( depending on the spice level of the chilli used).
Tamarind: marble sized

For the tempering:
Coconut oil: 1 tsp
Mustard seeds: 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves: 1 small sprig

Method:

Cook all the vegetables with salt and little water until just tender/cooked. Keep aside.

Using a blender,grind together all the ingredients listed under "for the gravy" into a smooth paste, adding water as needed.

Add the above paste to the boiled vegetables and bring it to a boil on low flame.

Tempering:

Heat oil in a small frying pan. Add the mustard seeds. When they crackle, add the curry leaves and switch off the flame. Add this to the above pot!

Serve hot with rice  or flat bread.

Enjoy!

Cooking made easy:

Almost any vegetable could be used for this dish. Again, this dish is a perfect way to get rid of the little bit of leftover vegetables.

Just ensure that you do not overcook the vegetables otherwise the dish will turn into mush!

Cook the vegetables over the stove-top in a pot. To save time, I keep a small pot with little water to boil. As the water is boiling I chop the vegetable that will go in first, the one that requires the most cooking time; in my case the potatoes. I keep chopping and adding vegetables like this starting with the vegetable requiring the most cooking time to the one that requires the least, in my case the zucchini. By the time I add the zucchini in,the vegetables are almost done. This makes cooking more efficient.

Food for thought:

The giving of love is an education in itself. Eleanor Roosevelt