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    Home » Vegetarian Side Dishes » Gorikai Menaskai | Cluster Beans in Sesame Coconut Curry

    Gorikai Menaskai | Cluster Beans in Sesame Coconut Curry

    Published: Oct 11, 2015 · Modified: Sep 13, 2022 by Srivalli · 13 Comments

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    When I was reading about the Udupi Thali and special dishes, I read that their Menaskai is a must dish to be included and pineapple Menaskai seemed to be the most famous on the net.
     
    Since I didn't have pineapple and also was very sure Hubby Dear will not like fruit in his gravy, I didn't want to risk anything. I then searched for what other vegetables can be used in a Menaskai. I came across the recipe from the Lovefoodeat site and the pictures were so stunning that I was drooling over pictures for a while, even before reading if it was indeed possible or not.
     
    Cluster beans are one of our favorite vegetables and I had to try this version. While Hubby dear didn't really take to this dish, Amma was very happy with it and so were my colleagues who had this.
     
    To throw some light on what the dish means, the blogger says, ‘Menaskai’ is a traditional sweet and spicy curry famous in the Mangalore Udupi region. Very often cooked at home, I don't think this dish features in a restaurant. If you are looking for a delicious side dish for tiffins, then try this Sesame Seeds Chutney

     The vegetable used in Menaskai is usually bitter, sour, or sweet. Depending on the taste of the main vegetable used, the remaining flavours are balanced. If you use sweet pineapple or mango, you would use less jaggery, and if you use bitter or sour vegetables, less tamarind, and more jaggery to balance out the taste. 

     
    Looks like bitter gourd is one of the favorite veggies to be used in this. since this vegetable was off during this period, I opted for an easier one. 
     
    Since cluster beans are also mildly bitter, if not as much as bitter gourd, it makes it perfect for Menaskai. Since as in our cuisine, Black sesame seeds make a very rare appearance. So that lends a special bold flavor to Menasaki.

     

    Gorikai Menaskai

    Ingredients Needed:

    Cluster Beans / Gorikai / Goruchikkudukaya, diced into 1 inch - 1 cup

    For the ground masala:

    Fresh coconut - 2 cups
    Dry red chilies - 6 to 8 nos
    Black sesame seeds - 2 tsp
    Oil - 1 tsp
    Jaggery powder - 2-3 tbsp
    Tamarind - 1 small marble size, soaked and pulp extracted.
    Salt to taste

    For the tempering

    Oil - 2 tsp
    Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
    Garlic - 6-7 cloves
    Dry red chili - 1 to 2

    How to make Gorikai Menaskai

    Cut the cluster beans into 1 cm pieces and boil it with a cup of water and salt to taste. Let the cluster beans get just cooked and not overdone.

    To make the paste

    Heat a pan with a tsp of oil, add red chilies, and fry for a couple of minutes. Then add sesame seeds and fry for a couple of seconds.

    Next, add the coconut and roast it all together till the coconut turns light golden. Let the mixture cool down.

    Grind this spice mixture with tamarind, jaggery, and about 1/2 cup of water. Grind everything into a very smooth paste adding more water if required.

    To make the gravy:

    Add the coconut paste to the cooked cluster beans. Season it with salt and bring it to a boil. Add more water depending on the desired thickness of the curry. It should be as thick as the dosa batter. Taste it and adjust the flavours according to your preference. Let it simmer for 5 minutes and turn off the heat.

    For the tempering

    Heat coconut oil and mustard seeds in a little pan. When the mustard starts to splutter, add the lightly crushed garlic cloves. Fry till the garlic turns golden and adds the dry red chili. When the chili turns to bring red, turn off the heat. Pour the tempering over the curry.

    Serve with Rice

    Notes:

    Other vegetables which can be used instead of cluster beans are bitter gourd, pineapple, mango, cluster beans, and hog plums. Balance the sweet and sour ingredients depending on the flavor of the vegetable used.

    You can use both desiccated and frozen coconut instead of fresh coconut

    I read that Menaskai usually tastes better the next day. So if you are serving it for dinner, try to cook it in the morning and let it sit the whole day. After boiling it a few times, it gets really thick like a chutney and the flavours get much stronger.

    Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing this BM

    Print Pin

    Gorikai Menaskai | Cluster Beans in Sesame Coconut Curry

    Cuisine Karnataka
    Dish Type Gravy Side Dishes
    Author Srivalli

    Ingredients

    • 1 cup Cluster Beans / Gorikai / Goruchikkudukaya (diced into 1 inch)

    For the Ground Masala

    • 2 cups Coconut Fresh
    • 6 - 8 nos Dry Red Chilies
    • 2 tsp Black Sesame Seeds
    • 1 tsp Cooking Oil
    • 2 - 3 tbsp Jaggery Powder
    • Tamarind 1 small marble size (soaked and pulp extracted)
    • Salt to taste

    For the Tempering

    • 2 tsp Coconut Oil
    • 1/2 tsp Mustard Seeds
    • 6 - 7 cloves Garlic
    • 1 - 2 Dry Red Chilies

    Instructions

    How to make Gorikai Menaskai

    • Cut the cluster beans into 1 cm pieces and boil it with a cup of water and salt to taste. Let the cluster beans get just cooked and not overdone.

    To make the paste

    • Heat a pan with a tsp of cooking oil, add red chilies, fry for couple of minutes. Then, add sesame seeds and fry for a couple of seconds.
    • Next, add the coconut and roast it all together till the coconut turns light golden. Let the mixture cool down.
    • Grind this spice mixture with tamarind, jaggery and about 1/2 cup of water. Grind everything into a very smooth paste adding more water if required.

    To make the gravy

    • Add the coconut paste to the cooked cluster beans. Season it with salt and bring it to a boil. Add more water depending on the desired thickness of the curry. It should be as thick as the dosa batter. Taste it and adjust the flavours according to your preference. Let it simmer for 5 minutes and turn off the heat.

    For the tempering

    • Heat coconut oil and mustard seeds in a little pan. When the mustard starts to splutter, add the lightly crushed garlic cloves. Fry till the garlic turns golden and add the dry red chili. When the chili turns bring red, turn off the heat. Pour the tempering over the curry.
    • Serve with Rice.

    Notes

    Other vegetables which can be used instead of cluster beans are bitter gourd, pineapple, mango, cluster beans and hog plums. Balance the sweet and sour ingredients depending on the flavor of the vegetable used.
    You can use both desiccated and frozen coconut instead of fresh coconut.
    I read that Menaskai usually tastes better the next day. So if you are serving it for dinner, try to cook it in the morning and let it sit the whole day. After boiling it a few times, it gets really thick like a chutney and the flavour gets much stronger.
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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. vaishali sabnani says

      October 11, 2015 at 10:01 pm

      The Udupi dish has mixed flavors which sound interesting , but i am not sure if all would like , even our family doesn't like pineapple in curries though I don't mind it once in a while.

      Reply
    2. Varadas Kitchen says

      October 12, 2015 at 12:39 pm

      The balancing of the flavors sounds so similar to the Maharashtrian cuisine.

      Reply
    3. rajani says

      October 12, 2015 at 10:11 pm

      Pineapple would give an interesting twist I guess. The preparation is kind of interesting.

      Reply
    4. Harini-Jaya R says

      October 14, 2015 at 2:56 pm

      This sounds like something I would love to make.

      Reply
    5. Pavani N says

      October 14, 2015 at 11:04 pm

      What an interesting sweet & sour curry that is. Looks yummy. Bookmarked to try.

      Reply
    6. Sapana Behl says

      October 16, 2015 at 4:53 pm

      Lots of flavors are going in the curry.It sounds delicious.

      Reply
    7. Priya Suresh says

      October 17, 2015 at 9:41 am

      Can smell the flavor of this gorikai menaskai from here, fingerlicking goodness.

      Reply
    8. sneha datar says

      October 18, 2015 at 4:07 pm

      Sounds very interesting!..easy to make.

      Reply
    9. Chef Mireille says

      October 20, 2015 at 12:41 am

      LOVE the masala in this curry - sounds so delicious

      Reply
    10. Sowmya :) says

      October 23, 2015 at 4:12 am

      Pretty dish and also lovely write-up about its history

      Reply
    11. Nisha Sundar says

      October 26, 2015 at 2:26 pm

      This is one lovely dish Valli. This looks like our tamil kootu with slight variation in the ingredients... Bookmarked.

      Reply
    12. Vimala Lakshmi says

      November 08, 2015 at 4:20 am

      Its so delicious..........

      Reply
    13. Srivalli says

      November 03, 2017 at 12:15 pm

      Hi since you seem to have all the time to check both the recipes, you should have taken time to read the my intro as well, where I have mentioned that I have used chinmayie's recipe. Thanks for stopping by.

      Reply

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