Mangalorean Specialities
Mangalore Green Masala Paste
Every holiday I always return armed with Mom’s special Green masala paste and her Meet mirsang paste ( spicy chilli paste) as they are so useful for cooking up dishes in minutes..
Over the many years that we have been away from home Mom has continuosly tried to adapt her recipes to make her dishes and spice pastes go a long way. In this recipe mom fries this paste very well in oil so that it preserves for months together in an airtight bottle in the fridge. It always comes in handy on those rainy days 🙂
The wonderful blend of fresh coriander leaves, green chillies and whole spices adds so much flavour to any preparation.
To make mom’s green masala paste you will need: (this quantity will suffice for preparing 1 kg chicken curry)
Ingredients:
Fresh Coriander leaves: 1 small bunch
Mint leaves: a few
Ginger:.1 inch piece
Garlic: 5 large cloves
Green chillies: 7
Pepper corns: 1tsp
Cumin seeds: 2 tsps
Coriander seeds: 2 tsps
Cinnamon: 2 inch piece
Cloves: 5 nos.
Turmeric powder: 1/2 tsp
Method:
1. Wash coriander leaves and take off leaves. Dry well on a clean cloth.
2. Clean and mince finely ginger and garlic.
3. Remove stems of green chillies.
4. Grind all the ingredients to a fine paste using a little water. Green masala is ready for use .
5. For a larger quantity (if bottling) multiply all the recipe ingredients ( X5/X10 times) . Prepare as above Steps 1-3. Grind in a diluted solution of vinegar (2 tbsps concentrated vinegar in a cup of water). Use diluted vinegar as required to make a thick paste)
6. There are two ways to preserve this ground paste:
a. the ground paste can be either fried really well in sufficient oil till it turns a dark green colour and oil starts leaving the sides of the masala, cool and bottle.
b. the freshly ground paste can be preserved by using a preservative like sodium benzoate.
Mom usually follows method (a).
7. Bottle the prepared green masala paste in a sterilised dry airtight bottle and store in the fridge for a few months (5-6 months). Use a dry spoon as and when required. Remember to close the lid tight after use.
