Jeere- Meere Kadi (Coconut based Cumin- Pepper Soup)

Jeere- Meere Kadi is a very popular konkani dish. It is simple and very easy to make. In Konkani, jeere means cumin seeds and meere means pepper. Kadi is a thick coconut based sauce. I got this recipe from my MIL and was in my to- do list since so many months. Finally got a chance to make it today and it turned out very good. My mother never made this dish but she used to make a very similar dish using dried pomegranate peel. You can find its recipe here.

This is a very healthy dish. It makes you feel good especially when you are having a bad cold or cough.

Ingredients:

• Grated Coconut, fresh/frozen- 3/4 cup
• Roasted Red chillies- 3-4
• Tamarind- A small ball (gooseberry sized)
• Cumin seeds/Jeera- 1/2 tsp
• Whole Pepper (Peppercorns)- 1/4 tsp
• Salt- To taste
• Oil- 1-2 tsp
• Garlic pods- 5-6
• Ghee/ Clarified butter- Few drops

Procedure:

In a few drops of ghee, fry whole pepper and cumin seeeds, until they turn slight brown. Allow them to cool on a plate.


For Masala: Grind grated coconut, roasted red chillies, tamarind along with roasted cumin seeds and pepper, to get a smooth paste. Add water as required. Transfer this ground mixture to a dish and start heating it. Add salt to taste and adjust the consistency, by adding water ( I made it little thinner than the medium thick consistency). Bring this mixture to a boil and continue heating for 3-4 minutes . Turn off the heat.

For Seasoning- Heat oil and add crushed garlic. Fry it until it turns golden brown. Add this to the mixture and mix well. Jeere- Meere Kadi is ready!!

Serve it hot as a side dish to rice. Above measurement serves three people.

Note: #You can also try roasting (without oil) the grated coconut until it turns pale brown and rest of the procedure remains the same. Roasting imparts a good flavor to the dish.
#I have also read in a cook book that you can give mustard seasoning instead of garlic seasoning.