Khatkhate: A Goan Celebration of Seasonal Vegetables

The Goan love for fish needs no introduction. However, their vegetarian fare has many classics that are lesser-known to the outside world. Khatkhate is one of these dishes, made with twenty different vegetables.

The coastal state of Goa is known for its xit kodi (fish curry and rice). This meal, much celebrated and documented extensively, has been a staple diet for generations of Goans and will likely continue to be so. However, amidst all this love for fish, Goans also have a soft corner for a few traditional vegetarian dishes as well. The dish that tops this list is khatkhate, a curry that includes a staggering number of vegetables. Predominantly cooked in Hindu homes, khatkhate is primarily made on special occasions like Ganesh Chaturthi festivities, religious ceremonies held at home, and a community event called Samradana.

This dish heavily is heavily dependent on the season as most of its ingredients are locally sourced. It is usually cooked at the end of the monsoon season, since this is the time when kitchen gardens are brimming with fresh vegetables and fruits. Sometimes, more than twenty vegetables are used in the preparation of khatkhate. When it is made in the summer months, the star of the dish is tender jackfruit, known locally as chako, that is available only in May.

Khatkhate is a coming together of various seasonal and local vegetables. However, some of the constants are gourds, tubers, drumsticks, elephant foot yam, pumpkin, radish and hog plumps. All of these vegetables are abundant in parts of rural Goa, and easy to source. Khatkhate also includes sweet potatoes, air potatoes, stems of red amaranth, pumpkin vine, and even bamboo shoots. These days, it is not uncommon to find versions that include carrot, corn, and French beans.

The dish gets its distinct flavour from a local spice known as Teppal (Zanthoxylum rhetsa), a cousin of of the Sichuan pepper, and is known for its digestive properties. The outer covering of the seeds or the pods are gently crushed and used for this dish.

Unlike most Indian dishes, oil and onions are absent in the preparation of khatkate. Instead, the vegetables are boiled, and cooked in their juices with coconut, lentils, and spices. Best eaten with steamed rice, it has a variety of flavours, textures, and colour that satiates not just the taste buds, but provides a variety of nutrients from just one dish.  

Recipe: Goan Khatkhate 

Ingredients
2 tbsp pigeon peas (Toor dal), soaked overnight
2 tbsp white peas, soaked overnight
2 tbsp groundnut, soaked overnight 
½ ridge gourd
½ cucumber
2 ladies finger
1 carrot
A handful of French beans
1 radish
1 sweet corn (boiled)
4 drumsticks
4-5 ivy gourds
2 sweet potatoes
¼ ash gourd
¼ pumpkin
¼ elephant foot yam
½ tender breadfruit (if in season)
4-5 hog plumps
½ green papaya
1 tbsp jaggery
15 pods of teppal (outer covering of the seed)
Salt to taste

For masala
10 dried red chilies
1 cup freshly grated coconut
1 tsp turmeric powder 

Method
Grind the dried red chilies with turmeric, followed by the grated coconut until it forms a coarse paste.
Wash and boil toor dal, groundnuts and white peas in a large pot with just enough water to cover the vegetables.
Cut the vegetables into big chunks of roughly the same size.
When the dal is cooked, start adding the vegetables one at a time, starting with the ones that will require most time to cook.
Hog plumps must be added last followed by bhindi.
Add salt to taste.
Finally, add the ground masala, teppal and jaggery.
Mix all well and cook for 10 minutes.
Serve hot with steamed rice.   

Arti Das is a freelance journalist based in Goa. She mainly writes about Goa’s art, culture, and ecology. For details check her blog on www.aratigoa.wordpress.com    

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