Tender Cashewnut Side Dish (Bibbe upkari)

Bibbe upkari is a popular Indian dish made with cashew nuts. It is a spicy, dry curry that has been enjoyed for centuries in the state of Karnataka.

This is a very easy and simple side dish. It can be made with fresh or dry cashew nuts, depending on the season. Read more in detail here: tender cashew nut recipe.

Tender-Cashewnut-Side-Dish-Bibbe-upkari

Bibbe upakari is an all-time favorite in Konkani cuisine. Konkani cuisine’s most sought-after, beloved, and admired meal. A traditional side dish that must be served as part of the Ugadi holiday feast (new year for Hindus following the lunar calendar). Ivy gourds and fresh, delicate cashew nuts are stir-fried in bibbe upakari. In this stir fry, potatoes are sometimes included. It’s a delicious combination!

In Konkani, fresh, delicate cashews are known as bibbo. In Konkani, upakari means stir fry. To create a deicious stir fry, cooked, soft cashews are stir fried with ivy gourds and potatoes as a side dish for lunch. During the summertime, this stir fry is a component of every Konkani cuisine special spread, every feast, and every celebration.

Konkani’s passion for “bibbo” – fresh, soft cashews – is legendary. It’s also realistic. 🙂 After cooking, these delicate cashews are soft, creamy, and delectable. Despite the fact that these delicate cashews are very expensive (due to the enormous amount of labor required in peeling them from the soft nuts), Konkani’s purchase them, boil them with salt, and eat them as a snack. A late-night snack Yes, delicate cashews that are velvety, creamy, and delectable are eaten like nothing else. We used to battle with our mothers for more of these smooth, creamy cashews when we were youngsters. ‘baile jalari vikkun bibbo khata,’ which means Konkani’s would sell their women to acquire tender cashew nuts, is a humorous Konkani proverb that describes Konkani’s passion for bibbo/tender cashews. 

These delicate, silky, fresh cashews are only available for a limited period – shortly before summer begins (between Febraury and March). Cashews begin to develop in the month of January and reach full maturity in the month of April. To get these delicate cashews, the developing cashew nuts are plucked and peeled. They’re harvested before they completely develop into cashew nuts. As a result, these delicate cashews are softer than the fully grown, dried cashew nuts often seen in stores. 

Around Ugadi, Konkani Konkanis all over the globe start looking for these bibbos to prepare the traditional Ugadi meal, Bibbe Upakari.

Tender cashews (bibbo) are also used in a variety of recipes. Song is a spicy side dish made with potatoes and onions called bibbe saung. We create a dessert/payasam called madgane with these soft cashew nuts and chana dal, which is another must-have for a full Ugadi celebration feast. Tender cashews are also used to make bibbe sukke, a spicy side dish (bibbo). During their season, these delicate cashews will be floating about in a spicy coconut stew called batate human in Konkani, as well as other types of payasams. During the cashew season, Konkanis utilize nuts in everything and everything to give them a rich texture and touch. Bibbe upakari is a delicious stir fry that goes well with soft, fluffy pooris and makes a fantastic breakfast.


But, apart from all of these meals, I’m sure most Konkanis like snacking on soft cashews (bibbo). Simply cooked cashews (bibbo) that are soft, tasty, and creamy. Here’s how to prepare and enjoy these delicate cashews (bibbo) to their full potential: 

After washing, fresh tender cashews should look like this:

1632475085_403_Tender-Cashewnut-Side-Dish-Bibbe-upkari

1. Soak fresh, tender cashews for approximately one hour in hot boiling water. This procedure aids in the removal of any dirt or mud stuck on the cashews (bibbo).

2. After an hour, wash the cashews (bibbo) many times in fresh water in various batches.

3. Once they’re clean, toss them into a pot of boiling water with 1 tablespoon of salt for 200 cashews (bibbos) (this is how they sell them in 50 and 100 pound bags). Make sure there’s enough water to cover all of the sensitive cashews.

4. Cook for 10 minutes and check for doneness. Remove one cashew, peel it, then eat it to find out. Cook them for a few more minutes if they aren’t fully done.

5. Strain off all of the water and serve them steaming hot after they are fully cooked and tender. It’s a treat to peel and eat these delicate cashews while they’re still warm. They’re delicious even after they’ve cooled down and the following day. However, they are best served hot. 🙂

When delicate cashews are cooked, their skin darkens:

1632475086_138_Tender-Cashewnut-Side-Dish-Bibbe-upkari


Bibbe upakari (tender cashew nut stir fry) recipe:

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup cashew nuts (tender)
  • Ivy gourd, 1 cup
  • 1 potato, medium size (optional)
  • a quarter cup of grated coconut
  • 2 teaspoons of vegetable oil
  • mustard seeds, 1/2 teaspoon
  • 1 tablespoon urad dal
  • 2 curry leaves (leaflets)
  • 1 red chili, dried
  • 3–4 green peppers
  • season with salt to taste

Serves: 2

Time to prepare: 45 minutes


Preparation Method:

Preparation:

1. Soak fresh tender cashews in a cup of hot boiling water for approximately an hour. This procedure aids in the removal of any dirt or mud stuck to the delicate cashews (bibbo). 

2. After an hour, wash the sensitive cashews (bibbo) many times in fresh water in various batches. 

3. Once they’re clean, peel them and cut them in half with your fingers. Set them aside. You can simply separate the two pieces of sensitive cashews with your fingertips.

This is what freshly peeled delicate cashews look like:

1632475087_646_Tender-Cashewnut-Side-Dish-Bibbe-upkari

1632475088_464_Tender-Cashewnut-Side-Dish-Bibbe-upkari

4. Peel the potatoes, cut them into thin, long slices, and keep them immersed in water to avoid oxidation. You may prepare bibbe upakari with just tender cashews and ivy gourds, or you can do the stir fry using potatoes as well.

5. Wash the ivy gourds well, then cut off both ends and thinly slice them lengthwise into 4 or 6 or 8 pieces, depending on their thickness. Set things aside for now.


Now you’re ready to prepare the upakari (stir fry):

6. In a wok, heat the oil and mustard seeds. When they begin to pop, add the urad dal and fry until it begins to brown. Next, add the sliced green chillies, broken pieces of dried red chilli, and curry leaves and cook for a minute. 

7. Then add the sliced ivy gourds and 1/2 cup water, and simmer over medium heat, covered.

8. Add sliced potatoes and peeled, separated tender cashews after the ivy gourds are half cooked (color changes).

9. Add another cup of water and a pinch of salt. Cook, covered, until all of the vegetables are cooked through.

11. Stir in the shredded coconut and remove from the heat.

10. As a lunch side dish, serve hot bibbe upakari.


Fresh tender cashews may be frozen for up to a month (at minus 4 degrees). So delicate cashews are sun dried at home, allowing them to be kept and consumed all year. However, when the cashews dry in the sun, they grow hard and lose their natural flavor and softness. This is what dried delicate cashews look like:

1632475089_450_Tender-Cashewnut-Side-Dish-Bibbe-upkari

Store-bought cashews are completely ripe cashews that have been peeled and dried. 


Can’t seem to locate tender cashews (bibbo)? 

If you can’t locate fresh tender cashews, you may use dried tender cashew nuts (as seen above) or store-bought cashew nuts to make bibbe upakari (packed cashews). To use both of these types in the stir fry (upakari), soak them in water overnight, peel them if they have the skin on (the ones sun dried at home), split them, and cook them as described above – although experts swear for the delicate cashews. In this stir fry, nothing surpasses the delicate, fresh, creamy cashews (bibbo in bibbe upakri). Even after heating, dried cashews are a bit firm. Delicate cashews, on the other hand, soften when cooked since they are tender and fresh. It has a delectable, creamy flavor and texture.


Can’t get enough tender cashews to feed everyone at home?

1. If you locate tender cashews but just a few, an age-old technique to increase the amount of ivy gourd and potatoes you use to create enough stir fry (upakari) to feed everyone is to use an age-old trick to increase the amount of ivy gourd and potatoes you use to make enough stir fry (upakari).

2. Tender cashews, potatoes, and ivy gourds are used in equal amounts in traditional bibbe upakari. Depending on your preferences and availability, adjust the quantity of each item you add.


More Konkani cuisine side dishes may be found here. 


Tags: Bibbo, tender cashewnut, stir fried, upakari, tendle, batate, Ivy Gourd, tender cashews, side dish, lunch, Konkani food, Mangalore food, Udupi cuisine, Konkani cuisine, Konkani cuisine, Konkani recipe

This is a traditional Indian dish that uses cashew nuts and yogurt. It’s also called bibbe upkari. Reference: madgane recipe.

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Una is a food website blogger motivated by her love of cooking and her passion for exploring the connection between food and culture. With an enthusiasm for creating recipes that are simple, seasonal, and international, she has been able to connect with people around the world through her website. Una's recipes are inspired by her travels across Mexico, Portugal, India, Thailand, Australia and China. In each of these countries she has experienced local dishes while learning about the culture as well as gaining insight into how food can be used as a bridge between different cultures. Her recipes are often creative combinations of traditional ingredients from various different cuisines blended together to create something new.