Methi Times Three

I wish there was a clever or an amusing story to go with this recipe. But there isn't. No preamble. This is quite simply my favourite way of making methi-cha-varan/ methi-daal.
It has methi in three forms: slightly soaked methi seeds, methi seeds in the phodni (tadka, tempering) and finally glorious methi greens.

Methi-cha Varan

Ingredients
1 cup toor (arhar) daal, washed
1 - 1½ cup methi leaves, chopped
1 tbsp methi (fenugreek) seeds, soaked for a couple of hours in warm water
4-5 kadhilimba (curry leaves)
phodni kit (1 tbsp oil, ½ tsp cumin seeds, pinch of asafoetida, and ¼ tsp turmeric)
1 tsp methi seeds
1 tsp (or more) red chili powder
a couple stalks of cilantro leaves, chopped
a pinch of sugar
salt, to taste
lemon juice, to taste
warm water

Method
Pressure cook the toor daal and the soaked methi seeds.
Heat the oil, when hot add the cumin seeds, the asafoetida, and the methi seeds.
Don't let the methi seeds brown.
Add the turmeric and then the methi leaves.
Give it a quick stir and cook uncovered for a couple of minutes.
Add the cooked daal-methi mixture, the curry leaves, the red chili powder, salt, and sugar.
Add a cup of warm water and cook over medium heat for 4-5 minutes.
Add more warm water if you want a thinner varan.
Add the lemon juice.
Adjust the salt and spice levels.
Serve with steamed rice.

Enjoy!

If you have any questions or comments, please write to me the.best.cooker@gmail.com or Tweet me @Cooker_Baker. Thanks for stopping by.

Simple Food

The simplicity of this dish takes your breath away.
This is a simple and unpretentious way to prepare chard.
The addition of rice gives it such a fantastic texture.
If you use red chard, the rice grains take on that colour. Beautiful!

Increase the quantity of rice and this becomes a meal in itself.

Red Chard-Rice Bhaaji

Ingredients
1 bunch chard, washed and chopped
1 (or more) green chillies
1 inch piece of ginger
¼ cup rice, coarsely ground (a spice grinder works best)
Phodni kit (mustard seeds, asafoetida, and turmeric)
1 tbsp oil
salt, to taste
lemon juice

Method
Make a paste of the ginger and green chillies. Set aside.
Over medium heat make the phodni (tempering): heat oil, when hot add mustard seeds, when they stop dancing, add the asafoetida and the turmeric.
Add the ginger-chilli paste and saute a bit (about 10-20 seconds).
Add the chard and give it a good stir.
Cover and cook for about 5 minutes.
Add the rice and salt and give it another good stir.
Cover and cook for another 5 minutes, or till the rice is cooked.
Add a bit water if the chard starts sticking to the pan.

Adjust the salt.
Squeeze a bit of lemon juice.
Enjoy!

Methamba Using Apples

My kids go thru these phases when they get hooked on a certain food and for the next several days that is what they want for each meal. So sometimes it is waffles for breakfast, waffles in the lunchbox, waffles when they get back from school.....you get the idea.

Shouldn't complain too much as I, too, sometimes tend to binge similarly.
The last time this happened was when I had way too many apples on hand.

These were some absolutely delicious, crunchy, tart granny smith apples.
When looking for ways to use them up, I stumbled on a post in this thread for using up granny smith apples.
This recipe (replicated below for convenience) gave green apples the methamba treatment. Methamba is a delicious chutney/ relish made using green mangoes.

The result was absolutely delicious (and like the kids I couldn't get enough of it). This is an idea I would've liked to have thought of myself.

Apples-Methi Chutney (Methamba Ishtyle)
2 medium sized granny smith apples, cored and cut into small pieces
2-3 tbsp oil
½ tsp mustard seeds
2 tbsp fenugreek (methi) seeds
6-7 curry leaves
2-3 (or more) dried red chillies, stems removed
½ tbsp (or more) brown sugar
a pinch of asafoetida
salt to taste
2 tsp lemon juice (optional, depending on the sourness of the apples)

Mix and set aside the apples, salt, and lemon juice. (I didn't use any).
Heat the oil, add the mustard seeds and asafoetida.
Add the methi seeds, curry leaves, chillies, brown sugar, and the apple mixture.
Cook for about 2-3 minutes (more if you want a mushy chutney).
Cool completely before adjusting the salt.

Stays in the refrigerator for about a week, I think.
Given the way this chutney is attacked in our home, it has never lasted that long.
This chutney tastes good with rotis, freshly steamed rice, in a sandwich, as a dip with crackers, etc. etc.

Traditional versions of methamba are here and here.
Here is a way to make, panha, the quintessential summer drink using apples (specifically applesauce) instead of green mangoes.

Maharashtrian Kaccha (raw) Masala

Lagna-cha Masala

When going thru a new cookbook, I always go to the TOC to check if there is a section on condiments/ masalas etc. Most cookbooks on regional Indian cuisines do have such a section and usually provide a preview of the cuisine.

For various reasons I hadn't ever read the small section at the beginning of each Ruchira volume which presents simple masalas along with basic techniques used in cooking such has making a one-thread sugar syrup (ek taari paak). The main reason I skipped the part on masalas is that my Aai is the main supplier of home-made masalas.

Tucked away in this section was the recipe for a masala called kaccha masala. None of the ingredients are fried or roasted, hence the name (kaccha=raw). Even after it was made, I wasn't sure of this masala. Though the masala was quite aromatic on its own, it didn't have any special zing to it.
I first made a masale bhaat similar to this one but making sure to fry the masala before adding the vegetables and the rice.

At the very first whiff one is transported into a wedding mandav (pandal), right in the midst of the bustling, anxious folks from the girls side, and the uber relaxed, glad-we-don't-have-to-work-as-hard folks from the boys side, the rustling silks, the glittering jewelry, the cumulative fragrance of mogra, zhendu (marigold), chandan (sandalwood), agarbattis (incense), and kaapoor (camphor), small kids randomly running around, conversations that begin with 'Did you hear...?', gossips exchanged or started, everyone except the bride and groom having a gala time.

Right there I knew that this masala would have to be rechristened to Lagna-cha Masala.
Use the masala in a rassa such as this or this or Ashwini's masale bhaat (mentioned above) or Manasi's version of Ashwini's masale bhaat!

Here is a slightly modified version of this masala.

Kaccha Masala (Lagna-cha Masala)

½ cup coriander seeds (dhane)
¼ cup cumin seeds
1 tbsp kala jeera
12-14 cloves
2 1-inch cinnamon sticks

Grind the ingredients in a spice grinder to a get coarse powder.
Store in an air-tight container.

Kolhapuri Flower-Batata Rassa

When looking for recipes to use the masala that Nupur sent, my stack of Saptahik Sakal came through in a big way. Though I found several recipes for Kolhapuri food there, most of them were either for non-vegeterian food or they didn't involve using any pre-made masala.

Finally I settled on making a rassa. Any vegetable preparation with gravy is categorised as a rassa (ras/ rus = juice). The usual suspects in a rassa are caulifower, potatoes, and green peas. Sometimes a tomato puts in an appearance.

One common thread I noticed in the recipes for the non-vegeterian dishes was that the masala was added to sauteed onions and then ground to a paste (kalwan). This paste was the main seasoning.
If the masala was aromatic to begin with, the kalwan was even more so.
Taste wise it packed a major punch. None of those delicate, subtle or barely-there flavours.
The masala that was stuck to the sides of the mixer bowl was carefully collected, spread over a slice of bread and one squirt of lemon later I was in sandwich heaven.

Kolhapuri Flower-Batata Rassa

Ingredients
2 cups cauliflower florets
1 medium sized potato, cubed
1 medium onion, sliced
2 tbsp oil
1 tbsp Kolhapuri masala
4-5 stalks of cilantro, chopped
salt, to taste

Method
Heat 1 tbsp oil and saute 3/4th of the onions till brown.
Add the masala and cook slightly (just under a minute). Do not add any water.
Grind the onion-masala mixture (kalwan).
Heat the remaining oil and saute the onions that were set aside.
Add the kalwan and cook for about 1-2 minutes, stiring constantly. If the kalwan sticks to the pan, add a bit of water. The colour reduces a bit on cooking.
Add about a cup of warm water, salt, and the vegetables.
Cover and cook for 7-8 minutes (or less if you like the vegetables to retain a crunch).
Adjust the salt.
Enjoy with bhaat (rice), bhakri, or ghadi-chi poli.

Adding links to the chain
Being a part of the Arusuvai Friendship Chain (US edition) has been a lot of fun. The most satisfying aspect of blogging is getting to know like minded food bloggers (snobs and all).
I'd like to pass on Aurusuvai mystery packages to the following bloggers who continue to inspire with their fresh take on food, their writing, and their breathtaking photographs:
Food For Thought and Evolving Tastes.

When the Bay Area Indian food bloggers get together was announced, I heard from several non-bloggers who were interested in meeting the people behind the blogs. As it was a strictly bloggers-only event, I had to turn down these requests. But if they'd like to receive an Arusuvai package from me, please send me an email (the.best.cooker@gmail.com).

Vangyache Kaap (Eggplant Fritters)

When Sangeeta announced the ingredient for this month's JFI (Jihva for Ingredients), I was thrilled.
Not because I like eggplants; au contraire. I hate, dislike don't like them much.

The only acceptable form is vangyache kaap (vanga is the Marathi word for eggplant) and so I knew exactly what my entry for this event would be.
I waited till we got around to the letter V of Nupur's A-Z of Indian Vegetables event so I could submit this for both events.

So here they are, vangyache kaap which are, in my not so humble opinion, the only way eggplant is made palatable.

Ingredients
7-8 ¼ inch thick slices of eggplant
1 - 1.5 cups besan (or rice flour)
1 tsp turmeric
2 tsp (or more) chili powder
1 tbsp amchur
2 tsp cumin-corriander powder
a pinch of salt
oil, as needed

Method
Slice the eggplants and let them sit in a bowl of salted water for about 10-15 minutes.
Meanwhile, mix all the dry ingredients and set aside.
Heat a non-stick pan or skillet and add a little oil.
Take a slice of the eggplant, dab it as dry as you can and then dip it in the besan mixture.
Lightly press the eggplant slice so that the besan mixture sticks to it. Flip the slice and repeat.
Add the eggplant to the skillet.
Cook each side for about a minute.
Cook other slices similarly. You may need to wipe the pan (or skillet) clean between batches.
Serve immediately.

Enjoy these kaap with a cup of hot tea or as a side-dish.

Serve the pretty looking slices to the others; save the slightly blackened ones for yourself. Believe me, they are the tastiest.


One batch of these eggplants go to Nupur as my entry for Nupur's A-Z of Indian Vegetables


And another one goes to Sangeeta who is hosting the JFI food blog event this month. JFI is the brainchild of Indira.

Varan-Bhaat & Amti-Bhaat

For most Maharashtrians varan-bhaat is the ultimate comfort food. It nourishes you mind, body, and soul.

At a given time, there are any number of 'You know you are a Maharashtrian if....' lists circulating. The contents of these lists keep varying, but one item is bound to figure: 'You know you are a Maharashtrian if you think varan-bhaat is the best food on Earth'. I agree completely.

Varan is cooked toor daal (yellow split peas), mashed, and spiced with a bit of turmeric and asafetida. At times a tiny amount of of jaggery is added as well.

If it is a festive occasion, the bhaat is basmati, other times it is either ambe mohor or ambe mohor-tukda.

Add some homemade toop (ghee), a dash of salt and a squeeze of lemon, and there you have it: varan bhaat.

Varan usually refers to cooked toor daal. If moong daal is used, it is moga-cha-varan. As moong daal is easy to digest, moong-daal and rice is usually the first solid meal given to toddlers.

On the simplicity spectrum if varan is at one end, on the other end is the glorious chincha-goola-chi amti (daal with tamarind and jaggery). In between the two lies the Phodni-Cha Varan.

Phodni-Cha Varan
Phodni is the Marathi word for tadka, tempering.
Toor daal varan with a simple phodni is another satisfying variation on a theme.
This is also referred to as saadhi amti (plain amti). This amti is perfect when you want a daal that is not too spicy but neither do you want just varan.

Ingredients
1 cup cooked toor daal
1 tsp oil (ghee is better)
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp asafetida
1-2 mirchis, chopped
5-6 curry leaves
5-6 stalks of cilantro, chopped
1/2 tsp sugar
salt, to taste

Method
Heat the oil (ghee). When hot add the cumin seeds.
When seeds start changing the colour add the asafetida, then the turmeric.
Next add the mirchi and curry leaves. Let them cook a bit (about a minute).
Add the varan, a cup of water, the salt and sugar.
Bring to a boil.
Adjust the salt and add the corriander leaves.
Enjoy with hot steamed rice.

There are umpteen variations to phodni-cha varan. We like it with tomatoes, spinach, methi (fenugreek) leaves, sauteed onions, or ginger (especially in the winter months).

Chincha-goola-chi Amti (Daal with tamarind and jaggery)

For this amti you have to have goda masala. Sure, substitutions are ok; but what you get is not amti.

Recipes for making goda masala are here and here.

Ingredients
1 cup toor daal, cooked
½ methi (fenugreek) seeds
phodni kit (1 tbsp oil, 1 tsp mustard seeds, pinch of asafetida 1 tsp turmeric )
4-5 curry leaves gul (jaggery)
2 tsp tamarind paste
2 tsp goda masala
4-5 stalks of coriander leaves, chopped salt, to taste


Method
Heat oil, when hot add the methi seeds. Be careful as they burn quickly.
Add the mustard seeds, as they start dancing, add the asafetida, then the turmeric.
Next, add the curry leaves.
Add the cooked daal, the tamarind, jaggery, goda masala, and salt.
Adjust the quantity of water depending on the consistency that you want. Bring to a boil.
Adjust the tamarind and jaggery as per your taste.

Let the amti boil for a couple of minutes.
Garnish with the coriander leaves.

Enjoy with steamed rice and a dollop (or more) of toop (ghee).

As children, we'd also eat amti with poli. Crumble a couple of polis in a bowl, a ladle full of amti and some toop. This can be eaten with a spoon; perfect for those times when you didn't want to get your hands dirty cos you were eating and reading at the same time!

This is another entry from me for RCI-June: Maharashtrian Cuisine.

Shikran Poli

If it wasn't for RCI-June: Maharashtrian Cuisine, I wouldn't have thought of writing about shikran.

This quick, simple, and homely (that last adj. belongs mostly in matrimonial ads, doesn't it?) dessert often gets ignored when listing favourites.

You won't find shikran in any restaurant menu, nor would it be part of any religious or celebratory meal. But shikran is made regularly in Maharashtrian homes everywhere.

It is made with bananas, milk, and sugar. That's it. The end result is considerably more than the sum of it's parts.

A waati (bowl, katori) of shikran with poli transports you into comfort food heaven.

My Ajji (grandmother) always added dudha-cha-masala (a 'masala' made of powdered almonds, pistas, cardamon and a bit of saffron used to make masala milk) to shikran. A habit that I've picked up. A little masala goes a long way in jazzing up a family favourite.


I like the bananas sliced in my shikran, others like them mashed.

How do you like your shikran, Nupur? This shikran-poli is making it's way to you as another entry from me for RCI-June: Maharashtrian Cuisine.

Usal Edamame-chi (Soybean Usal)

Usal is a simple and healthy dish made using sprouted beans such as matki, moong, kala chana (black chick peas) etc., or sometimes even green peas. Besides being freezer friendly, usal is extremely easy to make and the variations are endless.

Ever since Trader Joes's started carrying shelled edamame (Japanese for soybeans) in the freezer section, I use them instead of green peas.
Here is one such dish that I now make using edamame: Edamame Usal.
The original recipe came from Ruchira, which I have tweaked just slightly.



Edamame Usal
Ingredients
1 packet edamame (16oz)
1 cup kothimbir (cilantro) loosely packed
1/2 cup grated coconut
2 tsp khus-khus (poppy seeds) lightly toasted
2 tsp cumin seeds
2-3 chillies, chopped
2 tbsp oil
1 tsp sugar
salt, to taste
lemon juice
The phodni kit (mustard seeds, turmeric, and asefetida)

Method
Heat 1 tbsp of oil, add the edamame and cook them slightly. You may need to add a little water.
Meanwhile, grind the coconut, cilantro, chillies, cumin, and poppy seeds to make a coarse chutney.
Add the chutney to the edamame and mix well.
Do the phodni (heat 1 tbsp oil, add mustard seeds, when they start dancing add the asefetida and turmeric) and add it to the edamame.
Add the salt, sugar and a bit of the lemon.
Cover the edamame and cook till soft (about 5-6 minutes). Stop cooking before the edamame get mushy-gooshy. They should retain a little bite.
Adjust the salt. Add more lemon juice if required.
We enjoyed our usal with poli. (Check Tee's step-by-step pictures for making Maharashtrian rotis: poli.)


This is my entry for Nupur's A-Z of Indian Vegetables series.

Sakhar (sugar) Bhaat

It would be very unfair to describe sakhar bhaat as just sugar rice or sweet rice.
Though technically it is a sweet rice made using sugar, the addition of lavanga (cloves) and keshar (saffron) elevates the humble rice to heavenly heights. Sakhar bhaat is simple, uncomplicated, and delicious; Maharashtrian food at its best.

I used raw sugar instead of regular white sugar, which gave it a light brown colour and totally masked the colour imparted by the saffron. As this wasn't the familiar colour of sakhar bhaat, I added some more saffron. In the process, went a little overboard and ended up with something that looked more like keshari bhaat (saffron rice) than sakhar bhaat.

The original recipe is from Kamalabai Ogale's Ruchira, a definitive cookbook of Maharashtrian cuisine. Read more about Ruchira here.

Ingredients
1 cup Basmati rice, washed and drained
1 tbsp ghee
1 ¼ cup sugar and a little more than ½ cup water for the paak (sugar syrup)
4-5 lavanga (cloves)
¼ tsp cardamom powder
8-10 cashewnuts, halved
a good sized pinch of keshar (saffron) strands, soaked in a little milk or water
1 tsp lime juice (optional)

Method
Heat the ghee, when hot add the cloves and cook till the colour of cloves starts changes (don't let them burn).
Add the rice and sautee a bit.
Add two cups water and cook the rice.
When the rice is cooked, gently spread it in a plate and let cool.
Combine the sugar and water. Let the mixture cook till you get a thick syrup. You know the paak is done when a drop of paak put on a metal plate holds it shape and doesn't run. This is referred to as a golibunda paak.
Add the lemon juice (if using), saffron, cardamom powder, cashews, and the rice to the syrup.
Cover and cook till the water evaporates.
The rice tastes better the next day, after all the flavours have had a chance to mingle.

The Regional Cuisines of India (RCI) was started by Lakshmi of Veggie Cuisine. After Tamilian and Andhra cuisine, it is now the turn of Maharashtrian food.
This another entry from me for RCI: Maharashtrian Food hosted by Nupur.

Shevgyachya Shenganchi Amti (Drumstick Daal)

Amti (daal) is a cornerstone of any Maharashtian meal.
There are countless versions of it and rightfully deserve a separate post (coming soon).
Here is a simple everyday amti using shevgyachya shenga (drumsticks).
The addition of chincha-gool (tamarind-jaggery) makes it typically Maharashtrian.

Shevgyachya Shenganchi Amti

Ingredients

1 cup toor daal
4-5 curry leaves
4-5 drumsticks, cut into 2-3 inch pieces
gul (jaggery) a 2 inch piece
2-3 amsula (kokum) or 2 tsp tamarind paste
2 tsp dhanya-jeerya chi pood (cumin-coriander powder)
1 tbsp oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
pinch of asafetida
1 tsp turmeric
salt, to taste
4-5 stalks of coriander leaves, chopped

Method
Wash the daal and cook with 2 cups water. When cooked, mix it well till there are no clumps.
Heat oil. When hot add the mustard seeds, as they start dancing, add the asafetida, then the turmeric.
Next, add the curry leaves and the cumin-coriander powder.
Add the drumsticks and saute for 1-2 minutes.
Add the cooked daal, the tamarind, jaggery, and salt.
Adjust the quantity of water depending on the consistency that you want.
Bring to a boil.
Adjust the tamarind and jaggery as per your taste.
Garnish with the coriander leaves.
Enjoy with steamed rice.


This is my entry for Nupur's A-Z of Indian Vegetables series.

This is also my first entry for the RCI-June: Maharashtrian Foods event, this month hosted by Nupur.