When
it comes to Maharastrian comfort food nothing beats garam-garam
Pithla-Bhat with a dollop of lemon pickle. Pithla is a Maharastrian
besan curry made in every household. There are numerous ways in which
this pithla is prepared.
The recipe which I am sharing today was introduced to Me by My dearest friend Vidya Shanbhag Thakur!! I never came across this dish and neither thought about such a beautiful combination. Thank you Vidya for this amazing recipe.
Do visit her blog for more scrumptious recipes at https://mysecretplate.com
Ingredients: (Serves 4)
2 cups Besan (Gram Flour)
3 Spring Onion whites chopped finely
5 to 7 finely chopped garlic
2 nos. Green Chilles
1/2 to 3/4 cup Spring Onion greens finely chopped
1 tsp Mustard Seeds
1 tsp Red Chilli Powder
1 tsp Cumin Seeds (Jeera) Optional
1/4th tsp Turmeric Powder
1/4th tsp Hing (Asafoetida)
1 tbsp Coriander Leaves
Salt to taste
2 tbsp Oil
3 cups Water
Method:
In a mixing bowl add 1 1/2 cups of water along with red chilli powder & besan (gram flour). Mix besan (gram flour) well into water and see to it that the batter is lump free.
In
a kadhai heat oil. Add mustard seeds. When mustard seeds begins to
crackle add cumin seeds, hing, turmeric powder and finely chopped garlic. Saute garlic till its raw smell fades away.Then add finely chopped spring onion whites and green
chilles. Saute onions till translucent..
Now add spring onion greens and saute well .Add the besan mixture and salt. Add water as per your requirement for the
gravy. Normally this pithla consistency is quite thin. But you can
adjust according to you preference.
Keep on stirring continuously as due to besan this mixture do stick at the bottom.
Check
for seasoning. Add finely chopped cilantro and let this pithla cook on a medium flame till raw smell of besan fades away and mixture becomes
glossy.
Pithla is ready.
Serve this pithla with garma-garam rice or bhakri.
Flower batata chi bhaji as we call in Marathi or Aloo Gobi as known in other languages. This combination of
cauliflower florets with potatoes is loved by all.
This
vegetable is normally prepared in every Indian household and served with
dal rice or roti.Today I wish to share the easiest way of making
this Aloo Gobi Brahmani style.
Ingredients:(Serves 2)
2 cups Cauliflower florets
2 Potatoes (peeled and cut in cubes)
1 tsp Mustard seeds
1/4th tsp Hing
1/4th tsp Turmeric Powder
2 tbsp Goda masala (You may also use coriander & cumin powder instead of goda masala)
1 tbsp Red chilly powder
1 tbsp Gul (Jaggery)
Salt to taste
1 tbsp Oil
Water as per requirement
1/2 cup Corriander leaves (Kothimbir)
Method:
In a pan heat oil and add mustard seeds. When mustard seeds
crackle add hing, turmeric powder and potatoes. Saute for a minute.
Now
add the cauliflower florets and mix well. Add 1 cup of water, salt, gul
(jaggery) and cover the vegetable. Let it cook for 7-8 minutes.
Once the
cauliflower and potatoes are half done add goda masala & red chilly
powder, mix well. Check for the consistency of the gravy and adjust water
as per your preference. (Instead of goda masala, you may use coriander & cumin powder).
Now cook the vegetable till its tender (do not cover with the lid now).
Finally add coriander leaves.
Aloo Gobi - Cauliflower Potato Veggie is ready, serve
hot with flat bread or dal rice.
Tip: If you like you can add green peas to this vegetables. This addition of peas gives extra flavour to this dish.
Vangi Batata is one of the most loved dish in Maharashtrian & Gujrati Cuisine. Eggplants mixed with potatoes and onions along with simple yet flavourful spices enhances the taste of this humble vegetable.
Ingredients: (Serves 4)
1/2kg Small Eggplants
1 Onion finely chopped
3 Potatoes cut in cubes
1 tsp Mustard Seeds
1/4th tsp Hing (Asafoetida)
1/4th tsp Turmeric Powder
2 tbsp Maharashtrian Goda Masala ( You can use Coriander -Cumin Powder instead of Goda Masala)
1 tbsp Red Chilli Powder
1 tbsp Jaggery (Gul)
Salt to taste
1 tbsp Oil
Water for cooking
Method:
Cut eggplants and potatoes in cubes and keep them seperately in salted water so as to avoid oxidation.
In a kadhai, heat oil and add mustard seeds. When mustard seeds crackle, add hing, turmeric powder and finely chopped onions. Saute onions for 2 minutes.
Add cubes of potatoes and saute for 2-3 minutes and add 1 cup of water. Cover and cook the potatoes till they are half done. Keep on checking and stirring potatoes occasionally.
Once potatoes are half cooked, add the eggplants along with jaggery, salt, goda masala (OR Coriander-Cumin powder), red chilli powder and mix all the ingredients. Add water if required. You many adjust the consistency of the gravy as per your preference.
Cover and cook the vegetable till eggplants and potatoes are tender.
Vangi Batata - Eggplant Potato Curry is ready.
Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with any flat bread of your choice or with dal rice.
Tip: You may also add 2 teaspoon of roasted peanut powder (roughly crushed) which not only add a little crunch to this vegetable but also enhances the flavour. Add this peanut powder in the last when the vegetable is completely cooked, no need to cook after addition of peanut powder.
One
of the simplest, quickest and tastiest dish that is prepared using very
few ingredients that are almost readily available at every home.
Ingredients: (Serves 4)
Kadai Masala:
3 Cloves
2 tbsp Coriander Seeds
1 tbsp Cumin Seeds
2 Dry Red Chillies
1 inch Cinnamon
5-6 Black Peppercorns
1 tsp Fennel Seeds
For Onion Tomato Masala:
2 Onion cut lengthwise
1 Tomato roughly cut
For Gravy:
2 tbsp Ginger Garlic Paste
3 Cardamom Pods
2 Green Chilies cut lengthwise (Optional)
1 Capsicum cut in cubes ( You may use any colour capsicum of your choice)
1 tsp Red Chilli Powder
2 tbsp Cream or Homemade Malai
500 gms Chicken cut in pieces
Juice of 1 Lemon
Water to cook
Salt as per taste
2 tbsp Oil for cooking
1 tsp Kasuri Methi Powder (Dry Fenugreek Leaves)
2 tsp Kadai Masala
Method: For Kadai Masala:
Dry
roast the whole spices mentioned above for the Kadai Masala till they
release their aroma, ie approx 3 minutes on a medium flame.
Once roasted transfer the spices onto a plate and let them cool to room temperature.
In a blender add the above cooled spices and grind to a powder.
Kadai Masala is ready.
Chicken Marination:
Marinate chicken for 30 minutes with a tablespoon of ginger garlic paste and juice of 1 lemon.
For Onion Tomato Masala:
In
a pan heat 1tspn of oil and add onions and saute till
translucent, add chopped tomato and saute till both onion and tomatoes
are cooked. Switch off the flame and let this mixture cool to room
temperature.
Once this onion tomato mixture comes to room temperature, blend it to a fine paste.Add a teaspoon of water if required while blending.
For Gravy:
In a kadhai heat oil, add cardamom pods and saute for a mintue till it releases its aroma. Then add green chilies along with 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste. Saute till raw smell of ginger garlic fades away.
Add the
onion tomato paste and mix well. Saute this paste till oil separates from the mixture. Add red chilli powder, 2 teaspoon of kadai
masala which we prepared and mix
well.
Now add marinated chicken and saute till the chicken pieces are nicely coated with the onion tomato masala. Add salt and 1/4th cup water, cook till chicken is 3/4th done. Stir occasionally in between.
After chicken is 3/4th cooked, add capsicum that is cut in cubes along with cream and mix well.
Cover and cook for 5-7 minutes till chicken is tender.Stir occasionally.
Lastly when chicken is almost cooked add kasuri methi and cook for another 2 minutes.
Kadai Chicken is ready.
Serve hot with flat bread of your choice.
Tip: 1) Use Chicken on bone instead of boneless chicken.
2) You can make this kadai masala in advance and keep it in an airtight container for almost 3 months and use it when needed.
3) You can also use storebought kadai masala or use any type of chicken masala.
Gudi Padwa is incomplete without Shrikhanda Puri at our Home. A simple homemade curd magically transformed into one of the delectable sweet dish of India known as Shrikhanda. Thick creamy yogurt flavoured with elegant spices and dry fruits. Best served with garma garam puris.
Few strands of saffron dissolved in hot water(Optional)
Method:
For making chakka at home, place the curd onto muslin cloth and place it over a colander (sieve) and place in the fridge so as to drain all the water from the curd. Let the water drain from the curd.The thick curd is your chakka.
In a mixing bowl add chakka & powdered sugar. Mix well till the sugar is nicely incorporated into the curd. Adjust the sweetness as per sourness of the curd.
Once the curd and sugar are mixed well add cardamom powder and saffron mixture (optional) mix well.
Cabbage is the king of vegetables at My home. Their are various varieties in which we love preparing this humble nutritious sabzi. One such kind is as we say in Marathi "Peeth Perun Kobhi chi Bhaaji" that is besan sprinkled on cabbage sabzi. Its a dry sabzi, best for tiffins.
Ingredients Required for Recipe:
150 kg Cabbage cut lengthwise
1 Onion cut lenghtwise
1 teaspoon Mustard Seeds
1/4th teaspoon Hing (Asafoetida)
1 teaspoon Red Chilli Powder
1/4th teaspoon Turmeric Powder
2 teaspoon Coriander Powder
1 teaspoon Jeera Powder
1/4th Cup Coriander Leaves finely chopped
Salt as per taste
1 teaspoon Sugar
3 tablespoon Besan (Chickpea Flour)
2 tablespoon oil
How to make Besan Cabbage Stir Fry Vegetable:
In a non stick kadhai heat oil and add mustard seeds, let them splutter. Now add hing (asafoetida), turmeric powder and onions and saute for 2 minutes on a medium flame.
Once the onions are sauted add cabbage, salt, sugar and mix well. Do not use water.
Cover and cook the vegetable for another 5 minutes stirring occasionally. Now add red chilli powder, jeera powder, coriander powder and mix well.
When cabbage is 80% done, use a sieve (strainer) and sprinkle besan evenly over the cabbage and mix well.
Check for seasoning. Cover and cook the vegetable until the rawness of besan fades away and cabbage is well cooked. Lastly add coriander leaves and mix.
Cabbage Besan Sabzi – Peeth Perun Kobhi Bhaaji is ready.
Serve hot with flatbread of your choice.
Tip: As besan is used in this recipe without the use of water, it is highly advisable to use only nonstick utensil while preparing the dish.
Incase you are using different metal utensil then cover with lid adding little water over the lid so that the vegetable does not burn.
Thank you for stopping by…..
Did you like the recipe? Do try and let us know in comments and do join us on our social handles.
On the occasion of Angariki Chaturthi made Instant Malai Burfi for Ganpati Bappa!!
This Malai Burfi is made by My Mom, all credit goes to her :)
Ingredients:
250 gms Grated Paneer (Indian Cottage Cheese)
100 gms Condensed Milk
2 Cardamon Pods
7-8 Pistachios
1-2 tbsp Ghee (Clarified Butter)
Method:
Pre-preparation: Take out the seeds of cardamon pods and using mortar pestle crush the seeds coarsely. Also cut the pistachios into small pieces and keep aside.
In a thick bottom non-stick pan on a very slow flame, add grated paneer and condensed milk and mix well.
Stirring continuously, cook this mixture till it thickens and starts to leave the sides of the pan. This process may take approximately 20-25 minutes. Switch off the gas and add crushed cardamon seeds, mix well.
Grease a plate with ghee (clarified butter). Take out the paneer mixture onto the plate. With the help of spatula spread the mixture evenly.
Now sprinkle the chopped pistachios all over the evenly spread burfi mixture and gently press the pistachios so that they set on barfi nicely.
Keep this burfi mixture aside to cool. In an hour or two the burfi mixture sets perfectly. Once the mixtures comes to room temperature, cut the burfi into squares and serve.
Maharashtrian
Kadhi is a famous dish prepared in every maharastrian household. This
kadhi is made using yogurt/curd and besan.There are various varieties of
kadhi that are prepared across India such as Maharashtrian, Gujrati,
Punjabi etc. This sweet tangy healthy kadhi is normally served along
with Mugachi Khichadi or hot piping plain rice.
Ingredients:
2 cups Curd/Yogurt
3 cups water
1 tsp Turmeric Powder
1/2 inch Ginger (Crushed)
2 Green Chilles (Crushed)
2 tbsp Besan
2 tbsp Sugar or as required
Salt
1 tbsp Ghee
4-5 Curry Leaves
1tbsp Jeera (Cumin seeds)
Method:
In a sauce pan add whisked smooth curd. Now add Besan and again whisk this mixture making sure no lumps are remained.
Now
add water, turmeric powder, salt, sugar and crushed ginger & green
chilly to the curd mixture and mix well. Kadhi mixture is ready.
Now keep this mixture to simmer on the lowest flame possible. Check for the seasoning at this time.
Now
for tempering : In a small kadhai add ghee and cumin seeds. When cumin
seeds starts to sizzle and change colour add curry leaves.
Put this tempering onto the kadhi mixture and let the kadhi come to a boil. Stir the kadhi occasionally.
Maharashtrian Kadhi is ready.
Serve this kadhi piping hot with Mugachi Khichadi or Plain rice along with papad and mango pickle.
Tip:You can garnish this kadhi with coriander leaves.