.....From My Palate

Maharashtra

Tadka Rice Noodles with Coconut Gravy

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Who doesn’t like noodles?
Noodles are comforting food that breaks the monotony of everyday food. There are so many varieties and different recipes to make noodles. With lots of vegetables or with meat, and the best part is, you don’t need to spend hours in the kitchen to impress your friends or family. This noodles recipe is little different and full of Indian flavors. Instead of adding vegetable with noodles I served vegetable coconut curry with it. The inspiration of this recipe is Kerala or Tamilnadu’s famous breakfast recipe Idiyappam / Sevai. They serve fresh idiyappam with spicy curry that looks really tempting and different. We mostly eat curry with rice or chapatis, so this recipe gives a interesting twist to the regular food.

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Vegetable Coconut Gravy
Author: Bhawana
Ingredients
  • 2 cups Mixed Vegetables
  • 2 tbsp. Oil
  • 1 Onion, finely chopped
  • 1 tbsp. Ginger-Garlic Paste
  • 1 1/2 tsp. Dhaniya Powder (Coriander Powder)
  • 1 tsp. Cumin Seeds
  • 3/4 tsp. Haldi Powder (Turmeric Powder)
  • 1/2 tsp. Red Chilli Powder
  • 1 tbsp Tomato Paste
  • 1 1/2 cups Vegetable Broth
  • 1 1/2 cups Coconut Milk
  • 1/4 tsp. Black Pepper Powder
  • 2 tbsp fresh lime Juice
  • 2 tbsp chopped fresh Coriander Leaves
  • Salt to taste
Instructions
  1. Heat the oil in a pan and add cumin seeds.
  2. When they start to splutter add ginger-garlic paste and onion.
  3. Cook onion on medium flame until little brown in color.
  4. Add all the dry spices and tomato paste. Mix it well and cook for few minutes.
  5. Add mixed vegetables and cook them on high heat. Add vegetable broth if needed.
  6. Now add coconut milk, salt, and 1/4 tsp. pepper and bring to a boil.
  7. Add vegetable broth, mix it well.
  8. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for almost 10 minutes until the vegetables are tender and the gravy is to the consistency of your taste.
  9. Add lemon juice and garnished with chopped coriander leaves.

 

Tadka Rice Noodles
Author: Bhawana
Ingredients
  • 1 packet of Rice noodles
  • 3 tsp Oil
  • 1 tsp Rai (Mustard Seeds)
  • 2 nos dry Red Chillies, break in to half
  • 5-6 Green chillies
  • 8-9 curry leaves
  • 1 tsp. Channa Dal
  • 1 tsp. Urad Dal
  • 1/2 tsp. Turmeric Powder
  • 1/4 cup broken Cashewnut
  • 2 tsp. Lemon Juice
  • Coriander Leaves finely chopped for garnishing
Instructions
  1. Cook noodles according to cooking directions.
  2. Drain and mix some oil in the noodles
  3. Heat oil in a broad pan. Add mustard seeds, urad dal and chaana dal.
  4. When seeds crackles, add dry chillies, green chillies, and curry leaves.
  5. Fry for 30 seconds and add turmeric powder and cashews.
  6. Cook until cashews are light brown in color.
  7. Next add the cooked noodles and salt.
  8. Mix it well and cook for another 2 minutes
  9. Finally, add the chopped coriander leaves and lemon juice.
  10. Serve hot with the curry.

Bharli Vangi/Eggplant In Peanut Coconut Gravy

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Bharli Vangi is one of the traditional and classic dish in Maharashtra. Though I never attended any Maharashtrian wedding but heard that this dish is must in menu for any wedding or festive occasion, Personally i like this dish better next day,  when eggplants are all marinated in the masala and tastes awesome  with coconut y-peanut  flavor melting in mouth. The ingredients for Bharli vangi recipe are almost same for stuffed eggplant or bagare baigan but the magic wand in this recipe is Goda Masala.

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Bharli Vangi/Eggplant In Peanut Coconut Gravy
Author: Bhawana
Ingredients
  • 8-9 Baby Eggplant
  • 2-3 tbsp. Oil
  • For Stuffing-
  • 1 cup chopped Onion
  • 2 tsp. Ginger Garlic paste
  • 1/2 Cup Dessicated Coconut
  • 1/2 Cup roasted Peanuts
  • 2 tbsp. roasted Sesame Seeds (Til)
  • 2 tsp. Red Chili Powder
  • 2 tbsp. Coriander Seeds Powder
  • 1/2 tsp. Turmeric Powder
  • 1 tsp. Cumin Seeds
  • 1 tsp. Goda Masala
  • 1 tbsp. grated Jaggery
  • 1 tbsp. Tamarind Plup
  • Salt to taste
Instructions
  1. Slit the eggplants into four, lengthways keeping the stems intact.
  2. Heat little oil in a pan and saute dessicated coconut over medium heat for two minutes, stirring continuously, till the coconut turns a light golden brown.
  3. Mix peanuts, sesame seeds in the coconut mixture.
  4. Cool and grind the mixture with a little water to a coarse paste.
  5. Mix and add goda masala, coriander powder, salt, turmeric powder, chilli powder, jaggery and tamarind pulp.
  6. Stuff the mixture into the eggplants.
  7. Heat the remaining oil in a deep wide pan, add cumin seeds and when they begin to splutter, add onion and ginger garlic paste.
  8. Saute onion until light brown in color.
  9. Now place the stuffed eggplants in the pan and cook for two or three minutes.
  10. Add water as needed to cook the eggplants evenly from all sides.
  11. Gently turn the eggplants once or twice in between while cooking.
  12. Cover the pan and cook over medium heat until eggplants are soft and evenly cooked.

Puran Poli

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Maharashtrian cuisine!! What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you read it? May be, spicy Vada Paav, steaming hot Paav Bhaji, Misal Paav, Ragda Patties or chatpati Bhel Puri. But the real food of this filmy state is much more than these easily available street food. Today we are talking about the most popular Puran Poli. Puran Poli is a sweet, soft and flaky flat bread that melts in the mouth with burst of sweet nutty flavors and makes every occasion sweet and auspicious with its presence.

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Puran Poli
Author: Bhawana
Ingredients
  • For Puran-
  • 1 cup Chana Dal
  • 1 cup Jaggery (Gudh)
  • Pinch of Nutmeg powder
  • 1/4 tsp Cardamom powder
  • Few strands of Saffron
  • 1 cup Water
  • For Dough-
  • 1 cup Whole wheat flour
  • 1 cup All Purpose Flour (Maida)
  • 1 tbsp Oil
  • Salt to taste
  • (I used only whole wheat flour but adding all purpose flour makes it softer and tastier)
Instructions
Puran
  1. Wash and soak chana dal for overnite.
  2. Boil chana dal with one cup of water and saffron for 3-4 whistles.
  3. Drain and coarsely grind it.
  4. Mix chana dal, jaggery, nutmeg and cardamom powder.
  5. Cook the mixture in a nonstick pan until it thickens (spatula can stand upright in the mixture just to check it.)
  6. Keep it aside and make small balls of the mixture.
Puran Poli Dough
  1. Take maida, whole wheat flour, salt and oil. Mix it well.
  2. Add water as needed and knead it in to a soft sticky dough.
  3. Cover and leave it to rest for an hour.
Puran Poli
  1. Make a soft dough with tsp of oil.
  2. Take small ball from dough and roll like a puri.
  3. Stuff puran in to rolled puri and seal the edges nicely.
  4. Roll it evenly like stuffed paratha.
  5. Heat non stick tawa and cook puranpoli from both the sides with little ghee or oil till it gets nice golden color.
  6. Serve hot with a dollop of ghee over it.

Mango Shrikhand/Amrakhand

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Summers are in full swing now and with the warm weather outside, anything cold, creamy, sweet is blissful and divine to the palate. Desserts are the sweet endings to a meal. Sweets give the food perfect landing in the stomach with the bursting flavors lingering in the mouth for some time. For the sweet tooth like me, any meal is incomplete without dessert. People think dessert making is a tedious task but the dessert I am sharing today is unbelievably simple and perfect for summers.

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Shrikhand is a yogurt based dessert popular in Maharashtra and Gujarat. It is a sweet combination of yogurt, sugar, cardamom, and saffron. Mangoes “king of fruit” gives a fresh flavor to a already delicious sweet. It is also called Amrakhand and is a important part of any meal in western part of India.

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Mango Shrikhand/Amrakhand
Author: Bhawana
Ingredients
  • 3 cups Hung Yogurt
  • 1 cup Mango Pulp
  • 1/2 cup Sugar
  • 1 tbsp. Saffron dissolved in milk
  • 1 tsp. Cardamom Powder
  • 1 tsp. Rose Water
  • Silvered Pistachios for garnishing
Instructions
For Hung Yogurt–
  1. Take a yogurt in a cheese cloth, gather all the ends and tie a knot on the top.
  2. Hang it with the help of a twine with the kitchen tap or the banana stand.
  3. Place a bowl under the yogurt.
  4. Hang it for 5-8 hours.
  5. Scoop the yogurt from the cloth and refrigerate it until needed.
Mango Shrikhand
  1. Mix hung yogurt, mango pulp, sugar, saffron milk and cardamom.
  2. Mix it until the mixture is smooth and creamy.
  3. Chill it in refrigerator.
  4. Serve with fresh mangoes garnished with silvered pistachios.

Ragda Patties

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According to Wikipedia,  chaat has its origin from Uttar Pradesh and being from UP, little partial for chaat is not a crime for me. Chaat is one of the favorite street food available in all parts of India. The names and recipes may be different in different states of India but we all eat the whole bowl and wanted to lick it till the end. Chaat is one of my weakness. I can bear the stomach ache but cannot resist the sight of it.
Today I am not talking about Aloo Tikki or Pani Puri rather a popular specialty of Maharashtra called Ragda Patties which is the combination of two popular chaats –  Aloo Tikki and Matar Kulcha.

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There are so many different dishes that I get to know after I came to US. And Ragda Patties is one of them. It is like a whole meal and I like the color and array of things served with it.

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Ragda Patties
Author: Bhawana
Ingredients
  • For Ragda –
  • 1 cup Vatana (Dried White Peas)
  • 2 small Tomatoes, chopped
  • 1 Onion, finely chopped
  • 1 tsp. Ginger Garlic Paste
  • 1 tbsp. Green Chillies, chopped
  • 1/2 tsp. Red Chilli Powder
  • 1/4 tsp. Turmeric Powder
  • 1/2 tsp. Garam Masala
  • 1/2 tsp. Fennel Powder
  • Salt to taste
  • 1/4 tsp. Cumin Seeds
  • Pinch of Hing (Asafoetida)
  • 1 tbsp. Oil
  • For Patties-
  • 5 Potatoes, boiled and mashed
  • 1/4 cup Green Coriander, chopped
  • 1 tsp. Cumin Powder
  • 1/2 tsp. Ginger, grated
  • 1/2 tsp. Green Chilli Paste
  • 2 tbsp. Corn Starch
  • Salt to taste
  • Oil
  • For Accompaniments–
  • Red Onions, finely chopped
  • Tomatoes, finely chopped
  • Cucumbers, finely chopped
  • Coriander, finely chopped
  • Green Chillies, chopped
  • Tamarind Chutney
  • Green Chutney
  • Lemon
  • Sev
Instructions
  1. Soak dry peas in enough water for overnight.
  2. Cook them in pressure cooker until soft.
  3. In a deep wide pan, heat oil. Add cumin seeds.
  4. When they start to crackle, add hing and ginger garlic paste.
  5. Mix it and add onions and green chillies. Sauté until light brown in color.
  6. Add tomatoes and other spices. cook until tomatoes are soft. (use little water, if needed)
  7. Add peas and water for the gravy. Cook it for 10 minutes or until you get the desired consistency.
  8. The pea mixture should not be very thick or thin in consistency.
  9. In a bowl take potatoes and add all other ingredients.
  10. Mix it well. Shape the mixture in to small balls.
  11. Press it little from top and make small tikkis.
  12. Heat oil in a skillet, place tikkis gently on it.
  13. Shallow fry the Patties until golden brown.
For serving-
  1. Place patties in a plate and pour ragda on top.
  2. Add chutneys and accompaniments of your choice.
  3. Serve immediately.

Sabudana Khichdi

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Sabudana/Pearl Tapoica is a form of pure carbohydrate and made out of Tapoica tubers. It is a vegetarian processed food that is why widely used as a staple ingredient for phalhar fasting food. Sabudana khichri is an easy and quick recipe for any fasting day. Due to the carbs content, it gives the quick energy and also easy to digest.

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Sabudana Khichdi
Author: Bhawana
Ingredients
  • 1 cup Sabudana (Pearl Tapoica)
  • 1/2 cup Peanuts, roasted and slightly crushed
  • 2 Potatoes, boiled, peeled & chopped
  • 2 Green Chillies, chopped
  • 2 tbsp. Oil
  • 1/2 tsp. Cumin seeds
  • 2 tsp. Lemon juice
  • 1 tsp. Sugar
  • Salt to taste
  • 1/2 cup Coriander leaves, chopped
Instructions
  1. Wash sabudana 2-3 times,and then soak in water for 4-5 hours.
  2. Sabudana should be separate & moist.
  3. All water should have got absorbed by sago, it will be soft & fluffy.
  4. Heat ghee in a pan, add cumin seeds.
  5. When cumin seeds crackle, add chopped green chilies. Stir for few seconds.
  6. Now add cubed potatoes & stir for 1-2 minutes.
  7. Mix sabudana, crushed peanuts and sugar.
  8. Mix sabudana mixture with the potatoes in the pan.
  9. Add salt & stir well. Keep on medium flame for 4- 5 minutes, until transparent & soft.
  10. Now add chopped coriander leaves and lemon juice. Mix well.
  11. Serve hot with fresh yogurt and green chutney.

Misal Paav….Maharasthtra Ki Shaan

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Misal Paav

Ingredients

  • 1 cup dried peas (Matra as we call it )
  • (Soaked for 8 hours and Boiled)
  • 1 tsp of ginger and garlic
  • Cumin seed Pd, Coriander Pd, Garam masala Pd, Fennel seed Pd Acc. to ur taste
  • Little bit of Turmeric Pd
  • Salt
  • 2 tbsp of Tamarind Chutney

Method

  • Heat 2 tsp of oil in a non stick pan
  • Add ginger and garlic.
  • Saute it for 2o seconds and add all the masala Pd.
  • Again Saute it for few seconds and add boiled matra (peas).
  • Add enough water to prevent sticking on bottom of the pan.
  • Give it a boil and add salt and tamarind chutney at end.

Ohh..I forget to mention chopped green chillies if u want it hot and spicy.

For Garnishing-

  • Chopped onion, tomatoes, cucumber, raw mango
  • (vegetable of ur choice to make it healthy for children)
  • Papri
  • Sev
  • Chopped Coriander

How to Serve-

This is what I love about Misal Paav and Dabeli.
Take enough of misal in a bowl, add chopped vegetables and garnish it with papri , sev and chopped Coriander.
Serve hot this Colorful and Tempting bowl with Paav and tamarind and green chutneys on sides.