Kaala Masala

The Maratha Touch : Indian recipes are incomplete without spices. I remember, when my friend from San Francisco visited me, she was impressed to see how we stack all out spices and especially the "Masala box" which consists of the basic everyday essentials of Rai ( Mustard seeds), Jeera ( cumin seeds ), Corriander powder, red chilli powder, Garam masala, Turmeric and hing (Asafoetida ). For everyday curries, the Garam Masala suffices, but if you are making something special or regional, then adding that "Secret ingredient" is a must! Whenever i visit Mumbai, or my mother visits me, a bag full of local spices is always packed along! The same way, my husband being a Maratha, my Mother-in-law always gets me the Kaala Masala or the Khandeshi Masala which is traditional masala made in Vidarba ( Their home-town).

Kaala Masala has a distinct flavour and aroma, and is best used for non-vegetarian cooking or dishes-to-be-made spicy! The spicy-affair is not as you feel when you taste red chilli powder, but this one actually lingers on your tongue/throat-like an after-taste effect!
Kaala Masala, as the name suggests is dark brown in colour. It gets it's colour with the roast of dry coconut and the spices such as cinnamon, cardamon, black peppers etc. I tasted this the first time after marraige when hubby's aunt had prepared Baingan Masala, and it tasted so heavenly that i got some masala home from her :)
Since then, it is a must-have in my kitchen !!! You can make this in bulk and store in air-tight container... it lasts for more than a year!!!

Ingredients :

Dry coconut - 100 gms

Turmeric powder - 7 tbsp ( I find it difficult to grind whole turmeric in mixer, grinding them in a flour mill is the best option. But if you want to try , you can use about 50 gms of whole turmeric )

Cinnamon - 25 gms

Cloves - 25 gms

Green cardamom - 10 gms

Badi Elaichi ( Brown Cardamom) - 25 gms

Corriander seeds - 250 gms ( This is the most essential ingredient )

Dry red Chillies - 100 gms

Black Pepper - 25 gms

Shahi Jeera ( Caraway seeds ) - 25 gms 
Jeera ( Normal ) - 25 gms

Asafoetida - Around 4 tsp ( Again i find grinding asafoetida in mixer difficult, so i best use the powder form )

Dagad phool - 50 gms

Nutmeg - 1 tbsp ( powdered )

Bay leaf - 50 gms

Javitri ( Mace ) - 25 gms

Sunth ( Dry Ginger ) - 25 gms ( powdered )

Oil - a little 

Recipe :

1. Dry roast the red chillies ( without stems ) for about 7-8 mins and grind it to a powder. Keep aside.

2. Grate the dry coconut and roast it in a pan till it starts leaving aroma and becomes brown in colour. Let it cool. Set aside

3. Put a little oil ( Shouldn't be sticky and oily, just enough to roast the spices ) in pan each time and dry roast all the dry spices separately and set them aside to cool ( except the powder forms, just the whole spices )

4. When cool, grind all the ingredients together to make a smooth powder. Now add the turmeric powder and asafoetida. Grind again.

5. Now add the red chilli powder grinded before. Give a spin again.

6. Now slowly add the roasted dry coconut little by little, grinding in between, to make a smooth powder. Make sure to mix it well occassinally, so the down portion doesn't become a sticky paste. It should be a smooth fine powder.

7. Let it stand for a minute. Remove from the grinder and let it cool.

Ahhh... The Aroma is Divine !!! isn't it? Now make some yummyliscious curries with this Masala and let us know how it tasted :))

Happy Cooking :)

Shahi Tukda : Valentine Special

Shahi Treatment for The Prince Charming : Shahi means Royal, and what better way to make your husband feel royal on Valentine's day than to cook his favourite meal and top it all with a royal dessert :) As it was a working day, i decided to arrange a surprise for him...Yes, the usual surprise cards, aromatic candles, love messages in tiffin box, a photo collage, a bottle of wine, some homemade choclate muffins.... All this was definately making him smile. But i guess the way to a man's heart is definately through his stomach...when i cooked his favourite chicken dish for main course, that got him showing me all his teeth :)) And i topped it all off with this dessert....A super fun filled valentine's :) 
Basundi ( Recipe uploaded earlier ) (  http://cookininpajamas.blogspot.in/2014/01/basundi-sweetened-milk.html ) is one of his favourite desserts.. so i normally make it once a month...So, to make something special for Valentine's , i decided to make Rabdi ( More thickened milk ) and top it on the shahi tukda. 

I had never tried this dish before, had only eaten at several restaurants. But making it was super easy and super fun ! Makes for a good sweet craving, and  a dessert everyone will enjoy at your home :)

Ingredients :

Milk - 1 Litre

Sugar - 1/3 rd cup

Water - A little

Ghee - To fry the bread slices

Saffron - a few strands 

Milkmaid ( Sweetened condensed milk ) - 2 tbsp ( This is optional, you can totally skip this or if you want, can add 1-2 tbsp of sugar instead )

Chopped nuts - almonds, Pistachios, Cashews, raisins ( Any of your choice for garnishing )

Bread slices - 4

Recipe :

Soak saffron in about 2-3 tbsp of milk.

Bring milk to boil in a non stick or a heavy bottomed pan. Reduce the heat to sim, and bring the milk to 1/2 of it's original...Keep stirring in between. It will start becoming thick and changing colour.

Now add the condensed milk ( or sugar ). If not, just add the saffron-milk mixture. Keep stirring again and reduce the milk to 1/2 of it's consistency ( comes to about 1/4th of it's original consistency ). It has to be of pouring consistency and not too thick. 

Let it come to room tempertaure. And then keep it in the fridge to cool. This is called Rabdi.

Meanwhile, take sugar in a saucepan and fill it with water just enough to cover the sugar. Let it come to a boil, and then simmer it for around 3-4 minutes more..( Remove a drop and see if it sticks to your finger, and forms a thread... That's when you know it's done)

Now Take the bread slices and cut it's edges. Now cut them diagonally into triangle shapes ( You can cut each slice into 2 or 4 parts, i prefer cutting them into 4 ). Heat ghee in a pan. Now fry the bread slices in ghee on medium/low flame till they become crisp and brown. Its important that the slices be crisp.

Remove and soak on a tissue paper. Now dip them into the sugar syrup for about 10 seconds and arrange them on the plate. Add the cool rabdi on top and garnish with chopped nuts.

Enjoy in the royal dessert... Tastes Heavenly delicious....:))

You can add the sugar syrup to the rabdi and even eat rabdi as a dessert in itself. Adjust the sugar content according to taste.

Alternatively, you can make shahi tukdas and store it in fridge. It stays for about 3-4 days.

Happy Cooking :)

Gulpoli : Maharashtrian delicacy

Makar Sankranti special : Makar Sankranti is a traditional festival celebrated in India which marks the transition of the Sun into the Makar Rashi ( Capricorn sign). For maximum years, it is celebrated on 14th of January... but rarely it also occurs on the 15th of January. It depends on when the sun changes its celestial path. It is also celebrated as the harvest festival.

Childhood memories : My memory of Makar Sankranti is only the " Til-gud" and "Gul-Poli" made by my mother. I love the gul-poli, simply because its crispy, and can be eaten for a week after it's made. Alternatively, you can also make the filling and store it and make it as and when needed. The dough stays in the fridge for almost a week too. I have never tried my hand at Gul-poli, as the process seems too tough and tedious for me. But this time, i carefully observed my mother making it and decided to note down all the small tit-bits she uses to make it just perfect!!! And its not that tough at all, so i am going to make it soon for sure !!! Its such a delight watching Mom cook :) 

Gul-Poli is usually found in all Maharashtrian homes during Sankranti. It is basically a roti ( bread) made of jaggery. Jaggery provides heat to the body, and hence it is eaten during this season of winter. The til-gud ( sesame -jaggery ) ladoos are also eaten during this time to provide heat and energy to the body during winters. I will post a different recipe for the 2 types of Til-gud ladoos that my mom makes. Meanwhile, here is the Gul-Poli recipe :

Ingredients :

( Makes around 20 )

For the filling :

Gul ( Jaggery ) - 1/2 kg

Besan ( Gram flour ) - 2 tbsp

Til powder ( Sesame powder ) - 1/2 cup ( Dry roast white sesame and grind them to a fine powder in the mixer-grinder )

Dry coconut powder - 1 tbsp ( Dry roast the dry-coconut and grind to a powder - turns little brown )

Ghee or Oil - 1 tbsp

For the dough :

Besan ( Gram Flour ) - 1 cup

Wheat Flour ( Atta ) - 4 cup

Maida ( All purpose flour ) - 1 n half cup

Oil - 2 tbsp

Recipe :

Grate the Gul (jaggery). It should be fine, there should be no chunks in it.

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan, and roast the besan ( Gram flour ) till it turns light brown.

Mix the grated jaggery, sesame powder, dry coconut powder and besan well. It forms like a ball. Keep it aside.

Next, mix the Besan, wheat flour and maida together. Heat the 2 tbsp oil and add it to the mix-flour. This is called Mohan. Now knead it into a soft dough. Add water little by little. Keep the dough aside for 30 minutes.

Roll a small ball from the dough to a small chapati, and add the filling. ( You can divide the dough and filling in equal quantities beforehand. )

Now cover it from all sides and close the ball neatly.

Roll this ball again into a thin chapati ( Flat bread) ...You can dust it with flour if it sticks.

The idea is to roll it carefully , so the filling doesn't come out.

Now heat a pan ( Tava ). Place the poli on the tava. Do not add any oil or ghee on top. Roast till done or till light brown.

Mom's Tips :

1. Always roast the Polis on tava on low flame

2. If the filling comes out of the Poli, then you can add a pinch of Lime ( Chuna which is used in Paan )to the filling.

3. Never stack the Polis on top of each other when hot. Spread them on a newspaper till they get cold and then stack them at room temperature.

Happy Cooking :)

Biscuit Roti : Granny's recipe

Aaji's special : Granny, Grand ma, Aaji, Daadi, Amma, Daadi-amma, Dida... All different words but the feelings are always the same :LOVE !!! We all have some really sweet cherished moments with our grandparents. We Maharashtrians call our Grandmother "Aaji". 

The perfect symbol of how a granny should be, was our Aaji. She looked so, she behaved so and she was so. In fact, she was so lovable and caring that she was even loved by our neighbors and friends and they still remember her as "the ever smiling aaji".

Generous, kind, giving... all she gave was love and happiness to one and all. Active in her behavior, even in her old age, she lived with us for 92 years.. all healthy and walking on perfect two legs. She always used to tell us to eat well and eat healthy and explaining the importance of eating a balanced diet to have a healthy lifestyle.

Hand of God : I remember her as my childhood-mate... she was ever ready to play games with me, the board games of "Ludo", "Snakes and ladder", "Playing cards" and how can i forget, the tasty food she cooked !!!!She had the "Hand of God". She had a solution to all the problems of cooking. I remember once, when we had made Basundi (a milk-based dessert), for a get-together at home during the festive of Diwali, there was huge amount of leftover. My Mom was worried as to what to be done of the Basundi... and the next day, Aaji made some yummy Barfis out of it...We kids got to taste something different, and the Basundi was finished too !!! :)

Aaji used to love white...I didn't get to spend much time with my Grandfather ( Aajoba in our language ), as he left us to God when i was at the age of 2. So all i know about grandparents is our Aaji. She used to dress is a typical Navvari ( 9-yard) style sari and her white shiny hair always made up well into a bun. Her voice as sweet as a melody, she always spoke good words, and always had good to say about others. I had never seen her getting angry ever at anyone... There was so much to learn from her !!!!

Biscuit Rotis : One such thing to learn was her recipe of "Biscuit roti"... I didn't recall how she made it, so i made a call to one of my aunts and took the recipe from her. Tried to make it as Aaji did, i am sure my attempt was nowhere close to her taste. Yesterday, 30th Dec, was her Birthday and on that occasion, that she still lives in our hearts and memories, i dedicate this to her....

No one knows why it was called Biscuit roti... maybe because they look like small rotis, and maybe because they are crunchy as biscuits. They are like deep fried kachoris... but the main ingredient is the stuffing. I made around 8-10 of them...And me and hubby finished it as dinner :)) Yes, they taste super delicious...
Serve this as a snack or even as a main course. You can serve it with any favorite chutney but it goes well with the Garlic chutney...You can get it ready made or make one with red chillies, oil, lemon, garlic, salt,red chilli powder and corriander powder.

Ingredients :

Coconut - Freshly Grated 1 cup
Corriander leaves - 1/2 cup
Besan - 2 tsp
Red chilli powder - adjust according to taste
Salt - to taste
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Corriander powder - 1 tsp
Cumin powder - 1 tsp
Maida / All purpose flour - 1/4 kg
Oil - 2 tbsp to knead the dough
Oil - to Fry
Ajwain - 1/2 tsp

Recipe :

Heat 1 tbsp oil. Add this to the maida and mix it all well. Now add salt and ajwain and add water slowly to knead a tight dough. 

Cover and keep it aside.

Mix coconut, corriander leaves, red chilli powder, salt, turmeric powder, corriander powder, cumin powder and besan well. Leave it aside for 30 mins. It will start leaving water. Make small balls of it.

Now make small balls of the dough and roll each ball into a small round. ( Like a puri). Add the filling, close from all sides and then roll it into a small puri like shape again. Its like a mini paratha. Alternatively, you can also press it with hands instead of rolling.

Dust very little Maida and only if needed while rolling and only if it sticks.

Make all the puris ready. 

Now heat oil in a kadhai. Once hot, lower the gas to sim and deep fry the puris one by one till golden brown and crispy.

Biscuit rotis are ready :)))

The Recipe is just as my Aaji made it.. you can add sesame seeds, fennel seeds or any other spices to the filling as you like.

Happy Cooking :)