Kharda : Mirchicha Thecha

I haven't posted a lot lately as i had some crazy-busy weeks. Honestly, i had not cooked anything special to write about, apart from the regular sabzi-roti or daal-chawal. One for the fact, that i was too busy to cook anything special, yes... the 4 legged canine angels ( from my pet sitting appointments ) were keeping me busy. Since it's a vacation time, a lot of people going on holidays, my hands and my home was full. And believe me, nothing gets better than spending time with these cute bundles of joy. The walks, the play, the treat times everything keeps you on toes, but it's all worth it.
Here's a recent pic of mine, just to show you all how happy i have been.

But yes, i missed my kitchen and i missed my blog. It always was on the back of my mind to write something, but another reason took it's toll. Laziness!!! Yes, it's so super hot in Delhi that it really gets tough to stand long in the kitchen and cook something special. Managing the temperature for cooking becomes a difficult task, with everything going in the refrigerator every now and then. The fruits and vegetables rot, the chocolates melt, the cooked food becomes stale soon, and i hate to waste food. As the temperature rose to 44 degrees, all i wanted to do was drink water/fluids/juices/aam panna ( http://cookininpajamas.blogspot.in/2014/05/kairiche-panhe-aam-panna.html )
rather than eat. A light diet seems just enough than a whole cooked meal.

Now that i have some free time for couple of days with just one dog, i decided to get right in the kitchen and get going. Kharda is one of the Maharashtrian chutneys that you can enjoy alongside a daal-chawal or a paratha or traditionally we eat it with Bhaakri ( jowar/bajre ki roti ). Just yesterday i had made Vaangyacha Bharit ( Baingan Bharta ) and rotis and had it with Kharda. Also known as Thecha or Hirvya Mirchicha Thecha, this basically has two main ingredients of green chillies and garlic. 
You can even make it in bulk, store in refrigerator and add to any daal or sabzi , just to give a dish that "zing" of taste. Easy to make, it gets ready within minutes and for those who love things spicy, this is definitely worth a try.

Kharda is again a regional dish. Some make it roasting chillies in oil, some dry roast it, some add peanut powder, some make it without. Adding corriander leaves is optional too. It all depends on personal taste. I make all versions every now and then. This one is with peanut powder and corriander leaves.

Ingredients :

Green chillies - Around 30-35 
Garlic - 8-10 ( This time i had a different variety of garlic which had big chunks, if you have the normal variety take about 15 pieces )
Cumin seeds ( jeera ) - 1 tsp
Oil - 1 tsp
Corriander leaves - a few
Lemon juice - 1 tsp ( adjust to taste )
Black salt - to taste ( You can also use normal salt, but black salt adds to the taste)

Recipe :

Wash the green chillies, pat them dry and cut both the ends.

In a kadhai, put 1 tsp oil and fry the green chillies till they start getting brown spots. Frying chillies is a really tough task and the vapours get inside your nose and eyes, resulting in coughing, sneezing and running nose. So make sure to switch on your exhaust fan while doing this or keep the window/door of the kitchen open to let the vapour out.

Add the cumin seeds and fry for half a minute.

Now add the garlic and fry for about 5 minutes till the garlic gets properly sauteed and starts browning.

Let it cool and transfer it into a mixer jar. Throw in some corriander leaves, black salt and lime juice. mix it all well and grind to a coarse paste ( not too smooth and do not add water ).

Traditionally, the mixture is well grinned in a mortar and pestle. But since i don't have one here, i grind it in a mixer.

Now, would you like this "Death by chillies" ? ( Name derived from the famous sauce by Blair : Pure Death and After Death )

Happy Cooking :)