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 :)

Mutton Curry

Hubby's special : And it was one of those days when hubby says , "Why don't you rest and i will cook today"...Blissssss...
This weekend was one such bliss when hubby wanted to eat meat and decided to cook it himself, and for me he would make egg curry ( me being an eggetarian)...So, i just relaxed with a mug of coffee watching television, and hubby was in the kitchen enjoying the cooking :) Yes, Thankfully he loves to cook...And he does make some awesome curries :)

Coming from the home of die-hard non-vegetarians, he had always seen his mother and even father cook some really awesome dishes. And the ones he remembers and tells me stories about, are when they used to cook in the farms, with the age old stove of coal and mud vessels... Ahhaaa, am sure it would have tasted heaven ! I also remember him keenly watching his mother cook whenever she's making a special dish on the menu... So i guess, half of his work was done with observation and the other half practicing cooking living alone as a bachelor all the years away from home for work !!!

What we did was, when the gravy was cooked, we removed half in another pan and added boiled eggs to it. You can even add paneer or any other vegetables to the gravy if you like. So, the gravy ingredients quantity are according to meat curry and egg curry both together.

 My Twist :  My mother has given me this roasted dry coconut that i normally add to any gravy, curry, or vegetable. It tastes yumm. You can simply grate the coconut and dry roast it on tava/pan and store it in air tight container. It comes in handy to add taste to any dish. It looks like this :

Ingredients :

Meat pieces : 250 gms
For marination - Curd : 1 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1/4 tsp 
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Ginger garlic paste - 1/2 tsp

For gravy : Onions : 2 large
Dry coconut powder - 2 tbsp
Tomatoes - 2 medium
Green chillies - 2
Corriander powder - 1 tsp
Corriander seeds - 1 tsp
Ginger - 1 inch piece
Garlic - 4 cloves
Kashmiri red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Asafoetida - a pinch
Amchur powder - 1/4 tsp
Bay Leaf - 1
Kasuri Methi - 1/2 tsp
Black pepper - 8-10
Cinamon - 1 stick
Cloves - 3-4
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Fennel seeds - 1/2 tsp
Green cardamom - 3
Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp
Sesame seeds - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste
Oil - 2 tbsp + 1/2 tsp
Corriander leaves - 1/2 cup

Recipe :

Wash the meat pieces well and marinate them with Ginger garlic paste, red chilli powder, turmeric powder and curd. Keep refrigerated as long as you can. We kept it for 3-4 hours.

Dry roast Corriander seeds, Kasuri Methi, Black Pepper, Cinamon, Cloves, Cumin seeds, Fennel seeds, Green cardamom, Mustard seeds and sesame seeds in a pan. Let it cool and then grind them in a mixer to fine powder. 

Slice the onions lengthwise. Heat 1/2 tsp oil in the same pan and saute the onions and ginger and garlic till brown. Let it cool.

Grind the onions-ginger-garlic to a smooth paste along with the coconut powder.

Heat 2 tbsp oil in a pressure cooker. Add a pinch of Asafoetida, Bay leaf and the onion-coconut paste. Let it fry for 2 -3 minutes. Stir occasionally.

Meanwhile, cut the tomatoes in large pieces and make a paste along with corriander leaves and green chilli. Add this to the onion paste and mix well. Saute for a minute and now add the powder masala that we grinded, along with kashmiri red chilli powder, corriander powder and amchur powder.

Now let this cook on low flame until the masala starts to leave oil ( add water little by little if needed ). This will take around 10-15 minutes. The masala will start sticking to the sides of the vessel. This is when you know it's cooked.

Now is the time to separate the masala if you want to cook any other vegetarian dish or egg curry too. If not, add the meat pieces, salt and water ( as much as you want the gravy ). We added 2 cups for 250 gms of meat. Let it cook for 5-6 whistles.

Yummyliscious Mutton Curry is ready :)

Happy Cooking :)

Linking this recipe to Meat Lovers Month event at Recipes Passion and Haffa Bexi's Kitchen