Shengdanyachi Amti- Maharastrian Peanut curry

    This Shengdanyachi Amti is a Maharastrian Peanut  curry. This is a fasting curry as there was no onion or garlic. I followed Tarla Dalal's recipe to make this curry. Another version of this curry uses kokum which gives a light brown colour and tanginess to curry.

  This authentic Maharastrian amti was delicious and goes well with plain rice. It was a easy and quick recipe to make if you had the ingredients required.

 For this month's Ssshhh secretly cooking , we are making dish from Maharastra . My partner Priya Suresh of Priya's Versatile Recipes gave me Peanuts and coconut as my secret ingredients.

Requirements : 

  1 cup Peanut 

 One and half  tbs grated coconut 

 Two Green chilli

 one piece of cinnamom 

 One Clove

 Salt to taste

A pinch of Sugar

 To Temper : 

  Two tbs Ghee

   One Dry chilli

  A pinch of Hing 

  One tsp Cumin seeds

 A sprig of curry leaf

Coriander Leaves For garnish

Method : 

 Dry Roast the peanut and let it cool.

Grind the Peanut , green chilli , clove and cinnamon along with half cup of water to a fine paste.

Heat Ghee in a pan , add cumin seeds , hing , dry chilli broken and let them fry.

Add in the curry leaf and ground paste and cook for few minutes. The Paste will turn colour and thicken slightly .

Add one and half cup of water , salt and sugar . Let it boil for ten minutes. 

Take off flame and sprinkle chopped coriander leaves. 

Shengdanyachi Amti is ready to serve.

  

Bharleli Vaangi – Pressure cooker method

 

 I tried this recipe from Tarla Dalal’s pressure cooking cook book.

 Bharleli vaangi, a authentic Maharastrian dish made of eggplant. Here, I am sharing the pressure cooker version which goes well with chapatti and rice. The cooking time is very less that is 15 minutes only.

 Vaangi is the Marathi word for Brinjal / Eggplant.

It is usually a recipe of small brinjals stuffed with a sweet and spicy , peanut flavoured mixture drawing out all the authentic maharastrian cooking . It was similar to Ennai katharikai kulambu of Tamilnadu.

I used the long brinjals variety from our home garden , the gravy was more tasty. Yes , it was more tasty as we get the fruit for our work in the garden.

 In the original recipe the masala is not grounded it is crushed , i grounded to get the smooth consistency.

  Eggplant / Brinjal / Guinea squash/ Aurbegine is a native to the Indian subcontinent. It was consumed widely in these continent .

Requirements :

Brinjal – 7

Oil – 1 tbs

Mustard seeds – ½ tsp

Asafoetida – ¼ tsp

 For Masala :

Pearl onion – 1 cup

Unsalted peanut – ¼ cup

Grated coconut – ¼ cup

Chilli powder – 4 tsp

Tamarind – a marble size

Jaggery – 2 tbsp

Turmeric powder – ½ tsp

Garam masala – 1 tbs

Coriander leaves – 1 tbs

Salt as required

For Garnishing

Coriander leaves

Method :

Grind all the ingredients in the to grind section to a fine paste with little water.

Wash and make a criss cross slit on each brinjal taking care not to separate the segments.

Stuff each brinjal with the grounded masala.

Heat oil in the pressure cooker and add the mustard seeds , let it crackle.

Add the asafoetida to the hot oil.

Now , add the remaining masala and sauté well in low flame for a minute. The oil will separate on top.

Arrange the stuffed brinjals on top of the masala.

Add about a cup of hot water and close the lid.

Cook on high flame for 3 whistles.

Let the steam to subside. Open the lid and mix gently not to break the brinjals.

Sprinkle the chopped coriander leaves.

Bharleli vaangi is ready to serve.

Serve with hot steaming rice.

Vegetable Poha

  Poha / Flattened rice was widely used in India in making sweet and savoury. In Tamil poha is called as Aval . This is also offered to Lord Krishna by mixing with jaggery.

Pohae was the famous maharatrian breakfast . I had posted recipes using poha like batata poha and lemon poha.
 Pohay or pohe is most likely served along with tea and is served to guest by maharastrian. During , arranged marriages in maharastra , kanda pohe is served when both families meet. There are many variants of pohe  like batata pohe , dadpe pohe - raw pohe with shredded fresh coconut , green chillies , ginger and lemon juice . Kachche pohe - raw pohe with red chilli powder , salt and unsauteed onion.

This is a vegetable version , which makes it more nutritive.

Any choice of vegetables can be used. Adding colourful vegetables makes it appealing to eyes.

Requirements :

Flattened rice – 2 cup

Onion – 1

Green chilly – 3

Tomato – 1

Chopped Carrot -  ¼ cup

Chopped French Beans – ¼ cup

Green peas – ¼ cup

Chopped ginger – ¼ tsp

Oil – 1 tsp

Mustard seed – ¼ tsp

Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp

Salt as required

Lemon juice – few drops

Chopped coriander leaves

Method :

Wash and soak the poha in 3 cups of water . After five minutes drain the excess water.

Heat oil in a kadai , add the mustard seeds and let it crackle.

Add the chopped onion and sauté till it becomes transparent.

Add the slit green chillies and ginger , sauté well.

Add  the chopped tomato and sauté for two minutes.

Now , add the carrot , beand and green peas.

I usually add the raw vegetables , as these will cook by the time dish is ready. If you want you can boil separately and add.

Sauté the vegetables for five minutes.

Add  turmeric powder and required salt , mix well.

Add in the soaked poha and mix well.

Close the lid and cook in low flame for a minute.

Take off from flame .

Add the lemon juice and coriander leaves , mix well.

Vegetable pohae is ready to serve.

Misal pav – Pressure cooker Method

  Misal is the most popular roadside snack , it is spicy and a filling snack. Misal meaning mixture, is a delicacy in the western Indian state of Maharashtra.  It remains as a very popular snack since it is easy to make , is relatively cheap and nutritious too. The dish originated from the area of Desh , Maharashtra.

Misal served along with the pav ( Bun ) is called as misal pav. It is served along with chopped onion , coriander , farsan , boiled potato.

 The gravy made of sprouts is called as Usal , when the above ingredients are added , it is called as Misal.

  I made this pressure cooker method , it was so easy to make than the missal which I has posted earlier.

Requirements :

For Misal masala :

Sliced onion – ¼ cup

Oil – 1 tsp

Grated coconut – ¼ cup

Coriander seeds – 2 tbs

Cumin seeds – 1 tsp

Cloves – 2

Pepper corns – 6

Cinnamon – 1’’ piece

Red chilly – 3

Garlic – 3 cloves

For Misal :

Onion – 1

Oil – 2 tbs

Cumin seeds – 1 tsp

Tomato – 3

Turmeric powder – 1 tsp

White peas sprouts – 1 cup

Green peas sprouts – 1 cup

Chilli powder – 2 tsp

Salt as required

Sugar – 1 tsp

For serving :

Pav Buns – 8

Boiled potato – 1 cup

Chopped onion – ½ cup

Chopped coriander – 2 tbs

Farsan ( Mixture )  - 1 cup

Lemon wedges

Onion Rings

Method :

Misal Masala :

Heat a pan , add the grated coconut and roast well till flavor comes out. Keep aside.

In the same pan , add the coriander seeds , cumin , cloves , cinnamon , dry chilli ,pepper corns , garlic , onion and sauté well.

Add the roasted coconut and mix well.

Let it cool and grind into a fine paste with little water.

Making of usal :

Heat oil in a pressure cooker , add the cumin seeds and let it crackle.

Add the chopped onion and sauté well till it is translucent.

Add the chopped tomato and sauté till fully mashed.

Add the grounded masala and sauté well.

Now , add the chilly powder , turmeric powder and salt , mix well.

Add the sprouted peas and stir well in medium flame.

Add about 2 cup of water and let it boil , close the lid and pressure cook for two whistles.

Let the steam subsides and open the lid.

If the gravy has to be thick, cook for few minutes in medium flame with stirring continuously.

Usal is ready.

For serving :

Toast the pav with the butter.

In a bowl , pour the usal , top it with the farsan , chopped onion , potato cubes and coriander - Misal.

Place the bowl of misal in a plate along with toasted pav and serve immediately.

Have this plate of misal pav………..

Pav Bhaji / Bread served with Spicy Vegetable Gravy

    Pav Bhaji was the famous Maharatrian street food . It has become popular throughout India as well as worldwide.

It was a spicy blend of mixed vegetables served with buttered pav, which is similar to dinner rolls.

   Pav Bhaji is a fast food that originated in Marathi cuisine . yes , it is a hurried meal for the man in the street.

   Pav in Marathi means a small loaf of bread , which Bhaji stands for  vegetable dish.

   The origin of the dish was traced to a vendor who was serving lunch to  textile mill workers in Mumbai around 1850. as the workers gets less time for lunch , this recipe came into light. This will be light and filling food.

   Later , this recipe became part of the menu in restaurants which serves Indian fast foods.

   This recipe uses a special spice blend known as pav Bhaji masala , which is available in shops. As I like freshly grounded masala , I prepared my own masala. This masala gives the Bhaji its unique orange brown color.

    I made pav Bhaji for dinner and served along with homemade wheat pav. It was a filling meal for dinner.

   This recipe is nutritional sounds good as it contains all the nutrients of the vegetables used.

   The process of making may seems long , but when you tastes you grave to make frequently.

    I followed the recipe from Chaat by Tarla Dalal. I moderated the method of cooking to my way.

Requirements :

For Bhaji :

Potato – 3 large

Cauliflower florets – 200 g

Green peas – ½ cup

Carrot – 3 large

Capsicum – 1

Tomato – 4

Onion – 2

Turmeric powder – ½ tsp

Pav BhajiMasala – 2 tbs

Chilli powder – ½ tsp

Butter – 4 tbs

Salt to taste

To Grind :

Garlic – 6 cloves

Ginger – 2’’ piece

For serving :

Pav – 8

Butter – 4 tbs

Onion chopped

Lemon wedges

Chopped coriander

Method :

Making of Bhaji :

Pound the ginger and garlic well.

Wash all the vegetables.

I chopped the cauliflower, carrot and potato  to fine pieces.

Add about a cup of water , a tsp of salt , green peas and Cook with closed lid for fifteen minutes or till the vegetables are cooked.

The water will be evaporated, if present drain and can be used in the bhaji.

Mash the cooked vegetables   well with a masher. There is a special masher   available in shops. I used the wooden masher.

 Melt the butter in a large vessel , add the chopped onion and sauté well till translucent.

Add the pounded ginger and garlic paste , sauté till raw smell leaves.

Add the chopped tomato and sauté well.

Cook till the tomatoes are mashed well.

Now , add the finely chopped capsicum and sauté for few minutes.

Add the mashed vegetables and mix well.

Add about two cups of water and cook in medium flame. Stir in between.

Add the pav Bhaji masala and required salt.

Let it cook and thicken. It will take about 10 – 15 minutes.

Take off from the flame.

Bhaji is ready.

Pav :

Slice the pav into two halves, apply butter and toast on a griddle.

Serving :

Pour the Bhaji into a bowl and sprinkle some chopped coriander  and onion.

 Place two pav buns on the plate.

Place the onion slices and lemon wedge.

Serve hot.

Pav Bhaji is ready to serve.

Have this hot spicy Pav Bhaji…………

Note :

The Bhaji can be made in advance , reheat and served.

These are the vegetables usually added , you can add any vegetable of your choice with potato. As potato was the base of the gravy.

Phodnicha Bhaat / Tempered Rice

   It is simple and easy to make maharashtrian recipe usuall y made by tempering the leftover rice. This rice can be made with freshly cooked rice too.

 This rice will come to rescue when we are out of stock of vegetables. Yes, this rice preparation needs no veggies even tomato is also not needed.

 This rice will be an excellent lunchbox recipe.

I made this recipe from Sanjeev kapoor’s Kadai Cooking cookbook.

Reqirements :

Cooked rice – 2 cup

Peanut Oil – 1 tbs

Mustard seeds – ½ tsp

Cumin seeds – ½ tsp

Asafoetida – a pinch

Green chilly – 3

Onion – 1

Curry leaf – a sprig

Salt as required

Red chilly powder – ¼ tsp

Turmeric powder – ½ tsp

Lemon juice – 1 tbs

Sugar - ¼ tsp

Fresh coriander leaves

Method :

Heat oil in a pan , add the mustard seeds and cumin . let it crackle.

Add the curry leaves and slit green chilly , sauté well.

Add the turmeric and chilly powder, sauté till raw smell leaves in low flame.

Add the chopped onion and sauté till transparent.

Add the cooked rice and mix well, till the rice is coated with the masala.

If you want can add the roasted peanuts and mix well.

Sprinkle water and cook for five minutes on low flame. Stir in between.

Add the lemon juice, salt and sugar. Mix well.

Garnish with the chopped coriander leaves.

Serve immediately.

Serve with raita and papad.