M for Misal Pav - The Kolhapuri special from Maharashtra

M for Misal Pav - The Kolhapuri special from Maharashtra

Coming to M, again we have many regional dishes. The MalPua from East is a favourite Dessert, while Makke ki Roti with Sarson ka Saag is all time favourite from Punjab. Momos from Sikkim is an international food now. Misa Machh Pura from Mizoram is grilled Shrimp while Mui Borok from Tripura is special dish made from Dried Fish. All have their own taste and are totally different from each other. You must enjoy each when you go to these areas.

Misal Pav is a street food from Maharashtra equally famous as the vada Pav. It is more healthy and quite different from the North India Pav Bhaji. So lets enjoy this. 


Ingredients
Basic 

2 cups mixed sprouts or moth bean sprout

1 tbsp tamarind pulp

1 medium sized potato chopped finely

1 tomato chopped finely

1-2 medium sized onion chopped finely

1-2 green chilies chopped finely

1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste

Spices :

2 tbsp red chili powder

2 pinches of asafoetida (hing)

1 tsp cumin seed

1 tsp mustard seed

10-12 curry leaves finely chopped

1 tsp coriander seed powder

1 tsp roasted cumin powder

1 tsp garam masala powder

2 cups water or as required

1 tsp sugar

salt as required

1.5 tbsp oil

For Garnish:

1 medium sized onion chopped finely

few chopped coriander leaves

1 cup mixed Sev (farsan) 

1. Lemon -1 sliced

Pavs or buns as required

Preparation.

1. Rinse the mixed sprouts / moth sprouts with water and put in pressure cooker after straining. Add diced potato cubes, tomatoes, turmeric powder, red chili powder, salt and a pinch of hing and 3 cup water. Pressure Cook the mixed sprouts for 3 – 4 whistles.

2. Heat oil in a Kadahi . Add mustard seed, cumin seed and let them crackle. Add the rest of hing and half of curry leaves and then onion and saute until onion changes color to pink. Add sugar and salt. Now add sugar, rest of curry leaves and green chilies Add t ginger-garlic paste. Fry until the raw smell diminishes. Add all spice powder and fry till oil them mix nicely. When done add tamarind pulp and fry more for 2 mins.

3. Now add the boiled sprouts mixture and also add the water left in the cooker if any or add water separately. Cook until the gravy thickens and nice consistency develops.

4. Transfer in Serving Bowl. When serving garnish with chopped Onion, Tomato,   coriander leaves and some Mixture or Sev. Add Lemon Juice on top. Serve with Pav fried in butter on both sides.

So , try and enjoy.

Aditya Sinha

15.04.2020

Other Recipe as part of A to Z challenge 

A - Appam, B- Bhutte Ka Kees, C - Chhena Poda , D - Dhuska, E - Eromba F- Fish Curry (Goan) , G - Gulaoti Kebab, H - Halwa Paratha, I- Idiyappam, J - Jadoh, K- Kafuli, L- Litti Bharta

Other Genres in the Challenge : 

English Poetry

Hindi Poetry

Short Story

Regional Food

Halwa Paratha

Halwa Paratha of Aligarh.

Starting in the last week of January begins the Annual festival of Numaish in Aligarh. Its a mix of trade fair and local fair but lasting for almost a month. One thing that you would see along with this all across the city are three special foods : Halwa - Paratha , Khajla & Barola.

Halwa - Paratha:

This dish is believed to originate from the adjoining district of Meerut. However some old residents of Aligarh also say that this actually arrived from Karanchi during partition. And usually used to be made on annual get together's when these families used to meet here in Aligarh. Whatever is the truth, let's enjoy the recipe. 

Paratha:

Paratha :  Is actually a huge Puri made of Maida (fine flour) (250 gm for one puri). Miada is kneaded with enough of moin (three four tbsp of refined oil / ghee). It should be loosely kneaded so that it can be easily spread into Puri of almost 2ft diameter. To spread it into paratha, make a single ball of approx 250 gm and put it on a greased flat base and press it slowly starting from center till it is evenly spread and becomes a large paratha as below.

Deeep fry this in hot refined / Ghee in a flat bottom Kadahi.

Paratha is ready.

Halwa : Halwa is the rawa (suji) Halwa we normally make at home.

Recipe : In about 50 gm ghee fry rawa (150gm) regularly stirring till you get a light pink colour. Add water (three cups) and keep stirring till it starts setting. Add one cup sugar to it. Keep stirring. When all sugar melts and mixes add 50gm ghee and remove from flame. Spread on a flat bottom plate and garnish with dry fruit, Coconut and Cherry.

Serving : This is normally sold by weight in kgs. And served by cutting paratha in piece and a scoop of Halwa. 

Relish.

The other two dishes Khajla and Barola would be discussed separate.

You may also enjoy these from Aligarh :

Aligarhi Kachauri      Atrauli Aloo Chaat      Khajla                Barola  

                           

Snacky Chicken

SNACKY CHICKEN

My kids don't want chilly in their food. But they love non veg. So I try this method which they love. This also goes good as snacks with drinks. 

Ingredients : 

Chicken : Half Kg

Onion : 250gm, sliced

Curd : 2 tbsp

Salt : as per taste

Haldi powder : 1tsp

Ginger : 2 tsp - crushed

Garlic Paste: 2 tbsp

Eno Powder - 1/2tsp

Garam Masala - 1tsp

Chart Masala - 1 tbsp

Whole spices for tadka 

Clove - 5 peices

Dalchini - 1 small peice

Big Cardamom - 5 peices

Small cardomom - 2peices

Black pepper - 10 -12 peices

Tejpatta - 2 peices.

Red chilli - 2 peices

Marination : In a bowl put washed - drained - chicken pieces and add one tbsp garlic paste, 1tsp ginger paste, salt as per taste, curd 1tsp and mix well. add the eno powder and mix again. Check the whole chicken should be well coated with marination. keep aside for one hour.

Preparation : In a flat bottom kadhai add three tbsp of refined oil. (If you prefer mustard oil you can use the same esp eastern India) let it heat. Add the whole spice enlisted above for tadka. Let it crackle. Add onion and fry on mild heat till it is tender and pink. Add marinated chicken and fry covering with lid in turns to soften the chicken. Once it fries a little add a tsp of turmeric (haldi) ,garlic paste and ginger paste and continue frying. After some time add the left one tbsp of curd and fry till its well mixed. Add garam masala poiwder and chaat masala powder and saute till the chicken is soft enough to eat. Your snacky chicken is ready.

Serve hot.

Aditya Sinha

Alu Chaat - Atrauli Style

Alu Chaat - Atrauli Style

Chaat is a very common road side snack in Northern India. But like any other dish this too is made in different ways in different parts of country. I passed through Atrauli - a tehsil in Aligarh and found a totally different way of presentation of the Alu Chaat - Hot and Spicy. Pls enjoy it healthier at home or chose to stop when you are crossing Atrauli by road.

Ingredients :

Boiled and Mashed Potato - 3- 4 medium Size
Paneer- 100 gm (cut in small cubes)
Boiled Chhole - 100 gm
Green Chilli - 2 Chopped
Onion - finely chopped - 1 cup
Red Chilli Powder - 1 pinch
Salt - As per taste
Garam Masala powder - 1 tsp
Refined oil for frying

Chutney - 1. Sonth ki chutney 
                 2. Green Pudina chutney - very low consistency

Preparation :

On the red hot taba pour 1/2 cup refined oil. In the simmering oil put mashed potato, keep stirring, add boiled chhole, green chilly, chopped onion, salt and garam masala powder (also chilly powder if you want spicy). Keep stirring till they turn pink. Set them aside. Again on the taba in two tbsp refined oil fry the chopped paneer. When soft add the fried potato mix and stir for some more time. Put it in a small bowl add a tbsp of sonth ki chutney and green pudina chutney. Serve hot.

Spicy and lip smacking.

Enjoy till I come up with more of the chaats soon.


Aditya

Nargisi Mutton Kawab

NARGISI MUTTON KAWAB

Nargisi Mutton Kebab

Mutton Kebab is not a new dish. It’s perhaps prepared in every corner of India. But you try it out at different places and I am sure you would say all of them should have different names. That’s why I say – Our India is a land of diversity. I’ll take you for this menu to the suburbs of Bundelkhand for its unique identity.

Ingredients:

Mutton Keema (preferably raan ka keema ) : 500 gm. Finely chopped.

Onion : 250 gm., finely chopped.

Green Chilli : 5 -6 pieces, finely chopped

Ginger : 25 gm, finely chopped.

Garlic : 20 – 30 cloves, finely chopped.

Poppy Seeds (Khas khas) :100 gm, paste

Pepper Powder : as per taste

Refined Oil / Pure Ghee : for deep frying.

Salt: as per taste.

Garam masala Powder : 2 tb spoon

Preparation of Kebab balls:

Wash mutton keema spraying minimum water on it, avoiding loosening of keema. Add finely chopped onion, garlic, ginger, green chilli to it. Add Poppy seed paste. Add pinch of pepper powder, salt as per taste and garam masala powder. Kneed it to mix all well and form a strong binding. Take small potions in your palm and make small equi-size balls.

Boiling of Kebab:

Take one glass water in pressure cooker. Pre heat the same to 70-80 degree.

Put the keema balls in the warm water. Do not put balls one over other. Just put one layer of the balls. Close the pressure cooker and shallow cook the same for 10 – 15 mins. Let the pressure release and remove the balls from the water.

Frying of Kebab :

Pre – heat cooking oil in round shaped frying pan with enough of oil for shallow frying. Put the boiled kebab balls in hot oil and fry stirring minimum till it turns light brown. Remove and your Nargisi Mutton Kebab is ready to be served.

Serving :

Serve the hot Nargisi Mutton Kebab with Paratha and Coriander Chatni. Alternatively it can be served as snacks.

Relish and write, if you liked it.

Aditya Sinha

Dhuska

I had expressed my views about the Diversity that our country has in perhaps any field we talk about while writing abou the other cuisine - baati chokha. I feel like repeating the same before talking about another Regional gem of a dish - Dhuska from Jharkhand. i.e. Repeat ... India is a land of diversity. “Diversity” - even the scope of the word becomes limited, when we think of the variety it has. Be it anything. The Culture, the language, the landscape, the dress, and ............... even the food that the people here so deliciously hog upon.

Rightly said - this dish too,  we must be having it daily in different names on our dining table. But just alittle different combination that it has makes it original and directly originating from the tribal lands of Jharkhand.
It serves as a heavy snacks here.

Ingredients : 
Pre Boiled Rice  - 1 cup
Urd Dal ( Pulse) - 1 cup
Gram Pulse  - 1 cup

Green Coriander - 50 gram , corsely chopped.
Onion - 3 peices - coarsely chopped.
Green Chilli : 3 - 4 peices.
Salt - as per taste.

Mustard Oil : For frying.

Preparation of paste:

Soak the three seperately for two  to three hours in water. Remove it from water when soft and wash probably. Make a paste (seperately) in mixie with minimum of water.

Mix the three and beat it with spoon to make it light. Add salt, coarsely chopped onion, green coriander and green chilli

Cooking:
To cook, pour in small amount through serving spoon in pre-heated mustard oil . Deep fry till it is pink in colour. 

Serve hot with coriander chatni and mustard sauce or rasdar aloo ki sabji (Gravy Potato)

Relish.