Crispy sweet sour Alu wadi

This alu wadi is a typical snack made in Marathi homes. (Alu: Colacasia or edible Arum leaves; Patra in Gujarati). It is fried, crispy and much more tasty than the ones you find in food stores or restaurants these days.

Given below are the steps to make this delicious snack.

What you need is some alu leaves that are meant for making wadi. These you can get from the market. Wash and pat them dry.

The bowl to the left in the first picture. contains Besan ie chana daal flour, salt, turmeric powder and chilli powder. Half a teaspoon of turmeric is enough for three tablespoons of besan. The remaining ingredients are according to taste.

The second bowl contains Tamarind Sweet chutney. Jaggery is used in substantial quantity rather than sugar for the sweetness.  The Besan is mixed with this liquid chutney to form a stiff batter which will stick on as shown in the picture.

 

The above leaf bundle is pressure cooked. One whistle is usually enough. It can also be steamed. 

 The above wedges are deep fried.

 

Enjoy! 

Divey

Divey are made in Marathi households on Amavasya or No-moon day of Ashaadh month. In the olden days they might have been lighting a few of them like lamps; ergo the name 'divey'. Nowadays we just make them because they taste delicious!

It's a simple steamed dish made from wheat atta, jaggery, and a little salt kneaded to stiff dough. Shaped into cups and steamed for 10-15 minutes in a steamer. Once done, filled with desi ghee and eaten.

The base raw material changes depending upon the region.. in Khandesh/Jalgaon side they use Bajra flour to make them.

Kothimbir Vadi - Coriander wedges

One of my favorite greens and an integral part of an Indian kitchen, Kothimbir (dhania or coriander) is packed with vitamin C and has many health benefits. It is mostly used as a garnish, added to chutneys, salads and dips.

When the green is available in plenty it can be cooked along with flours and spices to create a delicious savory side dish- Kothimbir vadi.  
Goes well with curd rice or livens up a meal of plain daal and roti.

Ingredients:

One bunch fresh coriander

Jowar flour 2 tbsp estimated

Chana dal flour 4 tbsp estimated

Rice flour 2 tbsp estimated

3-4 tblsp oil

½ tsp turmeric

¾ tsp chilli powder

One tsp sesame seeds

Fresh lemon juice

1 tsp sugar

Salt to taste

Steps:  

First wash and chop coriander. Add to it: juice of half a lemon, a tsp of sugar, turmeric, chili powder, sesame seeds, 1 tbsp oil, and salt to taste. Mix well and keep aside for 15 minutes. This helps the coriander let out its juice.

Now start by adding the various flours to the coriander mixture spoon by spoon. Usually we add the flour in the ratio of 1 Jowar flour: 2 Chana dal: 1 Rice flour. As you add the flour, keep mixing. Continue the addition till you get a thick, stiff dough. Do NOT add any water.

Take a dish or shallow vessel that you can keep in a steamer. Apply a little oil to your hand, make a smooth ball of the dough, and pat it into a dish with an edge. The patted dough should be approx 1- 2 cms deep. Steam it for about 10 minutes. Let cool. Cut into small wedges.

Add a little oil to a shallow flat pan. When it is heated, add some mustard seeds, a pinch of asafoetida and turmeric. Place the wedges on the pan and shallow fry on low to medium flame till crispy and brown.  

Note:

1. The proportion of ingredients in this dish is not hard and fast. A lot depends on the amount of juice secreted by the coriander. Again, how much of any spice to put depends on your personal taste and preferences.

2. If you do not have enough of any one flour you can add a little more of the other. But atleast some chana dal flour is required to give the wedges their taste and texture. If you prefer you can add Bajra flour too. Remember that Bajra is somewhat bitter in taste.  After making the dough you might still have some flour left over. That is perfectly ok.

3. Instead of lemon juice you can add tamarind pulp, and add gur instead of sugar.

Metkut – a rice accompaniment

Rice, a staple food in most Indian homes, is easy to cook and nutritious in the bargain. In its plain vanilla form, it is usually eaten mixed with daal, curries, gravies, curds or buttermilk. But there are times when you are in a hurry to have a hot cooked snack and either don’t have any time for elaborate preparations or don’t have the raw materials at home. In which case Metkut Bhaat can be a life saver.

In Marathi households the clever but harried home-maker often keeps a stock of Metkut at hand. Made of daals and rice, this subtly flavored sunlight yellow powder can be stored, and lasts for months. Mixed with it, rice tastes yummy, and is one of my favorite comfort foods, especially on cold winter mornings. Kids love it too, and tuck into it with gusto!  

(Pronunciation: Metkut- 1^st ‘t’ soft as in Taiwan; 2^nd t as in tea; Bhaat- ‘a’ as in ravioli; ‘t’ soft as in Taiwan)

Let us see how it is made.

Ingredients:

1 cup chana dal

½ cup urad dal

½ cup rice

1 tsp saunth (dried ginger powder)

1 tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp mustard seeds

¼ tsp asafoetida

Method

Roast chana dal on a low flame. When it begins to redden, add urad dal. When that takes on a beige color, add rice. Continue the gentle roasting till the mix is crisp to taste and can be crunched easily between your teeth. Just before turning off the flame, add haldi and stir the mixture a few times. Let the mix cool.

Put the roasted mix and the remaining spices in a grinder. Grind till fine-sooji or rice-flour texture is obtained. While grinding, ensure that the mix does not form lumps due to any steam generated. Pour the resulting powder into a large plate or newspaper and let cool. Store in an airtight container. Stays good for 6 months to a year. However it is better to consume it in a few months as the spices may lose their flavor after that.

How to eat Metkut bhaat

• Take a bowl of hot well cooked rice which is sticky and where a little liquid still remains. Add a few spoonfuls of metkut to it.
• Add a dollop of ghee and salt to taste.
• Mix the rice and metkut well with your fingers, the way you would with dal or curds.
• Attack!

 You can add a dash of lime pickles to the above if so inclined.

 Note:

-Some people add fenugreek seeds, fennel powder or other spices to it too. On the whole less spices is better in this case.  

-You do get this stuff in stores in Maharashtra, but it just does not have the same taste as the one made at home as per the above recipe. 

Ukadiche Modak

In Maharashtra, Ganesh festival is synonymous with ukadiche modak. Sweet steamed dumplings of rice flour, coconut and gur, the modak (plural is also modak, without an 's')  are a tasty combination of the ingredients available in plenty in the Konkan coast where they originated.

 
To make modak

For case:

2 cups rice flour

2.5 cups water

Salt to taste

  

For filling:

3 cups scraped fresh coconut

1.5 cups chopped or broken Jaggery (Gur)

(Brown sugar can be used as a substitute if Gur is not available)

First prepare the filling. In a thick bottomed pan, put in the coconut and the gur. Keep stirring on a medium flame till all the gur melts, the coconut turns golden and the mixture begins to look ‘integrated’.

 For the cases: In a thick bottomed pan, heat water with a little salt and a tablespoon of oil. Once it begins to boil, add the flour and stir vigorously with a flat spoon for a minute or so till there are no lumps left. Cover with lid and steam twice. The whole process takes about 10 minutes. The end result should be a cooked dough of soft, pliable consistency.

Let the dough cool a bit. Apply a little oil or butter to the hand and take a small portion of the dough, the size of a table-tennis ball. With your hands roll the dough into a smooth ball.         

Then keep the dough ball on your left palm and begin to mold it into a cup shape with your right hand, using thumb and fingers.

                            

Once the cup is formed fill it with a spoonful of the coconut filling.

 Tamp down the filling and pull the dough from all sides over it to close the modak.  



 





Once you have about 5- 10 such pieces ready, steam them for about 10 minutes.

You can use a steamer available for such purposes, or create one by heating a little water in a wok and placing a sieve with the modak in it once the water boils.
Cover with a lid while steaming.
 
Lo, your modak are ready! Serve them warm with thick ghee.

Onion Pakoda (Khekada Bhaji)

If there is a snack that could find its place in the list of national integrators the pakoda would surely be it. Called by various names in different parts of India, it is a kind of fried spicy dumpling made of vegetables and Chana dal flour.

The onion pakoda is the king amongst them all and my personal favorite. An anytime snack, it is most attractive on rainy grey afternoons, cold winter days, and while on a trek, at a roadside stall - served hot with glasses of sweet steaming chai.

Khekada means crab in Marathi. These bhaji or pakodas look like crabs; hence the name.  The the onions should necessarily be pungent. Use the sweet variety, and you would wonder what the fuss as all about. In India we usually get the pinkish red variety that is fit for purpose.

Ingredients: (These are approximations. You might need to adjust according to size of onions, preference for spiciness, etc)
3 large onions
Chana dal flour / Besan (3 tbsp)
Rice flour (one tbsp)
Chilli powder
Salt
Ajwain / Owa / Carom seeds
Oil for deep frying
Chat masala for sprinkling

To make the mixture
Chop onions lengthwise into thin slices. Separate out the slices.
Add chilli powder, crushed ajwain seeds, salt to taste and mix well with the slices.
Keep for 10 minutes to let the onions 'weep' (for once!).
 
Do NOT add any water to the mixture. Now begin sprinkling besan over the slices and continue to mix it with your fingers. You can also add a spoonful of rice flour to make the pakodas crisper. Stop this process when the slices are well coated with the flour and the 'juice' is soaked up.  Then sprinkle a tablespoonful of very hot oil on this mixture. Helps add crunch to the pakodas.

To fry pakodas
Heat oil in a kadai (wok).
Using your fingers pick up small portions of the onion mix and gently release into the hot oil.
Fry on medium flame till golden brown. Remove onto paper to drain excess oil.
 
To serve
Put some of the pakodas on a plate. Sprinkle with chaat masala and chilli powder.
Taste good on their own or with crushed green chilli /mint chutney.
 
Note: 

• For a slightly different taste you can also try adding crushed green chilli rather than chilli powder to the initial onion mix.   
• If you are a bit short on onions, you can add thin long slices of capsicum or cabbage to the pakoda mixture. 
• For those of you outside India: if you cannot find Ajwain seeds in your local store, try using oregano for flavor. 

Stuffed Chillies

Ask any Indian to think ‘hot’ and chillies will find a place right next to Bipasha Basu and Gisele Bundchen! Chillies and monsoon contrast rather well. India grows a variety of chillies – plump, thin, hot, sweet and spicy. You can make chutneys, pakodas, dried stuffed chillies, add diced chillies to various preparations.

Then there is stuffed chillies, cooked and eaten as accompaniment to rice or chapati. Here’s how to make it.

Total preparation time – 30 minutes; Serves 2

Method
Take 6 of the kind of chillies shown in the photo. These are not pungent.
Slit each lengthwise.

For the filling:
Besan flour – 1-1.5 cup; turmeric powder ½ tsp; red chilli powder 1/2 tsp
Roast the above for a few minutes in a little oil. Let it cool.
To above add the following:
Groundnut ½ cup crushed coarsely
Sugar 1 tsp or a powdered/ crushed gur; ¼ lemon squeezed or 2 tsp tamarind pulp; salt to taste

Mix well. Stuff the chillies with the above mixture.

In a shallow frying pan, pour a little oil. Place the stuffed chillies and cover with lid. Cook on low heat for a few minutes till the chillies are cooked. Remove lid, turn the chillies and let them roast on all sides. Turn off heat. Let cool before eating.

Note: You may wish to change the proportion of spices mentioned above according to your taste.