Marathi cuisine, and green tomato koshimbir

 

Marathi vegetarian cuisine is essentially non oily, quick to make and uses freshly available ingredients. Of course there are variations based on which part of Maharashtra you are from. The konkan coast is rich fertile land. The main crop is rice. Coconuts are available in plenty. So are fruits like mango, jackfruit and banana. Kokam or 'amsul' are used in sour preparations. On the other hand the khandesh or Marathwada region uses more of millets, jowar and bajri for making 'bhakri', a type of unleavened roasted bread. Groundnut is used whole or powdered. Red chillies, garlic, onion are used in greater quantities. The dishes from konkan coast tend to use more of green chillies.

 

You can find this difference in how a simple item like daal is made. Basically it is tur daal cooked and spiced to which water is added to form a medium thick broth. People from the Deccan plateau call it 'varan'. It is thicker, contains more spices, and red chillies or chilly powder, usually tamarind to add a sour touch. The 'amti' prepared by people originally from konkan coast, would be thinner, with chopped green chillies, a dash of fresh coconut and amsul.

 

 

Let's look at a simple green tomato koshimbir.

You need firm green tomatoes for this.

 

 

Ingredients: 

3 green tomatoes chopped fine

1 cupful of crushed groundnuts (peanuts)

2 green chillies chopped

Ingredients for Tadka

One teaspoon sugar.

Salt to taste.

 

 

Method:

In a bowl mix the chopped tomatoes, groundnuts, sugar and salt.

Prepare the tadka (given in a previous post). Pour on the mixture and mix again.

 

Excellent when eaten with roti or chapati.

 

Note:

Someone had asked me to include how many people my dishes can serve. It's like this. If you serve small portions like chutney, this koshimbir may be enough for 7 – 8 people. Me, I can finish it all by myself!

cabbage salad

Kobi is Marathi for cabbage, called as patta gobi in Hindi.

 

Kobi chi koshimbir is a typical maharashtrian recipe.

Ingredients and method:

Grate cabbage or chop into thin shreds.
Add some soaked moong dal to this.
Squeeze some lemon juice.
Add salt and sugar to taste.
Add chopped coriander.
Make the normal tadka to which you add chopped green chillies.

Pour this tadka over all the above and mix well.

You can vary the proportion of the moong dal to cabbage as per your taste. I prefer a sprinkling of dal only. 

Grated carrot can be added to above. 
Tastes good with chapati or eaten as a side dish.

Note: For tadka preparation, pl. check my earlier post on the same.

Fruits & Udupi

Am just back from a wonderful trip to jungles of Karnataka.

This fruit stall was in a vegetable market at Udupi, a small town. The owner saw my camera and was insistent that I photograph his stall.

Jackfruit and bananas are a staple out here. The bananas are small but very sweet.
For those not in the know, jackfruit is a huge green fruit with a tough, prickly rind. It turns yellow on ripening. Inside are seeds encased in thick fleshy covers. These fleshy covers are sweet to taste and are eaten. The seed is boiled and cooked as vegetable or eaten with a little salt. A vegetable is also prepared from the raw jackfruit after removing its skin.

The fruit emits a very strong smell and may need getting used to.

Sringeri (a town of religious significance) had some shops selling great-tasting banana and jackfruit chips.

2 recipes for raw mango chutney

Before the summer and kairis vanish, here are a few recipes for raw mango chutney.

Recipe 1.

Ingredients:

Raw mangoes – peeled and diced into small cubes to fit 2 cups.
Jaggery (gur) - 4 cups; crumbled/ sliced thin depending on hardness

For the tempering (tadka):
Oil – 2-3 teaspoons
Whole Mustard seeds – ½ teaspoon
Fenugreek (methi) seeds - 1 teaspoon
Asafoetida (hing)- ¼ teaspoon
Turmeric powder (haldi) – ½ teaspoon
Chilli powder and Salt to taste.

Method:
Place a wok (kadai) or a thick bottomed pan on flame. Put in the oil. Add the fenugreek seeds. Once these show a mild splutter, throw in mustard seeds. As the mustard pops, add asafoetida and turmeric powder. Add the raw mango cubes and jaggery and stir well. Mix in the chilli powder and salt. Let the mixture simmer on medium flame till the jaggery has ‘melted’. Switch off the heat.
Let it stand till the chutney is cool. Transfer into a glass or ceramic bowl. Makes a delicious accompaniment to rotis and rice preparations.

Note:
- The proportions for raw mango to jaggery is usually 1:2. However these may be adjusted depending on the sourness of the kairi and the sweetness of jaggery.

- The kairi can be grated instead of dicing it. Some prefer to use pre-cooked kairi mash though the taste is subtly different and the texture is lost.

- This chutney can last a whole week if refrigerated.



Recipe 2.

If you are in the mood for raw chutney –
Grate ½ kairi and 2 onions. Mix both in a bowl with a fistful of toasted crushed groundnuts (peanuts). Add salt, jaggery and chilli powder to taste.

This chutney tastes yummy with bhakri, a flatbread made from jowar/ bajri (millets).

Note: Crushed groundnuts are added to give body and texture to the chutney. You can adjust the quantity according to taste.

© Alaka

the mango seduction

Universally, the month of March heralds the onset of spring. In the western parts of India, especially Maharashtra, it brings the song of the Koel – and the fragrance of mangoes.

In fact, the annual love affair with mango starts early February. The environs of a mango grove are heavy with warm, heady scent of mango blossom. This attracts several birds, not to speak of honey bees and butterflies.

As time goes on, one sees little green fruits hanging from the tree. The birds and squirrels are especially interested in the fruit. So are we.

Raw mangoes invade the senses and homes of Maharashtrians. So much so, that there is a separate name for the unripe sour green fruit – ‘kairi’.

One can eat a kairi as it is, with a pinch of salt. Or pickle it in variety of seasonings and spices. Preserve it in sugar syrup. Grate it and prepare tangy chutneys. Add tiny pieces to ‘bhel’. Prepare a refreshing drink from boiled raw mango. My favorite is the ‘kairi chi daal’ – a preparation of ground, soaked chickpea gram and grated kairi, seasoned with salt, sugar, green chillies and a dash of fresh coriander. The beauty of this dish is that it does not involve any cooking.

Meanwhile the ripening raw mangoes on the trees start showing streaks of yellow and red. This is when they are removed from the trees and stored - usually in bales of straw – giving rise to golden fruit with a heavenly perfume.

Several varieties of mangoes are grown in India. The best I have ever tasted is the variety of Alphonso that comes from parts of Ratnagari and Devgadh, on the western coast of peninsular India in the month of May.

There is something very sensual about eating an Alphonso whole.

Select a good firm Alphonso mango. The skin is golden, smooth and warm to touch. Voluptuous. Close your eyes and bring the rind to touch your cheek, as you inhale the sweet aroma that proclaims this particular specimen as the genuine ‘hapus’. Wash the mango and pat dry. Start peeling the skin by working your fingernails around the base of the stem. Soon enough of skin comes off that can be gripped by the teeth. Once most of the skin is torn off, bite into the orange yellow flesh. Let the juice dribble down the chin as more chunks are greedily grabbed off the fruit. Finally you will reach the seed which is to be sucked on, to get the very last morsels of this tasty delight.

You take a look at your mango drenched hands and wonder – is this how Macbeth felt?

© Alaka