Metkoot ( मेतकूट )

English - 

A Maharashtrian kitchen is incomplete without Metkoot .
This tasty , aromatic yellow powder never fails to revive many nostalgic memories and has a motherly touch to it .
You are not feeling well have metkoot with hot rice and a dollop of ghee on it .
Your stomach is upset have metkoot with hot rice and a dollop of ghee on it .
You are travelling , pack a tiffin of metkoot with hot rice and a dollop of ghee on it .
You want to eat something simple yet tasty have metkoot with hot rice and a dollop of ghee on it .
In short in a Maharashtrian kitchen metkoot has an indispensable position .
Now you must be wondering what this metkoot is and how it is made ....
Believe me you will be surprised when you see how simple it is to make .


Ingredients : 

2 cups - chana daal
1 cup - urad daal
1/2 cup -  rice
1/4 cup - whole moong
1/4 cup - whole wheat
1/4 cup - mustard seeds
2 tsp  - coriander seeds
2 tsp - cumin seeds
2 tsp - hing ( asefoetida )
7/8 - dry red chillies
1 tsp - turmeric powder
1 inch - dry ginger ( soonth )
1/2 inch - cinnamon stick
6 - cardamoms
1/2 - nutmeg

Method : 

Dry roast chanadal , urad dal , rcie , moong , wheat  separately till they give out nice aroma .

In the same way dry roast jeera , mustard, coriander  too .

Now let everything cool down just a bit .

Grind all roasted as well as remainging ingredients together to a very fine powder .

When cool store in a air tight bottle .

Whenever you feel like having a treat just take hot steaming rice in a plate , add some salt to taste , a dollop of ghee and metkoot powder on top .

Mix everything properly and relish it with pickle or papad .

मराठी 

महाराष्ट्रातलं कोणतंही ब्राह्मणी स्वयंपाकघर मेतकूटा शिवाय अपूर्ण आहे म्हणायला हरकत नाही .
तब्येत बरी नसेल , किंवा तोंडाला चव नसेल किंवा चमचमीत जेवायची इच्छा नसेल तर गरमागरम मऊ भातावर थोडं मेतकूट आणि तूप घालून घेतलं कि जेवण मटामट पोटात जातं .
सोबत एखादी लोणच्याची फोड असेल तर बहार येते .
प्रवासातही डब्यात कालवलेला मेतकूट तूप घातलेला भात नेता येतो .
हे मेतकूट कसं बनवतात ते बघू .


साहित्य 

२ कप - चणा डाळ
१ कप - उडीद डाळ
१/२ कप - तांदूळ
१/४ कप - अख्खे गहू
१/४ कप - अख्खे मूग
१/४ कप - मोहरी
२ टी स्पू - धणे
२ टी स्पू - जिरे
२ टी स्पू - हिंग
७/८ - सुक्या लाल मिरच्या
१ टी स्पू - हळद
१ इंच - सुंठ
१/२ इंच - दालचिनी
६ - वेलच्या
१/२ - जायफळ

कृती :

चणा डाळ , उडीद डाळ , तांदूळ , गहू  आणि मूग वेगवेगळे कोरडे खमंग वास येईपर्यंत भाजून घ्यावे .

ह्याच प्रकारे जिरे , धणे आणि मोहरी सुद्धा वेगवेगळी भाजून घ्यावी .

थोडं थंड झालं कि वरील सर्व साहित्य एकत्र करून मिक्सर मध्ये बारीक कोरड वाटावं .

पूर्ण थंड झाल्यावर हवाबंद बाटलीत भरून ठेवावं .

कधी जेवण बनवायचा कंटाळा आलाच आणि तरीही मस्त चविष्ट काहीतरी खावंसं वाटलं तर मेतकूट भात तूप आणि मीठ घालून कालवून त्यासोबत लोणचं किंवा पापड घेवून खाऊन बघा .

Bhajaniche Thalipith - Pancakes ( भाजणीचे थालीपीठ )

English


A sumptuous filling traditional breakfast recipe from Maharashtra ....


Ingredients :

2 cups....................Bhajani pith 
2  ..........................onion finely chopped
1/2 cup................grated carrot
1/2 cup.................finely chopped cabbage
2 tsp....................chilly powder ( or 2 to 3 green chillies chopped)
a fist full ...............coriander leaves finely chopped.
lemon sized...........jaggery
1 tsp.....................coriander cumin powder ( optional as the bhajani pith already has it )
salt
oil

Method :


Mix all the ingredients except oil with enough warm water.

The batter should be thicker than the pakoda batter and sticky .

Heat a non stick pan and smear it with oil.

Take a tennis ball sized dough in your hand and press it on the pan with your fingers.

Take care as the pan will be hot.

Now drizzle some oil on top and cover the pressed dough with a hollow lid.

The steam generated inside with cook the thalipith.

Now turn it on the other side and cook till it is crispy on both sides.

Serve it with chutney or onion curd raita.


मराठी 

साहित्य :

२ कप - भाजणी चं पीठ
२ - कांदे बारीक चिरलेले
१/२ कप - गाजर किसलेला
१/२ कप - कोबी बारीक चिरून
२ टी स्पू - लाल तिखट ( किंवा २ /३ हिरव्या मिरच्या बारीक चिरून )
मुठभर - कोथिंबीर बारीक चिरलेली
लिंबा एवढा गुळ
१ टी स्पू - धणे जिरे पावडर
तेल


कृती :


तेल सोडून इतर सर्व साहित्य एकत्र करून गरम पाणी घालून पीठ भिजवा .

मिश्रण भजीच्या पिठापेक्षा जरा जाडसरच असुद्या .

नॉन स्टिक तव्यावर थोडे तेल लावून ह्या मिश्रणाचा छोटा गोळा घेवून बोटांनी थालीपीठ थापा .

वरून परत थोडे तेल घालून झाकण ठेवून थालीपीठ शिजू द्या .

२/३ मिनिटांनी थालीपीठ परतून दुसरी बाजूही नीट चुरचुरीत भाजा .

चटणी किंवा दह्यातल्या कांद्याच्या रायत्या बरोबर गरमा गरम खायला द्या .

Oyster Curry (Sagoti ) - कालवाची सागोती

Known in Konkani as kalva and in english as oysters this  is a very delicate and  tasty shell fish.
They are usually found attached to the big rocks .
When the rocks are broken inside lies the delicate oysters which can be used in various ways.
They sometimes have a stone like shiny hard thing which has to be removed before cooking.

Today I am posting the recipe of Kalva Sagoti which is a very famous konkani/ malwani dish.
You get this dish in any restaurant famous for fish and seafod in Mumbai.
It is very easy to make and worth all the efforts as the final dish is mouth watering .
It does takes little more time than usual fish dishes.

Ingredients :

1 cups..............Kalva (oysters)
1/2 cup..............potatoes cubed
1 cup................fresh grated coconut
2 ......................Onions
1 1/2 tsp..............coriander seeds
1/2 tsp.................pepper corns
3 to 4................cloves
1/2 inch ................dalchin
4 to 5 .................garlic flakes
5 to 6.................dry red chillies
3 to 4...............dry kokam pieces
salt
coconut oil

Method :


Wash and clean the kalva by removing any hard stone like part which is sometimes present.
Cut one onion finely and slice the other onion roughly.


Heat  little coconut oil , add coriander seeds, cloves , dalchin, pepper let them splutter.

Then add garlic and onion and fry on a medium flame  till onions are brown.

Add grated coconut and again fry till coconut is light brown.

Don't let the onion and coconut burn that will make it loose its flavour.

Add dry chillies and fry for 2 minutes.

Cool the above mixture and grind it to smooth paste.Add turmeric.

Heat coconut oil again in the same kadhai add the chopped onions and fry till light brown.

Add potatoes and half cook them.

Add the kalvas and little water and immediately add the ground masala.

Add salt and kokam and cook for 5 to 10 minutes.

Kalvas are soft and don't need to be cooked for long.

Kashmiri Pulav

A traditional kashmiri meal is incomplete without this famous pulav made with lots of fruits n dry fruits  .....

Ingredients :

2 cups ....................... long grain rice ( preferably basmati variety )
1 ...............................onion ( remove the skin and slice thinly )
1 ..............................apple ( deseeded and cut into medium sized cubes)
1 / 2 cup ................grapes
1/2 cup..................fresh green peas
1 cup.....................paneer ( cut into cubes)
6/7 .....................dried apricots ( soaked in hot water )
10/12 ................cashewnuts
10/ 12 ................almonds
2 tbsp..................raisins
1 pinch ................saffron ( soak in 1 bowl warm milk )
4 ........................cloves
2 ........................cinnamon pieces
2 /3....................bay leaves
4 / 5 ..................dry red kashmiri chillies
2 / 3 .................green cardamoms
2................... black masala cardamoms
5 / 6 ...............pepper seeds
5 / 6 tbsp.........ghee
4 cups ............hot water
salt

Method :

Wash the rice thoroughly and drain out the water.

Spread the drained rice on a plate and keep aside.

Deseed the soaked apricots and chop into medium pieces.

In a non stick vessel heat ghee and saute the sliced onion till golden brown and crisp.

Remove and keep aside.

Now add all nuts and raisins and fry till golden and keep aside.

Now in the same ghee add all sabut masala and chillies and stir for 2 minutes .

Add cubed apples, grapes and green peas and stir for 5 minutes.

Now add rice and saute for 5 minutes.

Finally add salt and hot water , cover with a lid and let the rice cook on slow flame.

All the water gets absorbed after about 10 / 15 minutes .

Now make holes in rice with a spoon and pour saffron milk and cover the holes again with rice.

Put the lid and let the rice cook for five more minutes.

Serve this pulav hot with kashmiri chicken or mutton gravy.