Hello and welcome back to Slurrpy. How was it then at your neck of woods? We are back and doing great with our authentic Malvani and Kolhapuri recipes, handpicked from the coast of Maharashtra where we went road-tripping and it’s all coming to you, one day at a time.
By the way, do you know what I’ve found out in this road trip?
1. Boys are extremely easy to travel with. They are in fact very good. No tantrums. I like company like that.
2. Maharashtra has one of the richest cuisines when it comes to flavor and taste: I wonder why it never got its due importance.
3. Malvani/Konkani/Kolhapuri – all of these are extremely easy to cook and it fits perfectly with our month’s theme.
Starting at 4, our first pit stop was at a road-side dhaba where South-Indian breakfast ruled the roost. Certainly, nothing to talk about. But our next pit stop in the Bombay-Kolhapur highway was Kolhapur, which is known for its raging spicy food – both vegetarian or non-vegetarian. This is one of the first vegetarian Kolhapuri recipes I picked up while on road trip and I assure you, vegetarian lovers will love this. Full of flavor and taste, this Veg Kolhapuri Recipe was toned down a bit from its inspiration owing to my Bengali tastebuds. You can alter the chili and heat according to your taste.
Veg Kolhapuri
Ingredients:
Cauliflower florets: 1/2 cup
Potato (chopped in small cubes): 1
Carrot (cubed): 3/4 cup
Green pepper: 1/2 cup
Green peas: 1/2 cup
Big onion: 1.5
Tomatoes (finely chopped): 2
Cashewnuts: 4
Sesame seeds: 2 tsp
Grated dry coconut: 5-6 tsp
Cinnamon: 1″
Red chilli powder: 1 tsp
Coriander powder: 1 tsp
Roasted cumin powder: a little more than 1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds: 1 tsp
Garam masala: 1 tbsp
Sukha masala: 2 tbsp
Ginger-garlic paste: 1 tsp
Oil: 5 tsp
Water as required
Salt and Sugar to taste
Raw Kolhapuri masala: 1 tbsp each of fennel seeds, cloves, black pepper, cinnamon, bay leaf, poppy seeds, cumin, star anise, cardamom and dry red chillies
Method:
- Make Kolhapuri masala: Heat pan on a medium high and dry roast whole garam masala, Kolhapuri raw masala, coconut and sesame seeds till the coconut gets a nice golden color. This is authentic Kolhapuri masala. Once the ingredients are fragrant, pour about a tsp of oil and leave it at the hot pan for about 2 min. Cool and mix in a grinder along with cashewnuts and water.
- Cook your masala: Heat 4 tsp oil in a pan. Add cumin seeds and finely chopped onion. Let onions brown. Next, add ginger-garlic paste and cook till the raw smell from ginger-garlic goes away. At this point, add coriander powder and roasted cumin powder. Cook in medium heat for about 2 min. Add the chopped tomatoes and 1/4 cup of water. Cover and cook for 3-4 min. Lift lid, add the Kolhapuri masala paste, mix well and cook for another couple of minutes. Add red chili, garam masala, sukha masala (available in all stores) and cook till the mix leaves oil.
- Cook your veggies: Par-boil potatoes and soak all other vegetables in salted hot water for about 5 min. Because some vegetables cook faster than the other and you’d like a crunch to your vegetable, here is the order in which I put my veggies: Potatoes go first, then cauliflower and carrot, then green beans, green peas and green pepper or capsicum. Mix well and cook for about a minute or two, or until the veggies are tender. Add salt and sugar (optional) to taste. Have with bhakri or roti and add a blob of butter if you like a richer taste.