Khandeshi Thali

Khandeshi Thali...

Khandesh is a region of central India, which forms the northwestern portion of Maharashtra state.The region falls in north-west Maharashtra and covers Jalgaon, Dhule, Nandurbar, Malegaon, Nashik and Burhanpur in Madhya Pradesh. The Khandeshis like their meals spicy and earthy. Peanut oil, dry coconut, tiny lavangi chillies are the trademark of their cooking. But the foolproof way to tell a Khandeshi dish from another is to look for oil swimming over the dish, locally and lovingly called tarri. Kala masala is to the Khandeshis what bottle masala is to East Indians. Every family has its own version of the recipe that's pounded every summer and bottled for use all year long. It's a heavily roasted preparation and includes khopra, coriander seeds, dried red chillies, peppercorns, whole turmeric, cinnamon, cloves, black cardamom, shahjeera, fennel seeds, hing, khus khus, bay leaves, nutmeg, mace, dagad phool, dry ginger and jeera. Pumpkins, green tomatoes, green sorrel leaves, ridge gourd and the very popular brinjal are all sourced on the day of cooking." The Khandeshi baingan bharta or hirva vangyachi bharith is made with green brinjals (long, slim, striped variety commonly found in Jalgaon) that are roasted on an open flame till black. They are then pulped and pounded with green chillies, garlic, peanuts and spring onions. Bharleli vaangi, another popular brinjal preparation, involves stuffing aubergine with a paste of roasted peanuts, dried coconut, garlic, turmeric, red chilli powder and kala masala. But the most famous and easiest Khandeshi bhaji is made without vegetables. Shev bhaji is a curry made with dry coconut, garlic and onions. The crisp shev absorbs the spicy curry and oil, making it ideal to slurp up with the bhakri.

Information : Net source

Today my Kandeshi platter consist of 

Vangyache Bharith

Khandeshi Chicken

Boondi

Jawari chi Bhakri

Shingdana cha Thecha

Khandeshi Vangyache Bharith

Ingredients

1/2 kg Big size Brinjal roasted

1 Bunch Spring Onions chopped

12  Garlic cloves minced

4 Green chillies fried and crushed

1 tbsp Dry coconut  slices

2 tbsp  Peanuts coarsely  ground

1/2 tsp Cumin seeds

2 tbsp Vegetable oil

Salt  to taste

Coriander leaves chopped

Method

Remove the skin of the  brinjal and mash it very well. Heat oil in a pan . Add cumin seeds and let the seeds crackle. Add garlic  and chillies. Sauté it for few minutes. Add the peanuts and coconut. Sauté for few minutes more. Add chopped green onion and sauté it for 2 minutes. Add the mashed brinjal and salt. Mix it well and cook for 5 minutes. Garnish it with coriander leaves. Serve it salad and Bhakari.

Khandeshi Chicken Curry

For Marinating the Chicken

Ingredients 

1 kg  Chicken cleaned and cut into pieces

1 tsp Turmeric powder

Salt to taste

Method

In a mixing bowl, add the salt, turmeric powder and chicken. Mix it and marinate it for 30 minutes..

Wet Ground Masala

Ingredients

1 small Onion chopped

1 piece Ginger

10 Garlic cloves

4 Red Dry Chillies

2 tbsp Coconut grated

1 tbsp Oil

Method

Roast all the above ingredients in oil  till brown. Grind the roasted masala in a grinder to make a paste.

For the Chicken

Ingredients

Marinated Chicken

1 big Onions chopped

1 1/2 tbsp Kala masala

Wet Masala

Salt to taste

2 tbsp Oil

Chopped Coriander for garnishing

Heat oil in a pressure cooker.  Fry chopped onions till translucent. Add the ground masala and stir cook for 3 minutes. Add the kala masala and cook for 3 minutes.  Add marinated chicken and mix it.  Add 3 cups water to it and mix. Add salt to taste,  cover the lid of the pressure cooker and cook for upto 2-3 whistles.  Garnished it with chopped coriander, serve it  with sliced onions and Bhakris.

Boondi

For the Boondi

Ingredients

1 cup Gram flour

2 tbsp Rice flour

Pinch of Soda bicarbonate

Pinch of Salt

1 tsp Oil

Approx. 3/4 cup of Water

Ghee or Oil for frying

Almond and Pistacho flakes for garnishing

Method

Mix the gram flour, rice flour and salt.  Add water slowly and make a smooth batter to dropping consistency, batter should have no lumps. Add 1 tsp oil and soda bicarbonate  mix it well. Heat the ghee or oil in a frying pan over medium high heat. Hold the  skimmer about 2 inches above the oil over the center of the frying pan. Pour some of the batter onto the skimmer to cover all of the holes.Batter will start dropping through the holes into the oil. If the batter doesn’t drop right away through the holes. Add little more water to the batter and start again. Drop enough boondesi into the oil so they just cover the surface of the oil in frying pan in a single layer.Fry the boondies until the boondies are light golden in colour. Take the boondies out and put them directly into the warm syrup and mix it. Let it soak in the sugar syrup for 15 minutes. Drain the excess syrup. Boondies are ready to serve. Garnish with almond and pistacho flakes.

For the Syrup

Ingredients

1 1/2 cup Sugar

1 cup water

1/2 tsp Cardamom powder

Pinch of Saffron

Few drops of Lime juice

Method

Boil the water and sugar in a sauce pan on medium high heat, stir to dissolve the sugar, lower the heat and let it simmer for  3 minutes. Add the crushed cardamom, saffron and lime juice  to the syrup. The syrup should be one string syrup. Switch off the flame.

 Shingdana cha Thecha

Ingredients

12 Green Chillies silted

12 Garlic Cloves

3 tbsp Penuts

1 tsp Oil

Salt to taste

Method

Take oil in a pan. As the oil heats up add the chillies, penuts and garlic. Sauté it till the chillies starts to change it's colour. Add salt to the sauted chillies and garlic. Coarse grind all the ingredients in a grinder... Serve with Bhakri..

Kala Masala

Ingredients

1/4 cup Dry Coconut grated

1/4 cup  Coriander seeds

2 tbsp  Cumin Seed

1 tbsp Shahi Jeera

1 tbsp  Fennel Seeds

12  Dried Red Chillies

2 tbsp Pepper Corns

2 sticks Cinnamon

10 Cloves

3 Black Cardamom

1 tbsp  Dagad Phool

1/2  Nutmeg

2 Mace

10 Bay leaves

1 tsp Asafoetida

2 tbsp  Poppy Seeds

1 piece  Dry Ginger

2 tsp Oil

Method

Dry roast the coconut till brown. Set aside to cool. Roast each ingredient seperately ,except turmeric, asafoetida and ginger in oil and set aside to cool. Grind the roasted ingredients with turmeric , asafoetida and ginger in to fine powder.