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.
