Maharashtrian Festival Thaali

This is one of those thaali meals that I truly enjoyed without having to do the guesswork while cooking, about how the dishes are going to end up tasting. I have cooked most of these dishes before but not all at once as a meal. I built this simple thaali around a 'Akshaya Tritiya' thaali video I saw last year though I am unable to trace it back now. I added a few more dishes to the thaali including puranpolis and vadas to make it more festive. The thaali was appealing to both our eyes and palates.

The state of Maharashtra lies along the Western coast of India and it's capital city Bombay is the financial hub and the largest city in the country. The city which has been attracting people from all over the country for years now have become synonymous for it's lip-smacking street food. While traditional festive dishes such as modak, pooran poli, basundi, shrikhand, gulachi poli, masale bhath, unerringly point towards the state. 

Thaalipeet, a mixed flour flatbread is one of the popular breakfasts from the state along with sago / sabudana khichdi and poha. Sago / sabudana vadas, bhakarwadi, vada pav, misal pav, kothimbir vadi, are a few among the long list of popular snacks from the region. Most of the staple food in the state is lacto-vegetarian and the home cooked food is usually a complete, balanced meal like any other regional cuisine in India. It includes rice, dal, curry, chutney and a form of bread made from wheat, jowar or sorghum flours. Varan bhaat, aamti, kadhi, jhunka are every day foods. Peanuts and sesame seeds are widely used in the preparation of curries, chutneys and sometimes even in salads. 

I remember that a thaali from Maharasthra always includes varan bhaath, koshimbir, papad, pickle, a sweet dish, a vegetable curry along with a bread. That idea and the video I watched helped me in creating this menu. I did not include any rice dish because I was the only one at home eating lunch that day. My husband was having a lunch with his colleague which I did not realize until after I started cooking the meal. Poor planning, I know. However a masale bhaath would be an apt addition if having company.

My menu

Salad 
Koshimbir - Cucumber salad 

Rice and Breads:
Rice
Poori - Puffy fried breads

Curry and Dal:
Valachi bhirdi usli / Dried field beans curry
Batatyachi bhaji - Potato curry
Phodanicha Varan - Tempered dal (Recipe here.)

Accompaniments
Haldiche lonche / Fresh turmeric pickle
Green coconut chutney

Papad

Snack and Sweets
Sabudana vada - Pan fried tapioca pearl fritters (Recipe for deep fried version is here.)
Shrikhand - Sweetened yogurt, garnished with nuts (Recipe here.)
Puran poli - Sweet, stuffed flatbreads

I am posting the recipe for valachi bhirdi usli which is dried field beans / val beans curry. It is a simple preparation loaded with protein and done in no time since the val beans gets cooked fast. Easy dishes like these are life savers and apt to include in a thaali meal.

Ingredients:
1 tsp. oil
1/2 tsp. cumin seeds
10 curry leaves
1 pinch of asafoetida powder
1 pinch of turmeric
2 handfuls of val beans

Salt to taste

Chili powder to taste

2 to 3 tbsp. shredded fresh coconut
Minced cilantro to garnish

Directions:

1. Rinse the val beans and add them to a pot along with about half a cup of water. Boil them until they are completely cooked. Add a little extra water if needed. They must still hold their shape when they are done but not turn mushy. 
chillu powder

2. Heat oil in a pan and add cumin seeds, When they start to brown add curry leaves, asafoetida and turmeric in quick succession. (The uncooked beans and water can be added and cooked at this point if preferred instead of step 1.)

3. Add the cooked beans, salt, chili powder and coconut and cook for 3 to 4 minutes more and turn off the stove. Garnish with cilantro.
4. Serve it warm as a side dish to rice / rotis.

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Shrikhand (Short-Cut Method)

Shrikhand in short can be described as a thick, sweetened yogurt redolent with cardamom and saffron flavors and garnished with nuts. It is a sweet dish that is popular in the Indian states of Gujarat and Maharashtra and ridiculously easy to prepare. It is even eaten as a side dish to pooris in Gujarat. While this would be the basic, traditional version, another version prepared adding mango pulp, called aamrakhand is equally popular in Maharashtra.
Traditionally full fat yogurt is tied in a muslin / thin cotton cloth and allowed to drain until all the whey is separated and one is left with thick yogurt. Usually I follow this method when I have time. I leave the tied yogurt in a colander and place the colander over a container to catch the whey. And I place the whole setup in the refrigerator overnight so that I have the hung yogurt ready by the morning. If you want to prepare shrikhand from scratch then you can follow this method. However remember that the final hung yogurt would be less in quantity than the original yogurt you started with since some of it will be lost in the form of whey.
Then sugar is whisked into the hung yogurt until it is dissolved, garnished with spices and chilled before serving. 

For a short cut method, one can skip above steps and directly use the Greek yogurt as I have used here. I prefer powdered sugar over the granular variety since it is easy to mix. And sometimes I even use a sugar substitute. This shrikhand doesn't need chilling since the Greek yogurt comes from the refrigerator.
My husband and I love shrikhand and I frequently prepare it to eat as a dessert. However I paired it with pooris for the first time today and it was not that bad as I had anticipated. In fact I liked the combo.

Ingredients:
1 cup Greek yogurt (I used non-fat Greek yogurt.)
A generous pinch of saffron strands
1 tbsp. warm water / warm milk 
2 Tbsp. powdered sugar (or as per taste.)
1/4 ground cardamom
Sliced almonds and pistachios to garnish

Method:
* Gently crush the saffron strands between your fingers and add it to the warm water / milk and leave it aside for about 10 minutes.
* Add the Greek yogurt and powdered sugar to a bowl and gently whisk it until blended. 
* Next add the saffron along with the liquid and cardamom to the yogurt mixture and mix gently.
* Garnish with nuts and serve. If not serving immediately, refrigerate it until ready to use.

This 'Poori-Shrikhand' combo goes to BM #46. Check what other marathoners are cooking during this marathon.

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Matarchi Usal

Event: Blogging Marathon #41
Theme: Pick one ingredient and cook for 3 days
My choice: Green Peas

I chose to go with matarchi usal for my first "green peas" based post. This Maharashtrian side dish with subtly sweet flavors is a quick and easy one to prepare. It is so simple that it can be done under 10 minutes, especially if using frozen peas. Just zap the peas in a microwave for a couple of minutes while grinding the coconut mixture and just cook enough until the flavors are absorbed by the peas. The mixture is on the wet / semi dry side but I kept it dry to showcase it better. This is served with pav / rotis.

Ingredients:
2 cups green peas (I used frozen peas.)
2 tsp oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
Few curry leaves
1/8 tsp turmeric powder
A pinch of asafoetida powder
Salt to taste
Ingredients to grind:
1/4 cup coconut
3 - 4 green chillies or as required
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 inch piece of ginger

Method:
* Grind coconut, cumin, chillies, ginger to a fine paste adding 2 - 3 tbsp of water.
* Heat oil and add mustard seeds. When they start to sizzle and pop, add turmeric, curry leaves and asafoetida. Add peas, the ground paste, salt and add about 1/2 cup water. 
* Cook until the peas are done and serve warm.

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Malvani Kakdi Vade

I follow regularly a Gujarati cook show that comes on an Indian television channel and most of the time, the show features traditional and creative recipes by renowned chefs. The show has caught my fancy with it's interesting recipes. This kakdi / cucumber vade were a part of that show and they looked so appetizing that I had to try them. These were a hit, particularly with my husband and they reminded us something similar to what we had in temples in India. This takes the first place among the savories I cooked for this marathon, according to my husband.

The chef mentioned that these are a part of festivities among the Malvani community, including weddings. Malvani cuisine belongs to the Konkan region of Maharashtra, Goa and some parts of Karnataka. Konkan region is basically a part of the western coastline of India. These vades are usually served with a non-veg curry but I think the chef had prepared a yogurt based side dish to go with it. They don't need any side dish if you ask me. Traditionally the rice, chana dal and urad dal are toasted and powdered in specific proportions. I had all the flours ready and so I just combined them in the proportions mentioned. And did I mention how good they were?

Ingredients: (Yield 8)
1/2 cup rice flour
1/4 cup chickpea flour / besan
1/4 cup urad dal flour
Salt to taste
A pinch of asafoetida
1 tsp ginger paste
1 tsp green chili paste
2 tbsp. minced cilantro
1/2 cup grated cucumber
1 tbsp. hot oil
Oil to fry (I used canola oil.)

Method:
* Mix everything in bowl (except the oil to fry) to make a stiff dough. There is no need to add water since the moisture from the cucumber would be enough.
* Divide the dough into 8 portions, roll them and keep them aside. Grease a plastic sheet and pat one dough ball into a slightly thick disc. 
* Meanwhile, heat oil in a kadai / deep frying pan. The oil is ready if a small piece of dough is dropped into the oil, it sizzles and comes to the surface.
* Gently peel the disc from the plastic sheet and slide it into the hot oil. Fit as many discs as the pan can hold. 
* Fry on low flame, flipping in between until they turn golden brown. Remove them with a slotted spoon and drain on absorbent towels. Fry the remaining discs
* Serve them warm.

Check here to know what other marathoners are cooking.

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