Hirvya Vatanya cha Masale Bhaat

Masale bhaat is the one pot quick rice that is churned out in 20 mins with a pressure cooker, a whistle or two in many a Maharashtriya home in modern day. It is a must on a wedding menu. We love it anytime. Gone to the doctors, come back home and make masale bhaat. You have unexpected visitors, the quick and tasty masale bhaat is ready to serve. Running short of other things on the party menu add a masale bhaat to it. Its that easy to make.

This Hirvya Vatanya cha Masale bhaat was made for lunch yesterday. I was dead tired from a super difficult Tuesday when we spent 4 hrs each way commuting from Nerul to Churchgate. The morcha protesting the demolition of Ambedkar Bhavan had brought South Mumbai to a stand still. We were unfortunate to have a docs appointment on the day. Anyways got a second opinion on Dad's cardiac condition and its a relief to know that surgery is to be avoided as of now. He is 75 and quite fit otherwise. So Wednesday morning I slept in, believe it or not Dad let me do it. Then at 11.30 am I woke up and by 12 noon we were eating a warm Masale bhaat.

I usually use untoasted masala for my masale bhaat like here in Toor Masale Bhat. Many times when we don't have the Kachha masala ready I use my Gondavale Goda Masala for a quick one. However this time I ran out of it. My friend Soumitra Velkar had gifted me the Parbhi Sambar Masala and it smelt so similar to my Gondavale Goda Masala so I thought let me try a Masale bhaat with it. No surprises the Masale bhaat turned out perfect.

Here try it out and you have two options for the masala now.

Serves 2-3

Ingredients

250 gms Wada kolam rice, washed
1 cup fresh green peas shelled or frozen/ Hirve Vatane
1.5 teaspoon Parbhi Sambar Masala OR Gondavale Goda Masala
2 tablespoon oil
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
0.5 teaspoon turmeric powder
2 green chilies slit
salt to taste

Heat oil in a small pressure cooker. Splutter the mustard seeds and let in the green chilies. Add the Hirve Vatane and washed rice. Add the Parbhi Sambar Masala OR Gondavale Goda Masala and turmeric powder. Add salt without forgetting. Add water according to the quantity of rice and close the lid. Allow 2 whistles. Put off the cooker and allow to cool completely before you open the lid.

To finish
1 teaspoon ghee
2 tablespoon jaggery
1/2 cup grated coconut
1/4 cup fine chopped cilantro

Open the lid of the cooker. Fluff up the rice. Sprinkle the jaggery. Drizzle the ghee over the rice. Top with grated coconut and chopped cilantro. Give a nice mix. Serve hot with roasted papad, pickle and buttermilk in summer or a warm Tomato/ Kokum/ Chinchecha Saar in the cooler climes.

Enjoy this very fragrant Hirvya Vatanya cha Masale Bhaat !

The Bombay Curry I Simply Love

The Bombay Curry with Mushrooms  

My Bombay Kitchen by Niloufer Ichaporia King is a wonderful book that I cook from often. It is a wedding gift I received from my blogger buddies Evolving Tastes, The Cooker and Vadani Kaval Gheta. Gosh its a decade since we have been friends. ET visits me when she is in India. I look forward to meet the other two. This is also to thank you girls for this lovely gift which my hubby too approves of. After all the true success of a cookbook is when the recipe is cooked week on week as a family favorite and so you know why I am late to show it off here and thank you!

This is one curry I simply love to cook, eat and entertain with. I know that when I make this curry my party is a hit. 

The first few times I made it AC ate it without complaining, which means he is happy. Slowly he opened up like he always does and shares great gems of advice. He said his mother roasted the masala till it was lightly browned and nutty. The roasted masala curry is deeply satisfying. So now I roast the masala just like he said, patiently. He recounts his mother used a tablespoon of besan instead of roasted chana dal. I like the texture of roasted chana dal ground in the masala while I think besan might make the curry a little pasty. So I stick to the roasted chana dal, I may try with besan when I feel a little more adventurous. 

In the book too there is a note for the roasted masala, roasting the seeds in the masala for a richer brown color.

So here is The Bombay curry for you to try. I have reduced the quantities to Serve 2.

Ingredients

10-12 Mushrooms/ 2 chicken drumsticks/ 2 eggs / Seafood or whatever you fancy/ 

  *Pomfret heads* or *Cauliflower stems*

1/4 coconut, grated

2 cloves garlic

1/2 inch ginger

1/2 teaspoon kashmiri chili powder

2 teaspoons raw peanuts

1/2 teaspoon roasted chana dal

1 teaspoon coriander seeds

1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds

1/2 teaspoon white poppy seeds

1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder

1 inch cinnamon stick

2 -3 cloves  

1 medium onion chopped

1 small potato quartered

1 sprig of curry leaves

salt to taste

1 tablespoon oil

1. First in a grinder measure out the grated coconut, garlic, ginger, Kashmiri chili powder, raw peanuts, roasted chana dal, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, poppy seeds, turmeric powder, cinnamon and cloves. Grind together everything using minimum amount of water into a fine paste.

Once the masala is ground its easy to make the curry.

2. In a deep pan measure out oil. Season with curry leaves, add the chopped onion saute till transluscent. Now add the masala paste. Roast it till the masala is fragrant and red. The oil should be released by the masala, keep your patience. This should take about 15-20 mins. Watch it so it does not burn.

3. Add potatoes to it and coat with masala. 

4. Add the non veg or veg of your choice and coat it with masala. Cover and cook for 5 mins.

5. Now top up with enough water about 300ml to cover the non veg or veggies.

6. Cook it down to a nice creamy curry.

Serve the delicious curry with steamed Basmati rice. I am not a fan of Basmati but quite enjoy this curry with it. Sometimes I make Surti kolam rice to go with it. 

I must share a secret. This curry is indeed best with rice to mix with your fingers but let me tell you, it make a delicious combo with hot soft puris too.

This one is with boiled halved eggs


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Updated 11 Feb 2018    : With Pomfret heads
For The Ugly Food Project

We the HAVES always waste a lot of food on our plate. That is ugly. This food can always be fed to animals. We buy blemish free fruits n vegetables and so the seller discards the Ugly food. Even a slight rot on a vegetable from the fridge can be removed and nutritious food can be created. I am guilty of not using seafood heads in my cooking for the bawa. Sometimes I give away things like lobster heads to anyone who accepts them. With a little bit of creativity we can feed the HAVE NOTS. This is my contribution to @chowder_singh 's The Ugly Food Project. If you are interested in contributing ideas and recipes, join the group on FB.

I usually keep aside pomfret heads so I can make a curry for my househelp. Earlier when I used to tell the fish seller to take those away she requested me to keep them for her.

You can use veg and non veg ugly food to create this delicious curry. Cauliflower stems would work really nicely too.