Curries & Stories: khandeshi kala masala

25 September

Maharashtra is a land of unique local flavours. And still it is mainly known for its Vada Pavs, poha, pav bhaji and modaks. I know because I also belong from a different state by birth. People only know food items that are shown in the Bollywood movies but the traditional flavors of this land unfortunately is very limited to the locals. Thus even after spending more than 15 years in Maharashtra, I started understanding and exploring the signature regional cuisines of Maharashtra from only a couple of years ago. Mumbai being a melting pot of various cultures, I hardly came across a place claiming to serve authentic Maharashtrian Thali. I am talking about 12 years ago, it might also be that even if such a place exists in Mumbai I was unaware of. After spending a reasonable amount of time in Pune and due to some local friends and a few team lunch outs, I got exposed to the traditional fares which are uncommon to an outsider to the state. Now I really feel bad that I started exploring the beautiful cuisines of this place so late. Nonetheless, its better late than never!

Maharashtra is divided into 5 main regions : Konkan, Paschim Maharashtra also known as Desh - (Pune Division), Khandesh - (Nashik Division), Marathwada - (Aurangabad Division) and Vidarbha - (Nagpur and Amravati divisions).The coastline of Maharashtra is usually called the Konkan and boasts its own Konkani cuisine, which is a harmonized combination of Malvani, Gaud Saraswat Brahmin, and Goan cuisines. Besides the coastal Maharashtra cuisine, the interior of Maharashtra or the Vidarbha area has its own distinctive cuisine known as the Varadi cuisine.

The cuisine of each of these 5 regions are diverse and yet similar in many ways. From the coastal delicacies of the Kokan where fish curry and rice is a staple to the specialties of Deccan plateau and the fiery fare from heat of Vidharbha in the east, Maharashtrian food is truly unique. Quoting a food article, the North-Western region of Maharashtra which covers areas like Jalgaon, Malegaon and Nasik is known for its extremely spicy curries. This cuisine is called the Khandeshi cuisine which is the hottest cuisine of Maharashtra. Peanut oil, dry coconut and the Lavangi Mirch are the highlights of this cuisine. The curries are identifiable because of the red spicy oil that floats atop and is called 'Tawang or Tarri'.

There is a Maharashtrian Restaurant a little away from my place, where for the first time I got introduced to an amazing dish from Khadenshi cuisine - Kala Mutton. The burst of flavors and how succulent the mutton pieces were literally blew my mind! It was like nothing I had had before. Every inch of the mutton had a infusion of rich flavors from the whole spices, slowly cooked over the wood fire for hours. A bite of the piping hot bhakhris dipped in Kala mutton gravy with a slice of raw onions is something you need to try once in your life to know how heavenly it tastes.

From then on every time I visited the place, that was the dish for me by default. I am so much smitten with this particular dish that I had to try making this at home. I just had to! The main element of the dish of course is the Kala Masala. When you look at the ingredient list you might feel overwhelmed but that is the key behind all the beautiful flavors this curry has. It is definitely a labor of love! I can proudly say, that the mutton made with this kala masala tasted super amazing and everyone at home really loved it. Check out the recipe for the masala below. I will be posting the Kala Masala Mutton Curry recipe soon. Just as a side note, I did try making this with Chicken as well, it did taste amazing but no where near to the one that you get with Mutton. So if you want to try this out for the very first time, make a Mutton curry with it.

Checkout other accompaniment recipes on my blog:

Preparation Time: 30 minutes

Cooking Time : 40 minutes

Serves - 100 gm

Ingredients for Garam Masala:

White Sesame - 1 tsp
Coriander Seeds - 2 tsp
Dry Red Chilli - 4
Black Pepper - 10
Cloves - 3
Star Anise - 1
Bay Leaf - 1
Mace - 1/4th
Naag Kesar (Optional) - 4 to 6
Cinnamon - 1 inch
Black Cardamom - 1
Salt - 1/4 tsp

Ingredients for Kala Masala:

Garam Masala / Goda Masala - 1 tbsp
Onion - 2 medium
Green Chilli - 4
Khopra / Dried Coconut - 1/2 coconut or Fresh Coconut - 1/4 coconut
Fresh Coriander Leaves - handful, chopped
Garlic Pod - 10
Ginger - 1 inch
Red Chili Powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Ghee - 2 tsp

Equipment:

Kadai
Spice grinder
Iron Wok

Method for Garam Masala

1. Dry roast on medium heat all the ingredients mentioned under garam masala apart from the salt till they are fragrant. You have to constantly keep stirring it so that they don't burn.

2. Let them cool down

3. In a mixer grinder, grind all the dry spices into a fine powder. Preserve this for the next phase.

Method for Kala Masala

1. Cut off the head of the onion and make deep slits in the onion. Now over direct gas flame char the onions until they turn black on the outside.

Tip: I use the onions with the skin. The skin burns and adds a beautiful black color to the final masala.

2. Char the coconut and the green chilies over the flame. Cool everything down.

Tip: If you do not have dry coconut, you can use fresh coconut as well. The quantity will be half that of dry coconut.

3. Now chop the chapped onions , coconut and green chillies and transfer them into a mixer grinder jar. Add chopped fresh coriander, the garam masala prepared in phase 1, garlic pods, green chilis, salt, some water and grind all of these to a fine paste.

Tip: If you do not want to make the garam masala you can replace it with same amount of Goda Masala. But still I highly recommend you prepare a fresh batch of garam masala for better flavor.

4. Heat an iron wok and add 2 tbsp of ghee. Once the ghee is hot add 1/2 tsp of red chili powder. Give it a nice stir till fragrant.

Note: You can use any kind of wok but cooking the masala in an iron wok will ensure it gets a rich black color.

5. Now add the ground kala masala paste and cook over medium flame while stirring frequently. Cook untill oil separates, the masala becomes black and a little thick in nature.

Note : The masala in the picture is before it is cooked so it is still a lighter shade of black. Once cooked it will turn quite black.

You can use this masala to make Kala Mutton or Chicken Rassa. I will talk about that recipe in my next blog post. Stay Tuned!