11 September

- No Recipe Post ~

|| ॐ गं गणपतये नमो नम: 

श्री सिध्धीविनायक नमो नम: 

अष्टविनायक नमो नम: . 

गणपती बाप्पा मोरया ||

Presenting some of my favorite Ukadiche Modak shots from this year's Ganesh Chaturthi. This is more a photoblog.

There were many firsts this year in terms of shooting the prasad and Bappa. Last year I remember when the pandemic had hit us and we spent Ganesh Chaturthi in the confines of our home, for the first time I brought out my DSLR to shoot food photos. Before that my DSLR was purely used for travel photography. I had never imagined in my wildest dreams that one day I would start food photography, open an Instagram page and becomes suddenly so passionate about food photography, techniques, editing, composition etc. I started taking food pictures with my phone around the time pandemic hit, because like everyone else I was feeling stressed locked at home and needed some good energy through creativity. It was just a casual hobby until I took the first food photo with my DSLR.

You must be wondering why I didn't use my DSLR to take photos earlier. It was out of sheer laziness. Getting the camera, putting the right lenses, setting up a tripod just to take a food picture didn't sound too enticing to me. Point and shoot was more my genre. Plus I didn't know then that to take one single food photography there would be so many steps right from cooking till the final editing. This all changed when I took the Rawa modak shot on the first day of Ganesh Chaturthi last year. I observed that the photos of food which were taken with the DSLR were much more crisp and with beautiful depth of field. Even minimal editing made the final shot look superb. That was the beginning, after that it had been a long learning curve if 1 year so far and there are so many things I have picked up by observing other food bloggers. I feel proud at times looking at some of my recent compositions, how far I have come from last year in terms of food photography. But then there is so much more to learn, this is just the starting line. And this entire learning process is such an exciting journey. Especially, its magical what you can achieve on the editing board. While the composition needs to be good, but still with a little bit of imagination you can practically create amazing pictures. It fascinates me to no extent. When I got my hands set on Snapseed I was excited. When I learnt Lightroom, it felt exhilarating and finally when I edited the first ever drip shot in Photoshop I felt like a speck in the wide universe. Photoshop is absolutely stunning in itself. I mean don't laugh on me because I am gushing about a software which everyone knows is brilliant. But just feel from the eyes of a person who is beginning on their photoshop journey. Its simply amazing. It is a different world altogether and now I am hooked. Technology has really made magic available at fingertips. 

These lovely modaks were made by Pooja Parsewar Bachewar. 

I always wanted to create a perfect drip shot. But my tripod had been giving me some pain and I never felt confident about pulling it off. This time I took Ganapati bappa's name and plunged into the idea. The only challenge was, since my tripod was not helping me I had to find someone to hold the spoon with the ghee while I took the shot. The default choice was mom. But to convince her to hold the spoon, make her wait till I got the perfect shot after trying for N number of times, keeping a check on the receding light on a rainy afternoon and wrapping up shooting before my mother's patience ran thin was a humongous task. I think all you photographers who engage their mothers for making action shot would empathize with me right now. It is a tedious job , but at times things do fall in the right place. I do not have any BTS (behind the scene ) for this shoot because of the above mentioned reason. I had to clean up everything before she got ticked off :D. But someday, I promise, some of these days I will try to do a detailed BTS and put it up on my blog. Fingers crossed.

Bappa came in his bal avataar this time. The cute little Bappa really made us all fall in love with him.

Though I have been staying in Maharashtra for over a decade now, it was just a couple of years ago I started exploring the local or traditional delicacies of this state beyond vada pavs and misal pavs. And I was surprised to see that many of the dishes felt really interesting to my Bengali palate. Especially the non vegetarian preparations. They have such a unique flavored spice mixes which varies from region to region even within the borders of Maharashtra. The one dish which I have perfected is Kaleji Masala. We Bengalis usually don't like chicken liver that much because of the smell it has. But the Marathi preparation of Kaleji fry has such a rustic flavor profile due to the addition of roasted coconut and a bunch of other ground spices. I will talk about this recipe some day which is now my absolute favorite. 

On my birthday, I had ordered Maharashtrian delicacies and with them came the freshly made mirchi thecha. Mirchi Thecha is a classic Maharashtrian accompaniment which pairs up best with different Bhakhri (wheat , jowar, ragi etc.) or even with normal rotis.  It is a fiery delectable combo made up of pounded green chillies, toasted garlic, peanuts and fresh coriander leaves.  

When we were having office before the pandemic hit, I used to look forward to the various kinds of thecha my colleagues used to bring. But the pandemic put an end to invading other's lunchboxes. But the maharashtrian meal I ordered after all this time rekindled my memories of having thecha. I thought of trying to make it at home. My maid gave a few tips and my mom tried to make it, and I must say it was a hit even the first time it was made. My mom doesn't usually have fondness for other cuisines but she literally went ga-ga over this. We found it so good that the first batch of Thecha only lasted 2 days and it was about 150 gm! 

Personally I feel this goes best with different Maharashtrian non vegetarian recipes to accompany your flatbread. They are best consumed fresh so people make small batches of Thecha and store it in the fridge for no more than 2-3 days. After that, the color and the taste of the thecha starts to change.

Traditionally thecha is made by pounding everything in a mortal pestle. The final texture should be somewhat course and not like a paste.  You can make this in a mixer grinder but then you cannot control the texture of the thecha. And in addition thecha tastes best when you make it the traditional way. But the effort it taskes that way is a put off for many.

So there is an easy tip to get the best taste without putting in too much effort of pounding. If you have a vegetable chopper then you can use it to chop the ingredients till its 50-60% done. Then transfer it to the mortar pestle and pound it to give the finial finish. I have tried and tested this method multiple times and now its my go to method of making thecha at home.

Checkout other accompaniment recipes on my blog:

• Bengali Tomato Chutney
• Pickled Onions - Sirke Wala Peyaz
• Lebanese Toum - Garlic Sauce

Equipment:

• Non stick pan
• Vegetable chopper
• Mortal Pestle / Mixer grinder

Recipe Video:

Some tips before you start

Tip 1: If you like or for extending the shelf life of Thecha you can also fry it again in a tbsp of oil on low heat for around 5-6 minutes. Now you can store the Thecha in a clean- dry airtight container and keep it in the fridge for 2-3 weeks easily.

Tip 2: To easily de-skin peanuts, dry roast them on a skillet for about 3-4 minutes stirring continuously. Let it cool down and then transfer them to a bowl and give a good shake. The skin will come off. 

Tip 3: This one is a killer tip. It is recommended to always pound the thecha in a mortar pestle the traditional way for the best taste instead of a mixer. But it is a lot of work that way. So as a hack you can use a hand held chopper to chop the thecha into smaller pieces and then transfer it to a mortar and pestle and pound it to the desired consistency. This helps in drastically reducing the effort to pound the ingredients and the taste still remains in tact as chopping the ingredients don't generate much heat unlike the grinder method.

Tip 4:  In a mixer grinder coarsely pulse the roasted peanuts and store it. You can use this coarsely ground peanut in your thecha or sabudana khichadi. This saves you a little effort in hand pounding the peanuts.

Method:

1. Dry roast the peanuts in a non stick pan for 3 to 4 minutes till black spots appear and the peanuts are fragrant. Keep stirring them continuously on medium flame. Keep aside and let it cool. Once cool rub the peanuts between your fingers and the skin will come off.

2. Heat oil in a non stick pan. Once hot temper the oil with whole jeera. Now add the whole garlic to the pan and sauté it for another 1 minute

3. Add the chopped green chilies and on medium flame sauté the green chilies for about 2 minutes. Keep stirring in between.

Note: If you are not a fan of spicy things, then go for the light green chilies which are less spicy by equally tasty. And if you want a really spicy thecha you can go for the dark green small ones. 

4. Add the deskinned whole peanuts, sauté for about 1 minute. Add salt as per taste.

5. Transfer the mixture to a mortar pestle or a chopper. Add chopped fresh coriander. If you are using a chopper, chop them till 3/4th chopped and then transfer to the mortar pestle for the final finish. Or from scratch, you can pound it to the desired texture in a mortar and pestle.

Note: You can also pulse them in a mixer grinder but the taste wont be as good.

Serve it with roti or bhakhri and your favorite vegetarian or non vegetarian dish.

5 July 

With the onset of rains, the craving for having fritters and steaming hot tea comes naturally. Across the length an dbreadth of India some of the monsoon snacks remain same with subtle regional flavour differences - onion pakoda/kanda bhajji, mirchi vada, palak pakoda/pale bhajji, dal vada (lentil fritters), corn on the cob, dimer chop/ egg cutlet etc. are few of the common snacking items you will get almost everywhere in our country.

Just like Bengal which has its own array of famous street side food, similarly Maharashtra has some signature snacks which are iconic to this region. While vada pav, misal pav or pav bhaji are some of the names most people might be aware of. There are a few traditional snacks like, sabudana vada, aluvadi, thalipeet or kothimbir vadi which give you a taste of a typical and authentic Maharashtrian household and these dishes are worth craving for. 

This post is about a delicious snack known as Kothimbir vadi. In Marathi 'kothimbir' or 'kothmir' means coriander leaves. The word ‘vadi’ means cubes or slices or wedges. So Kothimbir vadis are basically steamed coriander and gram flour cake cubes that are later fried or can be even had as is. Dont misjudge the dish if you didn't have a good experience at a restaurant eating a kothimbir vadi which was heavy on besan and with slight traces of coriander leaves. The ones made at home taste heavenly because they are loaded with fresh coriander leaves and spices. This is one recipe which is made best at home. I know because our office canteen used to serve this as an evening snacks and I never really liked them much. But then once, one of my neighbors made a batch of kothimbir vadis and gave me to taste. They were absolutely heavenly. I kept craving for them even after they were finished. 

For ages coriander has been considered as one of the chief garnishing element in Indian cuisine. If some dish is lacking bold flavors then just add a sprinkle of chopped coriander leaves and even the biggest flaws get hidden. Also, chaats are incomplete without a dash of the spicy hot coriander chutney. There will hardly be a household which does not keep a consistent stack of fresh coriander in their pantry.

Me and a few of my friends in Instagram will be hosting a monthly collaboration on Instagram on grains , herbs and spices. Every month a group of Instagrammers will be posting recipes with the 3 core ingredients of the month from each of these categories. This month it is rice, bay leaf and coriander. I chose to make a dish from coriander. Plating and taking a enticing photo of rice has never been my area of expertise, hence I wanted to make something which I could make to look good! That is when Kothimbir Vadi came to my rescue. I had been meaning to make this recipe from a long time and this was a perfect opportunity.

This recipe is even gluten free. You take away the hing (asafetida) and this is an absolute gluten free recipe. To make it even more healthy, skip frying it all together. So the next time you have excess Coriander leaves in the refrigerator, don't just think of making a chutney. Try this easy Maharashtrian Snack recipe  and I am sure you would enjoy it with your evening tea. 

Checkout other snacks recipes on my blog:

• Kachki Macher Bora - Fried Anchovy Fritters
• Kumro Ful Bhaja - Fried Pumpkin flower fritters
• Besan Ka chila

Ingredients :

• Mixing Bowl
• Deep Kadai 
• Trivet
• Steaming tray
• Skillet

Procedure (steaming):

1.  In a mixing bowl, add the chopped coriander leaves, besan, chopped green chilli, red chilli powder, lemon juice, sesame seeds, turmeric, coriander powder, cumin powder, ginger garlic paste, hing, garam masala powder and salt as per taste. Combine everything together with hand.  Squeeze the coriander leaves with hands, they will release some water into the mixture. 

Tip 1: Sift the Chickpea Flour for a lump free dough.

Tip 2: Wash the coriander leaves well and drain them completely before chopping.

Tip 3: If you want a gluten free version skip the hing. 

Note: The quantity of coriander leaves should always be double the amount of chickpea flour used.

2. Now add the water and knead everything together. It will become a sticky soft dough.

Note: Add the water only when the mixture is damp

3. Now grease a tray with oil. Grease your hands also with oil and add the batter into the tray. Flat it out with the help of your fingers.

Ready for steaming

4. Boil water in a steamer or a deep bottom pan. Place a trivet in center and once the water comes to a rolling boil, place the tray with the batter. Cover and steam for about 10-15 minutes on medium flame.

5. Insert a knife or a toothpick, if it comes out clean take the tray off the heat. Let it cool down.

6. To remove the steamed cake, with a butter knife loosen the edges and cut it into thick squares. You can store it in an airtight box in the refrigerator for 48 hours if you don't plan to consume immediately.

Frying the Vadi:

Shallow Fry : Take a skillet and add oil. Once hot add the Vadis in a single layer and fry each side till golden brown in color.

Deep Fry : You can also deep fry the vadis for a more crispy texture.

Can Kothimbir Vadi be air fried?

Yes, you can. Preheat the Air Fryer for 5 mins at 200 Degrees C. Place the cut vadis inside the airfryer basket and spray / brush some oil.

Garnish the hot vadis with some grated fresh coconut. Serve it for snacks with tomato sauce and steaming chai (tea).