29 March

Pune is already sweltering at 40 degrees outside. And it is like 37 degrees in shade today and uncomfortably humid by Pune standards. But I am still thankful it is not as bad as Mumbai or Kolkata at this time of the year. I can still brave the whole summer season without an AC or a cooler. But still the fact remains that every year the summer is a little more harsh than the year before and the impact of rapid urbanization is very much visible on our fragile environment. 

For the uninitiated, Solkadi or Solkadhi or Kokum Curry is a refreshing summer drink from Maharashtra's Konkan region. It cools down your body and helps in digestion in addition to working as an appetizer. Though I am in Maharashtra for more than a decade, I had the first taste of this amazing drink after coming to Pune. The first thing that catches your fancy is the light pink color of the drink which makes it look like a strawberry milkshake and you might be deceived in believing that you are about to taste something sweet. But then the aroma of coconut and tempered spices make you curious about what this drink is all about. Eventually when you taste it you find a very interesting savory concoction of the tangy Kokum, sweet coconut milk and a hint of spiciness from chilly and ginger. Solkadi is almost a mandatory part of any fish thali you have at typical thali restaurants here in the city. And it acts as an excellent palate cleanser before you indulge yourself in the spicy fish curry rice. I think the first ever solkadi I had in Pune was at this famous restaurant called Masemari and absolutely loved it at the first sip. I think even more than the seafood I loved the drink.

There is also a  funny incident that happened once related to Solkadi. This was like 5-6 years ago. We used to frequently go out on team lunches from office and explore new eating joints. So one of our Marathi colleagues had suggested this small thali restaurant which served lovely seafood near the Peth area of Pune. Once we placed our orders the first thing we were served was this pink solkadi in small steel glasses. One of our colleagues was a south Indian guy who was a junior and didn't have much experience in Maharashtrian food. So when he was about to take a sip of this drink, the guy beside him tells, "don't drink that" and he obviously asks why so. The guy tells him, "it is a pink drink and it is only meant for ladies, guys cant drink it". He said it with such a serious face that this south Indian colleague believed him without a question and he didn't drink it! We all laughed at this but he didn't budge from his decision and actually we could not make him even taste the drink no matter how much we convinced! I think till date he believes that solkadi is only meant for ladies :D.

But my love for this drink continues and grows stronger. I actually like my solkadi a little sweet which most of the time comes form the natural sweetness of coconut milk itself. But if not, I like to add a little sweetener to balance the overall savory taste. So this time I tried converting them into these delicious popsicles which I could have instead of the store bought ice cream. You can also convert your leftover solkadis into popsicles and enjoy.

Please note that there are many ways to enhance the flavour of this coastal drink, sometimes people temper it with curry leaves or spices as well. But here I have used the very basic recipe of Solkadi for the popsicles.

Checkout other Summer Coolers from my blog:

• Mojito Popsicle
• Beetroot Rose Sorbet
• Persian Saffron Rose Milkshake
• Kokum Juice
• Beetroot Rose Granita
• Spicy Strawberry Ghol

Ingredients for garnish:

• Roasted cumin Powder

Equipment:

• Popsicle Mold
• Mixing Bowl
• Mixer
• Strainer 

Procedure: 

1.  Start by rinsing the dried kokum pods. Then soak them in a cup of hot warm water for about 30 to 45 minutes. 

2. Using your fingers mash the kokum pods in the water to extract the pulp from them. Now pass this mixture through a strainer and preserve the extracted water. Discard the remaining solids in the strainer.

Note: Color will depend on the quality of the Kokum used. It may vary from brownish to pink.

3. Take a blender jar and add chopped ginger, grated fresh coconut, chopped green chili and 1 cup of water. Blitz it to a smooth paste. 

4. Strain this mixture using a fine mesh strainer to get a thick liquid. 

5. Return the leftover pulp in the strainer back to the blender and add another cup of water. Blitz it again to get a smooth paste. Now strain this in the same bowl to get a thinner liquid this time. 

6. Add the kokum water into the bowl and mix everything well

7. Add salt and sugar as per taste.

Note: Coconut milk is already a little sweet, so if you don't want to add more sweetener you can skip the sugar. I like mine a little sweet.

8. Add water if you want a thinner consistency. Your solkadi is ready.

9. Now take the popsicle molds and pour the solkadi. Freeze it for at least 10-12 hours or overnight.

Serve the popsicles with a sprinkle of roasted cumin powder or have it as is.

3rd October

We are finally into October! Mahalaya is just around the corner which means its time for Durga Puja! And Durga Puja definitely means grabbing on a lot of good food. So to prepare yourself for this festive season it is always recommended to keep a healthy detox drink as part of your regular diet plan. 

Hence I am starting October on a healthy note by sharing a favorite detox drink - Kokam juice. This tarty and citrusy fruit is a  favorite among the Konkans and is widely available in the Malabar regions of India. You can find many dishes like dal and curries being made with Kokum in Maharashtra.

My tryst with Kokum started with Sol kadi - a flavorful concoction of Kokum, water, coconut milt, ginger and green chili. Its a lovely summer drink here in Maharashtra and I absolutely love it with a fish curry thali specifically. Slowly I started exploring and knowing more amount this amazing fruit and what all you can do with this little wonder fruit. 

Kokum comes with an array of known health benefits. The presence of vitamin C helps boost immunity,  the garcinol it contains has antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-allergenic properties. But what has brought kokum into the spotlight is the presence of hydroxyl citric acid (HCA) in it, which is said to shrink appetite and reduce fat in the body, further helping you lose weight, the healthy way. It has become a new fad to include Kokum juice in your regular diet for healthy weight loss. You must have also heard some Bollywood celebs taking about Kokum drink as their preferred post workout drink.

Kokum juice or kokum sharbat will not only cool you down your body but also help detoxify your body. You can include this in your early morning routine and it will work wonders for you. The recipe is also very simple, you can just create the Kokum Juice paste in advance and use it to prepare your detox drink anytime you want. I am sharing two recipes with Kokum below. Check them out below.

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:

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

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).