Ranjka/Thecha ~ A Chilli Preserve

Ranjka/Thecha ~ A Chilli Preserve

In Karnataka it’s traditional to make Ranjka also known as Thecha in Maharashtra. This was true as long as Amma could manage it. There used to be pickles, jams and sauces made according to the season. So in the season when red chilles were available ranjka was made.

Not that I was keen to eat it but the pounding of ranjka in the mortar and pestle, in kannada mortar is vallu and pestle is harikol was our job. I used to start with enthusiasm and Chetana my sister, used to finish always grumbling that I never finish what I start.

Ranjka is made of red chillies and many a times garlic is not added. I had too many green chillies (never tell all the family members going out to get chillies) so I made this with green chillies. The flavours were just as hot!

Koyaad~Indian State Maharashtra

Koyaad

One of the curries my MIL prepared in summer was Kooyad! I could just remember the name not the ingredients and that it is made in summer… big help that it was!

I asked on the whatsup group about making of this curry both in the BM group and the family group.

My elder SIL, Seema rang me up. She told me since she cannot type all this on the mobile she is ringing me up. How I wish she had written I just would have copied and pasted! :D

So what is Koyaad? It’s a piquant curry prepared from the seeds of a mango! Koy in Marathi is the hard seed of Mango! After cutting up the raw mango for pickle, she used make a lot of them you are left with the seed which has some of the fruit but it cannot be used.

What better representative of Maharashtra where you are encouraged not waste foodstuff! 

How do you make it?

Koyaad

Indian State: Maharashtra

Ingredients:

• 4-5 mango seeds
• 2 tsp oil
• ½ tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp mango pickle masala
• 1 lemon sized ball Jaggary (adjust as per taste) 
• Water
• Salt

Method:

• In a pan take a non reactive one okay that’s too big a word steel container add mango seeds.
• Cover them with water. A little above the seeds, say 2 cups of water and boil it, say 10 minutes( next time one whistle in the cooker).
• Cool the water. Then remove all except 2 seeds out and remove the pulp of the mangoes. Discard the seeds. 
• In the chutney pot of the mixer mash the mango pulp to a smooth consistency.
• In a kadhai/wok heat the oil and add mustard seeds.
• Add the mango pulp, jaggary, salt, pickle masala, the reserved mango seeds and bring to boil.
• Once it thicken a little your koyaad is ready.
• Serve with rice.

Notes:

•  Adjust the jaggary as per taste. You will need more or less jaggary depending upon your taste and the sourness of the mangoes.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 40

Hi! First time here? Well then you are Most Welcome! I hope you keep coming back for more here. If you are my regular visitor then Thanks, for you encourage me to experiment more!! I would like you to please click on my link below and like my Facebook Page. I will be happy if you can follow me on on Twitter too!

Kadhi Goole Indian State: Maharashtra

Kadhi Goole  Indian State: Maharashtra

So today we have reached Maharashtra in our Blogging Marathon! Its difficult to believe that we have reached day 16 in the Marathon where we are blogging on cuisines of Indian States!

Maharashtra is a state in the western region of India. It is the second most populous state after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India.

Maharashtrian (or Marathi) cuisine is cuisine of the Marathi people from the state of Maharashtra in India.  Maharashtrian cuisine is an extensive balance of many different tastes.  Maharashtrian cuisine covers a range from being mild to very spicy dishes.

Bajri, wheat, rice, jowar, vegetables, lentils, and fruit form important components of the Maharashtrian diet.

The cuisine of Maharashtra can be divided into two major sections—the coastal and the interior. The Konkan, on the coast of the Arabian Sea has its own type of cuisine, a homogeneous combination of Malvani, Goud Saraswat Brahmin, and Goan cuisines. In the interior of Maharashtra, the Vidarbha and Marathwada areas have their own distinct cuisines.

The cuisine of Vidarbha uses ground nuts, poppy seeds, jaggery, wheat, jowar, and bajra extensively. A typical meal consists of rice, "poli" roti or '"Bhakar" both along with "varan" or "aamtee"—lentils and spiced vegetables. Cooking is common with different types of oil. People love spicy food. Savji food from Vidharbh is famous all over Maharashtra.

Like other coastal states, there is an enormous variety of vegetables eaten, fish and coconuts are common. Peanuts and cashews are often served with vegetables. Grated coconuts are used to flavour many types of dishes, but coconut oil is not widely used; peanut oil is preferred. Kokum, most commonly served chilled, in an appetiser-digestive called sol kadhi, is prevalent. During summer, Maharashtrians consume panha, a drink made from raw mango. The sweet which is famous in Maharashtra is modak, peda, etc. even the locals are found of gulab jamaun, kaju katri.

Popular dishes include puran poli, ukdiche modak, batata wada, and masala bhat and wada pav. Shrikhand, a sweet dish made of strained yogurt, is a main dessert of Maharashtrian cuisine.

Misal Pav ~~SNC Challenge #3

In my family misal is greeted with groans, especially when I make it. For I make it like a usal. I just could not imagine how else to make it one wants more masala, other lesser the only people who enjoyed it was my FIL and I.

Recently we went on a holiday to Pawankhind, in Amba valley, it was beautiful. The breakfast on day 2 was misal and everyone dug it. Now I was mystified for to me it tasted like how I made usal.

So when I saw the challenge for NSC by Meena of Random Ramblings  I was a bit apprehensive. But then I read the recipe and realized it different. So I followed the recipe to sorry cannot say to the T. Made a few minor changes just to suit our taste buds.

Read on dears but first I would like to thank Meena the Chef for this month also I have basically copied and pasted her recipe word to word and Divya the brains behind the outfit. For we enjoyed misal!!

Sabudana-che-Khichdi or Sago ~ with Onion

Thanks you all of you my friends for the support that you gave me when my Dad was not well. Thanks to all your prayers he is better and has agreed that he needs to follow-up his investigations. Three quarters of the battle won!! J

Now coming to the post long pending!

 This is the picture of sabudana-che-khichdi! So what‘s new you will ask and have you not blogged it?  Yes I have but this one is different I have used onion in making this khichdi.