Naarali Bhaat

Narali Pournima, the full moon day is very popular amongst fishermen community as it marks the beginning of the new fishing season. On this day, they worship Sea to please Varun Dev - the God of rains. They offer Coconut to the Sea and also make Coconut delicacies for meal. 

This day is also known as 'Rakshabandhan' where a Sister ties Rakhi (a holy band) on her Brother's wrist and in return her brother takes the vow to protect his sister. On this day, the sisters do aarti (a prayer for the long and happy life of the brother) and receive gifts from their brothers. 

The third thing that is not known to many is the 'Shravani'. Generally in Brahmin community new Janhve (Sacred Thread) is worn after reciting Gayatri Mantra on this day.

Coming to Narali Bhaat, it is a Maharashtrian delicacy. Naral means Coconut and Bhaat means Rice in Marathi language. I have made this recipe using a Pressure Pan method as followed by my Grandmother. Since I dont have Pressure Pan, I have made it in Pressure Cooker. The biggest advantage of this method is that you save time and the grain remains intact. However, if the bottom of Pressure Cooker is not thick, then it may lead to wastage of half an inch of layer at the bottom, which may stick to the bottom. 

Serving:  4 people

Approx. Time:  30-40 minutes 

Ingredients

2-3 tbspns Ghee

3-4 Cloves

1 cup Basmati Rice

1 cup fresh scrapped Coconut

2 cups hot Water 

1 cup grated Jaggery

A pinch of Salt

1/4 tspn Cardamom Powder

8-10 Cashew Nuts

8-10 Raisins

For Garnishing:

Ghee

Almond & Pistachio Flakes

Cashews & Fried Raisins

Method-I (Pressure Cooker Method)

Pre-preparation:

1. Heat a tablespoon of Ghee and fry the Cashew Nuts and Raisins. Set it aside for using it in the main dish.
2. Wash the Rice and drain the entire water contents. Leave it aside for half an hour.

To make Narali Bhaat:
Heat Ghee into a heavy bottomed Pressure Cooker. Add the Cloves and saute it for few seconds. Add the washed Rice, and saute it for 3-4 minutes on medium heat. Then add the Scrapped Coconut and again saute it for two minutes. 

Simultaneously, boil 2 and 1/4 cups of water for using it in the recipe. (The water may reduce to some extent after boiling, hence I have taken additional half cup of water. If you are using water at room temperature, take only 2 cups, however adding boiling water to the rice makes it more fluffy) Add the boiling water to the Rice. Then add the grated Jaggery to it and give it a stir. Also add a pinch of Salt at this stage. Finally add the Cardamom Powder, fried Cashew Nuts and Raisins. Cover the Pressure Cooker and cook the rice till 2-3 whistles. 

Once the Rice is cooked, open the lid of Pressure Cooker. Add some ghee from the sides. Once done fluff it with fork. 

Pour Ghee on the Rice, garnish it with dry fruits & nuts and serve hot.

Method-II (Traditional Method)

Pre-preparation:
1. Heat a tablespoon of Ghee and fry the Cashew Nuts and Raisins. Set it aside for using it in the main dish.
2. Wash the Rice and drain the entire water contents. Leave it aside for half an hour.

To make Narali Bhaat:
Heat 2 tbspns Ghee into a heavy bottomed non stick Pan. Add the Cloves and saute it for few seconds. Add the washed Rice, and saute it for 3-4 minutes on medium heat. Simultaneously, boil 2 and 1/4 cups of water for using it in the recipe.  Add the boiling water to the Rice. Cover the pan with lid and cook the Rice. Ensure that the Rice is cooked properly because in case the Rice remains semi-cooked, it becomes hard after adding the Jaggery mixture. After the Rice is cooked, transfer it into a plate and spread it evenly for cooling.

In the meantime, mix the Coconut and grated Jaggery. Add the mixture of Coconut and Jaggery to the cooked Rice. You may also mix in Coconut and Jaggery directly in the cooked Rice, but it may lead to breaking of the Rice grain. 

After mixing, heat a heavy bottom non-stick Pan. Add a tabesppon of Ghee to it. Turn the flame to low and add the mixture of Rice, Coconut and  Jaggery to the pan. Also add the Cardamom powder, fried Cashew Nuts, fried Raisins and a pinch of Salt. Cover the pan and cook it for 10 minutes on low flame. Then remove the lid and cook on low flame until the mixture thickens. At the end add some Ghee. 

Pour Ghee on the Rice, garnish it with dry fruits & nuts and serve hot

Notes

1. Alternatively, you may cook the Rice in Coconut Milk. Initially the rice has to be cooked in thin Coconut Milk and thereafter the first pressed Coconut Milk should be added to enhance the flavour. 
2. The Jaggery may be substituted with equal quantiy of Sugar or a balanced mix of Jaggery and Sugar. Also the quantity may be increased or reduced as per your taste.
3. Some people also add yellow food colour to make this dish look more attractive. But since I have used organic Jaggery, the colour of Rice has turned brown. 
5. Nuts of your choice may be added to this recipe. If you want to add Saffron, soak the Strands in milk for some time.
6. Salt is optional. However a pinch of salt in any sweet dish enhances the taste.
7. Rice used should be an old one. Preferably old and scented - Ambemohor or Basmati Rice.

Traditional Marathi

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Tava Pualo

Tava Pulao is a rice-variation of Mumbai's famous street food, Pav-Bhaji. This Pulao is made on a large griddle (Tava), by mixing cooked rice grains with Pav Bhaji. Because of the use of griddle or Tava, this dish is  called 'Tava Pulao'. Pav Bhaji lovers will definitely love this spicy and tasty rice preparation.  

Servings: Approx. 2-3 people

Time: Approx. 40 minutes (including preparation)

Ingredients:

For the Paste:
15-18 Red chillies   
7-8 Garlic cloves   
1 inch Ginger piece   
Salt

For Tava Pulao:    
2 tbspns Oil   
2 tbspns Salted Butter   
1 tspn Cumin seeds   
1 and 1/2 cups chopped Onions   
1/3 cup chopped Capsicum (Bell pepper)   
1/2 cup chopped Tomatoes + 1/4 cup chopped tomatoes   
1/4 cup boiled Potatoes   
1/4 cup boiled Green Peas   
1/4 cup boiled Cauliflower florets   
1/4 cup Water   
2 tbspns Red Paste (as above)   
1 tbspn Pav Bhaji Masala   
1/2 tspn Turmeric Powder   
1/2 tspn Red Chilly Powder (Optional)   
Salt to taste   
1 large bowl cooked rice   
1/4 cup chopped Green Coriander   
2-3 tbspns chopped Spring Onion greens   
  
For Garnishing:   
Chopped Coriander leaves   
Tomato slices   
  
To Serve with:   
Vegetable Raita   
Roasted Papad   
Lemon wedge

Method:

To make Paste:   
De-seed the red chillies. Soak the chillies into lukewarm water for almost 2-3 hours. Then take the soaked red chillies, garlic and ginger into a blender. Add some salt and blend it into a smooth paste. Set it aside to be used later in the main preparation.  

To make Tava Pulao:   

Take oil and butter into Kadai. Heat it on medium flame. Then add the Cumin seeds and saute. Then add the chopped onions and cook till it onions are translucent. Then add the chopped capsicum and cook it for 2-3 minutes. Once the capsicum is cooked, add the chopped tomatoes and cook for futher 2 minutes.  Once the tomatoes are cooked, add boiled potatoes, green peas and cauliflower florets to the mixture and saute.   

  

Thereafter, add a quarter cup of water to the mixture. Then add the red paste, Pav bhaji masala, turmeric powder, red chilly powder and salt. Saute it for a minute. Then add the cooked rice into the mixture and give it a stir. Ensure that the sauce is coated to the rice evenly. 

Cover it with a lid for a minute. Lastly, add rest of the chopped tomatoes, chopped coriander leaves and greens of spring onion and mix. Serve hot with Raita, Papad and onion slices.

Notes:
To make raita, mix chopped onions, chopped tomatoes and boiled green peas. Then add curds, a pinch of chaat masala and salt and give it a stir.

Street Food

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Smoked Garlic Khichdi

A twist to the traditional Khichdi by giving it a smoked flavour and it tastes just awesome. However, you cannot reduce the quantity of Ghee in this. Initially, I made this khichdi with a tablespoon of ghee. However, it did not generated the desired result, and I had to use additional ghee. (In the stepwise pictures, you will find that only a tablespoon of Ghee has been used)

Servings : Approx. 2 people

Ingredients: 

For Khichdi :
1 cup Rice
1/2 cup Tuvar Dal (Piegon Pea)
3 cups Water
Salt to taste

For Smoked Garlic Khichdi:
1/2 cup white portion of Spring Garlic 
1 cup green portion of Spring Garlic
Salt to taste
2 tspns Cumin Powder (1 tspn for each portion)
2 tspns Coriander Powder (1 tspn for each portion) 
1 tspn Pepper powder (1/2 tspn for each portion)
2 tspns Oil (1 tspn for each portion)
3 tspns lemon juice (1 and half tspn for each portion)
3/4 cup Ghee
1 tspn Cumin seeds
Khichdi (as above)
Salt to taste

Other Ingredients :
2 slices of lemon
2 Charcoal (Koyla / Kolsa)
2 tspns Ghee

For Garnishing :
Chopped Spring Garlic 
Coriander leaves
Lemon slice

To Serve with :
Papad
Mango Pickle

Method:

To make Khichdi :

Wash rice and turvar dal and rest it for 10 minutes. Boil 3 cups and a little more water in a vessel at high flame. Add salt to taste. When it reaches boiling point, add rice and tuvar dal to it. Allow it to cook on high flame for fifteen minutes. Then cover it with lid  and let it cook on low flame for further fifteen minutes. 

To make Smoked Garlic Khichdi :

Take two charcols and place it on burning flame for around 7-8 minutes. 

Simultaneously, take White portion of Spring Garlic and green portion of Spring Garlic in separately in two steel bowls. Add Pepper powder, Cumin powder, Coriander powder, Oil and lemon juice in each of the bowl. Mix well. Now place lemon slice in each of the bowl. Place burning charcol over the lemon slice and pour a tspn of ghee over the burning Charcoal. Immediately cover the bowl with a lid. Set it aside for 5-7 minutes. After that remove the coal and lemon slice from the garlic. 

Heat Ghee in a pan. Add cumin seeds to the ghee. Then add the smoked white portion of the spring garlic into the ghee. Saute it for 2-3 minutes. Then add smoked green portion into it. Again saute it for a minute. Then add the cooked Khichdi to it. Mix well. Check the seasoning. Cover the lid for 5 minutes.

If you want to enhance the smoky flavour, then again place lemon slice, burning charcoal and ghee over cooked Khichdi and cover it with lid.

Garnish it with chopped Spring garlic pods, lemon slice and coriander. 

Serve hot with Papad and Mango pickle.

Notes:
You may replace Moong Dal with Tuvar Dal while making Khichdi. 

Rice dishes

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Simple Coconut Rice

Coconut rice is very popular dish from the South Indian state Kerala. It is very simple to make and tastes heavenly. This rice can be served with hot vegetable stew. 

Servings : 2 people

Ingredients :
For Rice
1 cup Rice
2 and ? cups water
1 Bay leaf
4-6 cloves
8-10 Black pepper
1 tspn Oil 
1 tspn Ghee
Salt to taste

For Coconut Rice
2 tbspns Coconut Oil / Or Vegetable Oil
1 tspn Mustard seeds
A pinch of asafetida
1 tspn Urad Dal
2-3 Red chillies (dry)
10-15 curry leaves
12-15 Cashew nuts
1 Cup scrapped Coconut
Salt to taste
1 bowl Cooked rice

Method :

To cook rice :

Take a cup of rice and wash it under running tap water. Heat 2 and ? cups of water in a vessel / pan. Add a bay leaf, 4-6 cloves, 8-10 black peppers, salt and a tspn of vegetable oil to the water. Now reduce the flame to medium and add washed rice into it. Once the rice is cooked, 

reduce the flame and cover the vessel with a lid. Once done, allow it to cool. After half an hour, spread the rice in a plate so that it cools and the grains do not stick to each other. You may also pour half a teaspoon of ghee over it.

To make Coconut Rice :

Heat oil in a pan. Then add the mustard seeds. Once they start crackling, add asafetida, Urad dal, broken red chillies, curry leaves, cashew nuts, scrapped coconut and fry it. Add the cooked rice and mix it. 

Garnish it with fried cashews, fried red chilies and fried curry leaves. Serve hot with Vegetable Stew or spicy curry.

Notes :

You may also add coconut water while cooking rice. It gives a sweet flavour to the rice. 

Rice dishes

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Bok Choy in Lemon Garlic Sauce

This Shanghai Style simple and tasty Bok Choy in Lemon Garlic Sauce serves as a good alternate for a thick soup or stew.  This dish requires minimal ingredients and can be accompanied with rice.

Servings : 2 people

Ingredients:
15-16 Bok Choy leaves

For the Lemon Garlic Sauce:
1 tbspn Butter
1 tspn Garlic paste
3 tbspns Corn flour + Water
1 lemon juice
1 tspn Pepper powder
Salt to taste

For Garnishing: 
Fried Garlic flakes

Method:
Blanch the Bok Choy and set it aside.

Heat butter in a pan. Add garlic paste and saute for a minute. Dilute the Corn flour in water. Pour the mixture in the pan. Ensure to stir it continuously to avoid lumps. Add some water to adjust the consistency. Add some salt and pepper powder to taste. Then add the fresh lemon juice. At the end, add the blanched Bok Choy leaves into the sauce. 

Garnish it with fried Garlic flakes and serve hot.

Notes:
Ensure to stir the corn flour slurry continuously to avoid lumps. 
You may use vegetable stock instead of water. 

Rice dishes

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Palak Khichdi

Palak Khichdi (Spinach khichdi) is an easy-to-cook, tasty and nutritious khichdi made from pulses and spinach. It is a good example of a one dish meal. On days when you want to eat something light and healthy, you can just cook this dish and enjoy the taste as well as take care of your calorie intake. This khichdi has a pleasing green colour that makes it very appetizing..

Ingredients :

For Spinach Puree :
1 large bunch of Spinch leaves
5 cups Water
1/2 tspn Salt
1 tspn Sugar

For Palak Khichdi :
1 cup washed rice
1/2 cup washed Pigeon pea (Tuvar daal)
1/2 cup washed Golden gram / Mung bean (Moong Dal)
1 & 1/2 cups Spinach Puree
1/2 cup chopped spinach
1 cup chopped onion
4 cups Spinach stock (as above)
Salt to taste

For Seasoning
3 tbspns vegetable oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
5-6 pepper cons
1 tspn ginger paste
2 tspns garlic paste
1 & 1/2 tspns green chilly paste
1 tspn Turmeric powder
2 tspns Garam Masala powder
1-2 tspns lemon juice

For Top-up Seasoning :
2 tbspns Ghee
1 tspn cumin seeds
1/4 tspn asafoetida (Hing)
3-4 chopped garlic cloves
2-3 dry red chillies (broken into pieces)

To Serve with :
Roasted Papad
Cut Salad
Raita
Mango Pickle

Method :

To make Spinach Puree :
Boil approximately 5-6 large cups of water in a broad pan. Add salt and sugar to it. Once it reaches the boiling point, add spinach leaves to it. Let it cook for 2-3 minutes and remove it immidiately from the water. Pour cold water over it to retain the green colour. Then, transfer the blanched leaves into a blender with some water, if required. Blend it into a smooth paste. Set it aside .

To make Palak Khichdi :
Heat oil in a pan. Add cumin seeds and pepper cons. Saute it for a minute. Then add ginger paste, garlic paste, green chilly paste and saute it for a minute. Add onion and cook till it is transculent.  Then add chopped spinach leaves, washed rice and pulses. Saute it for 3-4 minutes. 

After sauteing, add spinach puree and mix it. Add turmeric powder and garam masala powder. You may also add corriander-cumin powder to it. 

After adding spices, add spinach stock to it. Cover the pan with lid. Stir it at regular intervals till the rice is cooked. Add some spinach stock or water to adjust the consistency. Once the rice is cooked, turn off the flame. Lastly, add lemon juice to it. 

Heat ghee in a small pan. Add cumin seeds, asafoetida, chopped garlic cloves and red chilly pieces. Pour the tempering over the khichdi. 

Serve hot with cut salad, pickle, raita and roasted papads.

Notes :

• If you dont want the khichdi to be mushy, then dry roast the rice and pulses after washing. Also reduce the quantity of water to 2 or 2 1/2 cups. 
• You may add vegetables or pulses of your choice to make this khichdi more healthy.

Rice dishes

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Dalimbi Bhaat

Dalimbi Bhaat or Field beans Rice is a traditional Maharashtrian delicacy and is especially cooked on special occasions. Though this recipe is not as popular as Masale Bhaat, it is still cooked in many Maharashtrian homes. 

I got to know about this recipe from my grandmother and thought that I should present it to you as it is without changing the original. However, many people also add onions and garlic to this recipe.

Ingredients :
1 cup rice
1 and 1/2 cups sprouted & peeled field beans (Dalimbi, Kadve Vaal)
2 tbspns vegetable oil
1 tspn cumin seeds (Jeera)
1/2 tspn asafoetida (Hing)
1 tspn green chillies paste
1 tspn turmeric powder
2 tspns corriander-cumin powder
2 tbspns black masala (Goda Masala)
2 & 1/2 cups hot boiling water
4-5 tbspns scrapped fresh coconut 
1 tbspn Lemon juice
1 tbspn Sugar
Salt to taste

For Garnishing :
Fresh scrapped coconut
Fresh chopped coriander leaves
Home made ghee

Method :
To start with, wash rice with plain water and set it aside. Heat 3 cups of water and set for boiling.


Heat oil in a pan. Once the oil is heated, add cumin seeds, asafoetida and green chilly paste. Then add sprouted & peeled field beans and saute. Then add washed rice and saute it for few minutes. Add turmeric powder, coriander-cumin powder and black masala (Goda masala). Mix it and add boiling water to it. Cover the vessel with lid. 
Once half cooked, add scrapped coconut, sugar or jaggery and salt to taste. Again cover till the rice is cooked. Turn off the flame and add lemon juice.

While serving, add some ghee and garnish it with scrapped coconut and chopped coriander.

Notes :

• Boil 3 cups of water and reduce it to 2 & 1/2 cups. Hot water makes this rice more light and each grain gets separated.
• Traditionally, jaggery is used instead of sugar. 
• To sprout field beans, soak the beans overnight in plenty of water for 5-6 hours. Thereafter, drain the water and rinse it. Transfer the beans into a strainer and keep it aside for a day. The beans gets sprouted. Remove the peel from the bean before using.

Stepwise Pictures :

Traditional Marathi

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