Methi Kala Utana USAL ----
Black peas cooked with fresh fenugreek and ginger in a delicious gravy.
AS the aircraft took off, I glanced down and seeing the whole town of chennai in a miniature version, felt the magnitude of the universe. Shiridi was our agenda and travelling with Rajeev and Dhina is always action packed and fun. We landed in shirdi , to find my baggage had not come and I realized this was my first test in accepting every situation. Loaded with bags of goodies for our hosts, who had made all the arrangements for the darshan, and tour of local eateries, we decided to carry on ,asking them to retain my baggage in chennai which apparently had the forbidden, power bank in it. We focused on our darshans first and then decided to travel to Shani Singnapur temple, 70 kms away from Shiridi, famous for the planet saturn. The roads were so bad that one wondered why Maharashtra had to have such terrible roads and that too ,through, one of the most popular and significant places visited by lakhs every day. It was midnight when we reached and almost early morning when we returned .
Shiridi made famous by the saint sai baba, thrives on tourism for its progress. Eateries and restaurants surround the temple area,for as the soul is fed inside the sole gets a break outside to rest and enjoy the masala chai ,Sugarcane juice and other specialities. Annadanam[free feeding] is a well known word and subject in Shirdi. Most restaurants and eateries, the trust and other organizations are always offering food cooked with love , for that was the tradition set by Baba. He loved cooking Amte, Varan and Usal. He would visit the market himself and buy all that was needed and then come back and cook in a big handi on a wooden fire. He often used his hands to stir the dish instead of a spoon and never got burnt. Feeding the villagers gave him immense joy and this tradition was adopted by many of his followers whose grandchildren and great grand children run eateries now . One such is swami baba, who had a small idli shop right near the entrance of Dwarakamai, where baba lived for 60 years.After his samadhi and the temple being built, everyone around had to clear the area and go outside the premises. Swami iyer’s eatery ,is called Madras sai cafe and cooks and serves delicious dishes from all parts of India. They offer bhog to Baba everyday and the ritual is at noon, a silver thali with silver bowls carries all baba’s favourite dishes and offered at the mandir to Baba. We got to taste some of it and also eat the delicious methi kala chana USLI, a speciality made here and not available anywhere else.
The "U"s of Marathi food are small in number but absolutely delicious ! It stands for ukad or boiled, and that method of preparation (boiling or steaming) is used to make a variety of foods ranging from the very humble, like ukadlelya batatyachi bhaji or potato curry to the very exotic, such as ukadiche modak or rice dough pockets filled with a jaggery-coconut mixture and steamed for a special festive occasion,like ganesh chaturthi. .
Other favorite "U"s: uus or sugarcane, a crop that brings prosperity to this region of the country; usacha ras or sugarcane juice is delicious and refreshing and available everywhere.
The winner and absolute monarch of "U" Marathi foods is USAL, a spicy curry of sprouted beans/grams This dish unfolds a myriad flavours all nourishing , healthy and light. Out of all the different kinds of USAL available i loved the Methi Kala Vatana Usal ---Fenugreek Leaves cooked with Black peas curry.
Kala Vatana Usal means Black Peas Curry. It is a special and delicious dish which was prepared first in the kitchens of the great Warrior Shivaji, who loved his traditional cuisine . It later became a speciality of the konkan region and the dish got richer by adding coconut. This dish goes well with amboli, chapati, bhakri, puri/malvani vada or simply with plain rice.Swami’s Madras cafe makes it as part of the annadanam offering.
METHI KALA VATANA USAL ___RECIPE>
Preparation Time – 20 mins
Black grams Soak Time – 8 hours
Cook Time – 20 mins
Total Time – 8 hours 40 mins (including soak time)
Serves -----4 pax
Calories ----330 per serving [small bowl]
Ingredients:
black peas (kala vatana)---1 medium bowl soaked overnight.
red onion----2 chopped.
- Fresh fenugreek leaves -------1 bowl full.
Tomatoes---2 finely chopped.
fresh grated coconuts---- 2 cups.
Broken cashew nuts ----1 small cup soaked in milk.
Ginger ----grated 1 tsp.
coconut pieces (optional)----½ cup.
Black pepper- Kali Meerchi---8
Cloves- Lawang----7
Fennel- 1 tsp.
Poppy seeds- Khus- khus---1 tsp soaked in a little milk.
Cinnamon- Dalchini---2 strips.
Black Cardamom- 2
Nutmeg/Mace-Jaiphal---small pieces 2
Home made malvani garam masala if not available than garam masala ------1 tsp.
Kashmiri red chilli powder ---1 tsp.
- Tamarind paste ------ 1 tsp.
- Jaggery ---1 tsp.
- Mustard seeds----1 tsp.
- Cumin seeds--- 1 tsp.
Coriander leaves---finely chopped.
sesame/groundnut oil--- 1 1/2tbsp.
Ginger -----grated 1 tbsp.
Milk ---½ cup to soak the cashew nuts.
- Groundnuts ----roasted and powdered 1 tbsp.
Water as required
Salt to taste
METHOD
Steps to make gravy masala
Heat the oil in Kadai or pan on low flame & add chopped onion,and ginger .sauté for 2-3 minutes until the onion becomes reddish brown.
Add grated coconut in it, sauté on medium flame while continuous stirring is required till the onion and coconut becomes reddish.
Then add chopped tomatoes, mix all ingredients and sauté for 5 minutes. Keep aside.
Heat the 1 teaspoon oil in pan and sauté the whole (spices) garam masala like black pepper, cloves, fennel seed, poppy seed, cinnamon, black cardamom and nutmeg for about 3-4 minutes on medium to low flame. Keep stirring.
In a mixture finely grind all ingredients like sautéed whole spices and mixture of coconut, onion, tomatoes. Make a paste and keep aside.
Making The Usal
1First wash the black grams 2-3 times in running water and soak the grams in water for about 8-10 hours.
2After 8-10 hours, wash the soak black grams in water.
3Take soaked grams in a deep pot and add water as per the level of soak grams. Also add small pieces of coconut (square shape), half teaspoon salt and half teaspoon oil in it. Then cook the peas in a pressure cooker for about 20 -25 minutes on high flame. Keep the cooked black grams aside.
4 Heat the deep pan/ kadai and add 1 tsp oil . add the mustard seeds and Cumin, when it pops add the tamarind paste, chopped methi leaves, cooked black peas and garam masala. Add 1/4 glass water and stir it well. Cook everything for about 5 minutes on medium flame.
5 Now add ground cashew and groundnut powder in it and further add finely ground masala paste ,chilly powder, turmeric and salt to taste, stir the mixture very well.Add the jaggery. Cook Without lid for about 6-7 minutes on low flame gas.
6 Let all the masalas bind and the grams and methi soak in it. Switch off the flame. Garnish with finely chopped coriander and serve hot with Amboli/Chapati/Pulkas/Puri/Malvan Vada/Roti/Bhakri (any type)
Tips --1Soak the black grams for about 8-9, while soaking add 1/2 teaspoon salt 2Always cook the black grams in pressure cooker, wait for 3-4 whistle
Chef ramaa shankar aiyar
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