Monday, June 25, 2007

Lagnacha Masale Bhaat

Another FAVOURITE dish coming right up!!!
LAGNACHA Masale Bhaat... I have always called it by this name... reason, well, this is a must have in most Maharashtrian weddings.
I remember in my childhood (gosh, makes me feel so very old when I say this!!!) when weddings were not as grand as today not with multi-cuisine. The menu was (mostly)Varan Bhaat, Masale Bhaat, Puri- Bhaji, Jilebi/ Gulab Jamun, bhaji and with mattha to wash it down. What distinguished this Masale Bhaat was the flavour! It was made on a typical 'Chulha' / 'shegdi' and coked on a coal fire. The tantalising aroma of the masale bhaat would waft thru the entire hall and make all the wedding guests very hungry and immediately after the 'muhurat' they would make a dash for the dining area where the tables would be neatly set with either gleaming plates or banana leaves.
I would eat only Masale Bhaat! That was the prime reason why I attended the wedding!! Somehow home made masale bhaat does not carry that 'punch'.. or so i thought!!
Till the day I came upon this version I had to try this!!! I had taken a print out long back, meaning to try it out, but I did not have a coffee / spice grinder then... but now that I do, I was very eager to add this recipe to my Favourites!! So here goes....
The only changes I made were in using 3 cloves and 1 , 2cm stick of Cinnamon (M claims that he 'smokes' fumes thru his ears and nose after getting 'hit' with lavang /clovesand dalchini/ cinnamon!), and i could not get any fresh tondli/ gherkins , so I substituted the same with onion and potato
I am putting down the recipe ( copy pasted from Ashwini's blog) for easy reference, the link is also provided above.

MASALE BHAAT (serves 2-3)
1 cup Basmati rice
1 cup gherkins (tondli/ tindora), quartered (I used 1 med. onion and 1 med potato sliced thin)
1/3 cup + 2 tbsp dry, shredded coconut (copra)
4 cloves2 (2cms) cinnamon sticks
1 tbsp sesame seeds
2 1/2 tbsp coriander seeds
2 tsp cumin seeds1 tsp mustard seeds
a few curry leaves
a pinch of asafoetida
3-4 green chillies, slit (adjust to taste)
5-6 cashewnuts, broken
3-4 tbsp oil
salt to taste
fresh coconut and cilantro for garnishing
Wash the rice in two to three changes of water. Drain and keep aside.On moderate heat, roast the copra, coriander seeds, cumin, sesame, cloves and cinnamon till the coconut turns golden. Let cool. Put in a spice/ coffee grinder and grind into a powder. Keep aside.Heat oil in a pan. When hot, add mustard seeds. When they begin to pop, add curry leaves, asafoetida and chillies and saute for a few minutes. Next add gherkins and saute some more. Add rice and mix well. Add the powdered spices and mix until the rice is well coated. Add cashews and season to taste. Add about two cups of water, cover the pan with a lid and cook until the rice is done.Garnish with fresh coconut and cilantro. Serve hot with a raita and fried papad.
This recipe is a keeper!! AWESOME!!!! Though I tried this recipe from a fellow blogger I would like to include it for RCI @ Nupur's One Hot Stove as it is the first time I have tried making this dish and from scratch.. and I was soooooooooooooooooooo thrilled that it turned out just the way I wanted it!!! Pin It

10 comments:

Nupur said...

I have to confess that I find weddings to be highly tiresome affairs (I avoid them whenever possible)...the uncomfortable clothes, "making nice" to relatives you have never met, etc etc, but the food is the saving grace :)
I have tried Ashwini's recipe, and it is just awesome! I made it with all green beans, and enjoyed every bite. Thanks for sharing it for the RCI event.

TheCooker said...

If the cook is so thrilled nothing else matters!

Anonymous said...

That is looking delicious. Will please provide me a spoon to dig into the dish.

Arati said...

Hi Manasi,
I tried this recipe a few days ago when all my Maharashtrian friends gathered at my place(I live in California too); it was a super hit. Even while cooking the bhaat I could smell the same aroma as in the lagna pangat. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Arati

Manasi said...

Thank U all SO MUCH!!! This is one soooooooper recipe and is a keeper.Thank u once again for the feedback.

Unknown said...

u never wrote about onion n potato when to add. do write cause i would love to do it khare sangate.

Manasi said...

Preetam, Sorry abt the late reply! :(
ok, here';s what u do, when u are adding the veges ( in the post it is mentioned as Gherkins) add the onion/ potato at the same time.
Hope it is not too late. All the best, lemme know if u have any more qtns.

AshaCoolkarni said...

hey.. really nice recipe.. check out my version at:
http://love-at-first-bite-recipes.blogspot.com/2009/05/masale-bhaat-marathi-fried-rice.html

Quite similar - I just don't add onions or potatoes..

Keep up the good work!

Mystical allure! said...

Hey Manasi:
I am not a maharashtrian, but I just love the smell of Masala bhath ! look fwd to some links / recipes of authentic Ussal / Dabeli too...also, pl share the recipe to make "Ghoda Masala" at home...

cheers!
Kalyani

Anonymous said...

Kalyani/ Mystical allure- just wanted to let you know, that it is 'masaale bhaat' and not 'ghoda masala', but 'goda masala'. Hope it helps

Share

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
Page copy protected against web site content infringement by Copyscape