Jhatpat Masale Bhat / Masala Rice

Masala Rice or Masale Bhaat is one recipe that we all resort to when we run out of ideas for a meal. It is one recipe that does not take much time and can be made in a jiffy, especially to be packed into lunch boxes. This is a simple recipe that bachelors / first time cooks can rely on to have a filling and wholesome meal. The Masale Bhaat is an easy to pack dish for an overnight train travel as well since it can be had on its own alongwith some curd/ dahi that can easily be bought from any stall at the station too. The best thing about this recipe is that slight variations in the spice and/or vegetable combinations gives you a different taste altogether.

 

The easy-peasy way I like to make Masala Rice is given below:

Ingredients
Rice - 1.5 cups
Onion - 1 large
Carrot - 1
French Beans - 5
Green Peas - 1tbsp
Tendli - 4
Green chilli - 2
Tomato - 1/2
Ginger - 1tbsp chopped
Garlic - 1tbsp chopped
Coriander pwd - 1tsp
Turmeric pwd - 1tsp
Red chilli pwd - 1/2tsp (optional)
Oil - 2tbsp
Salt to taste
Coriander leaves - 1tbsp chopped
Whole Spices
Shah jeera - 1tsp
Jeera - 1/2tsp
Green Elaichi - 1, only skin
Black elaichi - half, seeds only
Cloves - 2-3
Cinnamon - small piece

Slice the onions, keep aside and chop the carrot, beans and tendli in 1 inch size pieces. Chop the tomatoes finely.

Heat the oil in a pressure cooker, when hot add the whole spices. After a minute add the sliced onion and fry till translucent then add the ginger and garlic and continue to sauté. When the onions are light brown add the coriander powder and stir for a minute. Then add the vegetables and the green chillies. Keep sautéing and add the turmeric powder, red chilli powder (if using) and salt and mix well. Add the rice into this mix and sauté for a few minutes. Add 3 cups water and let it boil, check the taste and adjust salt and chillies. Put the lid and whistle on and let it cook for in pressure for 2 whistles. Open when the pressure has escaped and garnish with the coriander leaves.

The Masala Rice goes in my lunch box along with curd/dahi, cucumber sticks and an apple making it a nice half-day meal.

Erachi Ularthiyathu / Mutton Fry

At my parents home, we had fish more often than chicken and hardly ever had mutton. One reason for not having mutton could be that there was no good mutton shop nearby. At my husband's home they had aatterachi / erachi / mutton more often than chicken and that's when I actually started appreciating its taste. At my in-laws place it was my father in law who made the mutton. And it was awesome. My husband would go buy the erachi fresh in the morning and my father-in-law would cook it with 2 assistants - my sister-in-law and I. My mother-in-law was not involved in the cooking because by then she had given up eating non-vegetarian food. Me being a novice in cooking, my father-in-law would actually cut one piece to show how he wanted the onions, ginger, garlic and tomatoes cut. He made a erachi ularthiyathu / erachi olarthiyathu with the good pieces and erachi curry with a few meat and bone pieces. At that time I never considered learning how to make it but thankfully my husband knew. And now, I think we are able to recreate that same taste.

Ingredients
(these ingredients are enough for 2 people, just double or triple according to required quantity)
Mutton (goat meat) / Ghosht / Aatterachi - 400gms
Onion / Pyaaz / Savaalla ulli - 1 large
Tomato / Tamatar / Thakaalli - 1 medium
Ginger / Adrak / Inji - 2 inch piece
Garlic / Lehsun / Velluthulli - 10 pods
Shallots / Sambhar onions / cheriya ulli - 8-10
Curry leaves / Kadipata / Kariveppila - 5-7 sprigs
Masala powder:
Cloves / Lavang / Graambu - 4
Cinnamon / Dalchini / Karvapatta - 1 inch piece
Coriander / Dhaniya / Malee pwd - 2 tbsp. heaped
Aniseed / Saunf / Perinjeerakam - 1 tsp heaped
Cardamom / Elaichi / Elakya - 1
Marinade:
Turmeric pwd / Haldi / Manjallpodi - 1tsp
Red chilli pwd / Lal mirchi / Mollagupodi - 1tsp
Pepper pwd / Kali miri / Kurumollagu - 0.5tsp
Salt to taste

Clean and cut the mutton in small pieces. Mix the turmeric powder, red chilli powder, pepper powder and salt and apply well onto the mutton. Keep for an hour, then pressure cook the mutton in a separate vessel without any water for 2 to 3 whistles, till just cooked. This is a dry dish and hence do not add water to the mutton, it will release water. The number of whistles depends on the tenderness of the mutton - we get quite tender meat here and normally 2 whistles are more than enough. Also this recipe calls for stir frying the mutton again with the masalas so if your mutton is overcooked, the end result will be mutton mash and not pieces.

Separately heat a flat pan to roast the whole garam masalas. Dry roast the whole masalas one by one and grind into a fine powder and keep aside.

 

Heat oil in a kadhai and add the chopped onions, ginger and garlic and fry on medium heat. When the onions are fried to a light brown color add the ground masala powder and fry for a couple of minutes. Then add the stock of the mutton and chopped tomatoes and mix well stirring all the time on high heat. Lower the heat and add the mutton pieces, little red chilli powder and pepper powder and sauté to combine all together. Add 2 sprigs of curry leaves and keep stir frying the mutton on low heat for about 10 to 15 minutes. 

 

Separately heat the coconut oil in a small kadai and when hot add the chopped shallots / cheriya ulli and fry till they are light brown in color. Then add the slit green chillies and the remaining curry leaves, stir it and add this over the mutton. Keep on low heat and mix the mutton and the tadka / varathu iddal well. The mutton should be fried well by this time; take this off the gas and keep covered.

 

You can add thengya kothu / coconut slice pieces to the frying mutton closer to the end of frying and use only cheriya ulli for a very very coconutty Kerala taste. We preferred not to add it since we were doing a tadka / varutha iddal in coconut oil and wanted the masalas to stand out. When my father-in-law cooked this as a no coconut dish and the curry was the one with coconut paste and we were trying to be as close to that recipe as possible. I remember him saying once that adding finely chopped fried potatoes when frying the mutton just added to the awesome taste of this dish. Am going to try it sometime.

Our lunch on days that erachi olarthiyathu is made, usually comprises rice, sambhar, and this mutton fry. This is a hit menu at our home, hope it becomes a hit with your family too!  

 

This exact same recipe can be used for beef as well, for an amazing dish.

 

- To my father-in-law who is no more.

Little Italy, Bund Garden Road, Pune

I went to Little Italy La Pizzeria for lunch on a weekday expecting the restaurant to be near empty, instead there was only one table free. The crowd was a mix of office goers, friends and a group of ladies on a kitty party and no one seemed to be in any hurry to finish and leave!

This restaurant is in the ground floor of Hotel Shriman just at the beginning of a lane, off Bund Garden Road. My rickshaw driver did not know this hotel so you want to keep an eye out for it yourself when you do go there.

 

On entering Little Italy, the captain was immediately there to seat me and was a tad surprised to learn that I was eating alone. Anyway, I was seated immediately and the menus were brought over. The restaurant interiors were done well although the seating is a little too close to have a private conversation. Since I was alone the conversations around kept me entertained.

 

The menus brought over quickly, the additional one for their wine selection. I ordered the Cannelloni Florentine and it came piping hot straight from the oven. There were 3 cannelloni pieces with the cheese topping in golden hues. There was a good amount of sauce covering the cannelloni and around it. The spinach and ricotta cheese filling was nice and moist and spoonful of the sauce, cheese and cannelloni was Yum. For dessert, I ordered the Panna cotta and it came topped with a green syrup and a slice of kiwi. It was the first time I had a Panna cotta so I cannot compare it with any place else. The Panna cotta was soft and firm with a pudding like consistency. It was mildly sweet and when combined with a little of the syrup it tasted good. I completed the meal with a black tea although maybe a coffee was the right pairing for an Italian meal!

Overall, a very good lunch.

My only grouse was the proximity of the other tables. I could hear complete conversations and know the per head contribution of that ladies kitty group!

Of a Summer Sunday lunch - Aamras Puri

As children, summers meant enjoying the vacation with cousins and eating a lot of mangoes, jackfruits and banana and tapioca chips! Today, those lazy summers spent with cousins wandering through the grounds, fields and village lanes  exist in memories only. Some cousins are not even in the same country, they are spread across the globe. As for us, we stay in a city where you don't get ripe yum jackfruits easily and the most important thing - summer no longer means vacation. What's available are the mangoes, lots of them. I don't think I know anyone who doesn't love mangoes. And consequently Aamras... katories and katories of aamras till the stomach is close to bursting !!!

So come summertime, we get our old fruit vendor to send petties of mangoes, 2 dozen each at a time. Some are ripe, ready to eat or tayaar as he says and the others ripen in the hay over the next few days. The whole house has an aroma of ripening mangoes and everyday mom goes through a ritual of checking the box for the most ripe mangoes.  This keeps a continuous supply of mangoes on our table served up in different ways. So mangoes are diced and cooled to be eaten after lunch and dinner, some make it to milk shakes and some others to Aamras which is best enjoyed with Puris.

Starting at 12 o'clock: Methi Alu Rassa, Aamras, Puris and Salad

 

We Bombayites know only one mango, the Aapus aka Alphonso & Haapus,  all others are secondary mangoes to be had only once the King has retired for the season! The Aapus makes its entry after mid-March and continues to come into the market till about mid-June. We normally start buying Aapus in May that's when the price have dipped. And the minute it rains, we stop buying them because the mangoes then somehow taste diluted as if the rain water has seeped in :)  

Aamras

Making Aamras is the easiest, peel and dice Alphonso mangoes (aka Aapus / Haapus) and puree it in the blender and you are done :) How could something so simple be so tasty, right??

There are some people who like to add a few tablespoons of milk when blending to a more pourable consistency. Still others are known to add a pinch of kaala namak to it and one family I know adds a pinch of pepper powder.

Me, I like mine Unadulterated... as pure as I can get. Fry some puris and enjoy a beautiful meal.