Kolhapuri Aamti
The Kolhapuri Aamti is a recipe which is very
close to my heart and associated with childhood memories. I spent a good amount
of my childhood in Kolhapur and every die-hard Kolhapuri can relate to fascination
of this special recipe which is utmost basic and simple, yet, divinely tasty.
As Kolhapur is famous for wrestling, wrestlers and
milk diet, there was no place for tea at all in the earlier days. If you happened
to visit anybody’s house or vice versa, you would always be asked by the lady
of the house “Khatos ka Baba thodasa Bhaat Samabara” (Will you eat some rice
daal?). Daal and rice were always a staple here and readily available in every
household and the taste of this awesome combination lingers on till date.
The Daal is made with Kolhapuri Kaala Masala which
lends that unique flavour to it. The spiciness of the daal would be reduced by
adding milk cream and you need to taste this combination of rice, daal and milk
cream to experience this exceptional dish. Kolhapur area is famous for various
strains of indigenous rice too, so, maybe the rice also added to that special
taste.
I am giving the recipe of my version of Kolhapuri Aamti,
it does not match the greatness of my grandmother’s recipe though; it was a
class apart altogether.
Ingredients
Tur Daal/Arhar Daal/Pigeon Peas (split, without
cover) – 1 large katori or you can take a combination of half of Tur/Arhar Daal
and half of yellow moong daal (split green gram)
Water – Approximately 1 litre
Salt- As per taste
Turmeric Powder – Half taespoon
Cumin Powder- Half Teaspoon
Asafoetida – ¼ teaspoon
Oil- 2 tablespoons
Curry Leaves – 10-12
Mustard Seeds (Badi or Moti Rai)– 1 teaspoon
Garlic – 10-12 cloves
Dry Coconut (grated) – 1 tablespoon
Kolhapuri Kaala Masala/Kanda Lasun Masala – 1½ teaspoon
Method
Wash the daal well and add water, turmeric powder,
salt, cumin powder, asafoetida and cook in pressure cooker on medium flame till
3 whistles are done. Once, the pressure is released, churn the daal mixture
well to form a homogenous mixture. For tempering, heat oil in a utensil, add
mustard seeds, curry leaves, crushed garlic and dry coconut and Kolhapuri Kaala
Masala. Remove from fire and transfer this tempering to the plain daal. Bring
to a boil. Serve hot with roti or rice, topped with ghee.
Note
– Cooking time is approximately 45 minutes and this quantity should be enough
for 4/5 persons.
Daal (pulses) is the most essential component of Indian diet.
Daal is significant source providing proteins and different parts of the
country, varieties of various Daals are prepared in different ways. In
Maharashtra, Tur Daal (Arhar Daal, Pigeon Pea) is used primarily for daily use.
It can be made into a plain, bland recipe with turmeric, asafoetida and cumin
or it can be tempered with different ingredients like curry leaves, garlic,
garlic ginger, green chilly, red chilly, mustard seeds, coriander seeds,
masalas, curry powders and one can add tomatoes, coriander leaves, jaggery etc
to enhance the taste.
Phodni/Tadka means tempering and Waran is plain Daal, a basic
bland recipe with just turmeric, salt, little cumin powder and asafoetida.
