MyMusingsSangSpeak -Pet Puja- Batatyachi Kaachryanchi Bhaji, Aloo Subji

 

MyMusingsSangSpeak -Pet Puja- Batatyachi Kaachryanchi Bhaji, Aloo Subji

Batatyachi Kaachryanchi Bhaji

This is one classic Maharashtrian bhaji, loved by one and all. An extremely easy to make recipe and a quick one at that. It tastes good with almost anything.

Some call it Batatyache Kaap and some call it Batatyachya chaktya. We call it batatyachya kaachryanchi bhaji.

Ingredients

Potatoes -5-6 medium sized

Oil - 2-3 tablespoons

Mustard Seeds - 3/4 teaspoon

Cumin Seeds - 3/4 teaspoon

Turmeric Powder - 1/2 teaspoon

Salt - To taste

Red chilly Powder - 1/2 teaspoon

Garam Masala - 1/2 teaspoon

Method

Remove the potato skins and slice the skinned potatoes finely. Heat oil in a pan and add mustard and cumin seeds. Once these splutter well, add the sliced potatoes along with turmeric and salt and give a good stir. Cover with a lid and allow to cook for 5-6 minutes on simmer mode. Remove the lid and stir well, add red chilly powder and garam masala and stir well. Allow to cook on simmer for further 3-4 minutes. Yummy batatyachi kaachryanchi bhaji is ready to be served.

MyMusingsSangSpeak-Pet Puja - Tilgul Poli

Tilgul Poli

Tilgul Poli is a Maharshtrian delicacy made for the festival of Sankranti. It is a sweet roti made with filling of jaggery and sesame seeds. My mother used to make a variety of Poli(Roti) with different sweet fillings- Saanja Poli, Shengdana Gul Poli, Khawa Poli, and all of these had distinctive tastes.

The Tilgul Poli is quite easy to make and is so flavourful that one is tempted to overeat.  As the festival of Sankranti is celebrated during peak winters, the sesame and jaggery help to keep one warm and combat cold.

Ingredients

Sesame seeds – 1 small katori (cup)

Groundnuts - 1 small katori (cup), (can be substituted with sesame seeds if allergic to groundnuts)

Jaggery - 2 small katoris (Cups)

Cardamom Powder – ½ teaspoon

Nutmeg powder – ¼ teaspoon

Wheat Flour - 1 cup

Refined Flour - ¼ cup

Milk - ¾ to 1 cup approximate

Oil - 2 teaspoons

Salt – A small pinch

Ghee – 2 tablespoons

Method

Roast sesame seeds and groundnuts separately. Remove the covers of roasted groundnuts. Pound the jaggery fine. Grind the roasted sesame seeds and groundnuts to fine powders. Add finely pounded jaggery, cardamom and nutmeg powders and mix well to form a homogenous mixture.

Mix the wheat and refined flours with a pinch of salt and two teaspoons of oil and knead with milk to form a soft dough. Cover the dough and set aside for half hour.

Make small ball of the dough and spread with hand, fill with the jaggery filling, close properly and roll out with rolling pin. Heat the pan and cook the roti on medium heat by turning it on both sides and applying ghee.

Serve hot with ghee and milk. 

Note – Preparation and cooking time is approximately 1 hour. This quantity makes about 10 tilgul polis with 6-7 inch diameter each. If one is allergic to groundnuts, substitute with sesame seeds.

MyMusingsSangSpeak-Pet Puja- PuranPoli

PuranPoli

PuranPoli is a Maharashtrian delicacy which is prepared for many festive occasions, mainly Holi. It is also a must have for marriage puja ceremonies and so on. Puranpoli is prepared differently in every household, it can be made of either jaggery or sugar. Towards the Kolhapur belt, telavarchi poli is popular. Here, jaggery is used and as the puranpoli is less sweet, gulavani(jaggery syrup) is used as accompaniment. To make Puranpoli, you require the PuranYantra to churn the puran. In case, you do not have one, make use of the chutney jar of the mixer/grinder or you may use a stainless steel strainer. In earlier times, the ladies used to grind the puran using the stone grinders or pastels.

I make Puranpoli using sugar and I follow the recipe of Mangala Barve of “Annapurna” fame.

Many people enjoy “Katachi Aamti” more than the Puranpoli(Kat is the by product yielded while making Puran). I will be posting recipe of both Puranpoli as well as Katachi Aamti, enjoy.

Puranpoli Ingredients:

For Puran-

Bengal Gram (split)/Chana Daal- 1 cup

Sugar – 2 cups

Water- Approx 5 cups

Salt- A small pinch

Turmeric- A small pinch

Oil- 2 teaspoons

Cardamom Powder- ½ teaspoon

Nutmeg powder- ¼ teaspoon

Saffron (optional) - ¼ teaspoon

For Puranpoli Cover-

Wheat flour- 1 and half cup

Refined flour – 2 tablespoons

Salt- A small pinch

Water- to knead the dough

Oil – 3 tablespoons

Method

Wash the chana daal and add water, salt, turmeric, oil and pressure cook for about 15 minutes. Remove pressure, strain the cooked daal and collect the clear water (this is the kat for katachi aamti). Mash the daal well and add sugar to it and cook in a thick bottomed vessel. This mixture tends to erupt and bubble, so be careful while stirring, you need to stir this constantly. Once the mixture starts leaving the sides of the utensil, it is done. Now you need to churn the puran while hot through the Puran Yantra and finally after readying the puran, add the flavouring ingredients – cardamom, nutmeg and saffron. Set aside the puran. If you do not have Puran Yantra, you can sieve the puran through a stainless steel mesh sieve(about 1-1.5mm wide) while it is warm. Other option  churn puran in the chutney jar of the mixer/grinder once it cools down.

For the dough, mix the wheat flour, refined flour, salt and water to smooth dough and knead well by adding the oil in small quantities at a time. Let the dough aside for minimum half hour and now for making puranpoli, take a small portion and make it into a katori shape, place little quantity of puran into it and close the cover nicely and roll into a chapatti/poli/roti. Heat the tawa and cook the puranpoli lightly on both sides and then add little oil and turn on both sides till done. Puranpoli is ready to be served and is accompanied with ghee and milk.

Note- This seems a difficult recipe to be made, but, one can surely perfect it with practise.