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Thursday, 27 November 2014

Marathi Recipes Amti Bhat Bhaji

Marathi Recipes Amti Bhat Bhaji Biography

Source(google.com.pk)
a maharashtrian amti recipe is a comfort food for us any day. as much as i like having amti dal with rice, i also like sipping it. in fact dal as such is a comfort food.

i make amti on those days when i have goda masala/kala masala in the kitchen. i had made a small batch of goda masala for making vangi bath (spiced brinjal rice). did not take the pic though of the goda masala.

i suggest to use goda masala while making amti. if you use any other masala like garam masala then you won’t get the same results. the reason being garam masala has a different spice blend and goda masala has an altogether different one. there are some spices like dagad phool or kalpasi (stone flower), sesame seeds, dry red chilies & dessicated coconut which are not there in garam masala. this suggestion comes from someone who has made amti with garam masala. it tastes nice, but then it does not taste like amti, but just like a dal to which some coconut, tamarind and jaggery is added.

this amti recipe is slightly spiced and has both mild sour and sweet tones. the mild sour tones coming from tamarind and the light sweetness coming from jaggery. also the taste of the toor dal/pigeon pea lentils blends very well with the rest of the ingredients. in the absence of tamarind, you can use kokum or lemon juice.

this is also a no onion no garlic dal recipe. another no onion no garlic recipe with sweet and sour taste is this gujarati khatti meethi dal.

fresh coconut is also added to amti. its not essential, but a dash of fresh coconut brings a lot of flavor and taste to any dish. but at times when there is no coconut, i make the amti without coconut. the below pic is of amti made without coconut.

you can serve amti dal with rice or roti.

INGREDIENTS (measuring cup used, 1 cup = 250 ml)
for cooking the dal:
1 cup toor/tuvar/arhar dal/pigeon pea lentils
a pinch of turmeric powder/haldi
2.5 cups water for pressure cooking
other ingredients:
1 tsp seedless tamarind tightly packed + 2 tbsp hot water
1.5 to 2 tsp goda masala/kala masala
½ tbsp powdered jaggery/gur or as required
½ tbsp chopped coriander leaves/dhania
1 to 1.5 tbsp grated coconut (optional)
salt as required
for tempering:
½ tsp mustard seeds/rai
7 to 9 curry leaves/kadi patta
1 to 2 green chilies or ¼ to ½ tsp red chili powder
¼ tsp turmeric powder/haldi
a pinch of asafoetida/hing
1 to 1.5 tbsp oil or ghee

for garnish:
few chopped coriander leaves/dhania

INSTRUCTIONS
pick and rinse the dal first very well in water.
then add the dal in the pressure cooker along with 2.5 to 3 cups of water and a pinch of turmeric.
pressure cook the dal on medium to high flame for 7 to 8 whistles or till the dal is cooked completely and is of mashable consistency.
meanwhile, just heat 2 tbsp water and add tamarind to it.
soak for about 20 minutes.
squeeze the tamarind pulp from the soaked tamarind and keep aside.
when the pressure in the cooker settles down on its own, open the lid and mash the dal with a spoon or a masher. keep aside.
in another pan, heat oil.
first crackle the mustard seeds.
then add the turmeric powder and asafoetida.
stir and then add curry leaves, green chilies or red chili powder.
stir for a few seconds.
add the dal and stir.
add 1 cup water or as required to get a medium consistency in the dal.
season with goda masala, jaggery, tamarind pulp, coriander leaves, grated coconut and salt.
simmer for 10-12 minutes on a low flame with frequent stirring (so that the dal does not stick to the bottom of the cooker) till the desired consistency is reached.
lastly check the taste and add more salt, jaggery or goda masala if required.
while serving the amti dal, you can garnish with few coriander leaves if you prefer.
serve the amti dal with steamed rice topped with a little ghee.

After mostly cooking mixed-vegetable Toor Dals or Chana Dals [Split Bengal Gram] for regular meals, when I cooked Amti I was amazed at how such amalgamation of flavors of herbs and spices add so much punch to Chana Dal.

Amti is a Maharashtrian style sweet-salty-spicy-tangy Dal eaten with rice, more famous as an accompaniment to Puran Poli. It appears that a special Maharashtrian style ‘Goda Masala’ is used for cooking Amti, but in this Amti recipe that I’ve used (picked from Shobha Indani’s book) it’s a shorter version of the masala.

So in case you don’t have all the ingredients required in actual Goda Masala (here’s a recipe on Sanjeev Kapoor’s page), then you may go ahead with the recipe below, still tastes great :-)

Chana Dal Amti - Maharashtrian style Dal
What you’ll need for amti recipe:
For masala powder:
For dal:
1 Tbsp grated dry coconut (nariyal)
½ cup split bengal gram lentil (chana dal)
2 cloves (laung)
¼ tsp turmeric powder (haldi)
3 cardamoms (elaichi)
1 tsp red chilly powder (lal mirch powder)
1 bay leaf (tejpatta)
2 Tbsp thick tamarind pulp (imli)
1” piece cinnamon (dalchini)
2 Tbsp oil
2 tsp coriander powder (dhania powder)
4-5 curry leaves (karipatta)
1 tsp cumin seeds powder (jeera powder)
Salt (namak) as per taste
1 pinch nutmeg powder (jaiphal powder)
Jaggery (gud) as per taste

For tempering:
For serving
½ tsp mustard seeds (rai)
½ Tbsp lemon juice (nimbu ka ras)
½ tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
2 Tbsp chopped cilantro (hara dhania)
1 pinch asafoetida (hing)
½ Tbsp desiccated/powdered coconut

Serves: 4 – 6

Let’s Begin!

Prepare Masala Powder:
1. Dry roast coconut in pan over low flame till it starts changing color. Add all the remaining ingredients & continue to dry roast for few seconds, not letting anything burn. The masala gets brownish in color. Allow the masala to cool, then grind it coarsely.

Prepare the Dal:
2. Wash & drain the chana dal & add turmeric powder along with 2 cups of water in a pressure cooker. Allow 3-4 whistles (depending on how long you soaked the dal in water after washing) until dal becomes soft. To this add red chilly powder + tamarind pulp + jaggery + salt & blend well. {Click here to learn more on how to cook lentils in pressure cooker.}

Prepare the Amti:
3. Heat oil in deep pan & add the tempering: first mustard seeds, let pop, then cumin seeds, let sizzle, then asafoetida. Then add curry leaves + above dal mixture + sufficient hot water* to get the desired consistency. Amti should not be too watery or too thick. Then simmer for 3-4 mins.

Prepare to Serve:
4. Add lemon juice, chopped cilantro, and sprinkle coconut before serving Chana Dal Amti. Done!

Maharashtrian Chana Dal Amti - accompaniment to Puran Poli or Rice

Notes:
* If you are making Puran Poli along with this dal amti, then you can use the drained water from the chana dal that is pressure cooked for puran poli and then add more hot water as needed.

– You can also make extra masala powder & store in refrigerator for a few weeks for later use.