Veg Kolhapuri (Spicy Vegetable Gravy)

Veg Kolhapuri (Spicy Vegetable Gravy from Kolhapur): Kolhapur in western India was the seat of the 17th century Maratha empire and is known as the standard-bearer of the royal Maratha cuisine. It is well known for its spicy vegetarian and meat-based dishes, generally made with the famous lavangi mirchi (spicy chilli) that is grown in and around the area.


Ingredients:

- 1 medium potato boiled and diced
- 1 carrot boiled and diced
- 1/4 cup of boiled corn
- 1/2 cup of cauliflower florets boiled
- 10 Green beans half inch sliced and boiled
- 1/4 cup of boiled green peas
- 1 tsp of Ginger garlic paste
- 4 tbsp of oil
- 2 tbsp of dry grated coconut
- 6 cloves
- 6 Black Peppercorns
- 1 tsp of poppy seeds
- 1 tsp of coriander seeds
- 6 whole dry red chillies
- 1 large onion finely chopped
- 2 medium sized tomatoes finely chopped
- 1 tsp red chilli powder
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
- Salt
- 1 tbsp of fresh cilantro finely chopped

Ingredients for Kolhapuri Garam Masala:

- 1/2 tsp Fennel Seeds
- 1 inch cinnamon stick
- 1 stone flower(called 'dagad phool' in India; you can buy it at any Indian store)
- 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 black cardamoms
- 6-7 black peppercorns


Method:

- Grind the kolhapuri masala to a fine powder mixture and set aside.
- Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a pan/wok.
- Add grated dry coconut, cloves, coriander seeds, poppy seeds, red chillies and black peppercorns. Lightly fry them.
- Add half of the chopped onions and cook till it turns slightly brown. Cool the mixture and then grind to a paste (in a mixer/grinder) with little water if needed. Set the masala paste aside.

- Heat remaining oil in a pan/wok. Add the remaining chopped onions and the ginger-garlic paste and saute on medium heat till the onions caramelize.
- Now add tomatoes, turmeric powder, red chilli powder and the masala paste. Cook till the tomatoes are nicely cooked and oil starts to separate.
- Add half cup of water and cook for 2 mins. Put in the boiled vegetables and salt. Simmer for 5 mins.

- Now sprinkle a tsp of the kolhapuri garam masala powder. Mix well.
- Let cook for a minute.
- Remove in a serving bowl and garnish with cilantro.
- You can serve it with either naan, bread, paratha or rotis.


**** You can add any vegetables of your choice for the preparation of this dish.

Stuffed Coconut Dumplings (Modhak)

Stuffed Coconut Dumplings (Modhak): Modhak is a sweet dumpling stuffed with a filling of coconut and sugar/jaggery. The dumpling can be fried or steamed. It is popular in Western and Southern India.
This food item has a special religious significance in that it is believed to be the favorite food of the Hindu God Ganesha. It is prepared in His honor every year during the festival of Ganesh Chaturthi.
Here is the fried version of the dumpling (please bear in mind that the preparation is very intricate and time-consuming).


Serves: 2 to 4

Ingredients:

For the stuffing:

- 1 cup of fresh grated coconut.(One can use the frozen grated coconut as well)
- 1 tsp of ghee(clarified butter)
- 1/2 cup of sugar
- 1 tsp cardamom powder

For the dough:

- 2 cups of all purpose flour (Maida)
- 4 tbsp of oil
- pinch of salt
- 1 cup of water to knead the dough
- Oil for frying


Preparation:

- For the stuffing take a non-stick pan. Add 1tsp of ghee, coconut and sugar.
- Put on low heat and stir. Keep it until the sugar melts. The mixture should become a little dry.
- Put the cardamom powder and mix it properly.
- Let the stuffing cool completely.
- Take a bowl or a container in which you can mix and knead the dough.
- Mix the all purpose flour and salt.
- In a pan, heat the 4 tbsp of oil. Once it is hot pour it into the flour.
- Mix it with the flour. The flour becomes nice and crumbly because of the oil.
- Now add in water as needed to knead the dough.
- Knead the dough well till it becomes nice and soft.
- Cover it with a soft wet cloth and keep it aside for 3 to 4 hours.
- After the dough is kept for 3 to 4 hours make small balls out of the dough and keep them covered under the wet cloth. The wet cloth helps to keep the dough nice and soft or else it gets dry.
- Take one ball roll it into a nice round without any cracks.
- Roll it with a rolling pin into a circular disc. Roll it in a way that the edges do not become thick.
- Take this disc and place it in your palm. Fill it with a 1 tsp of stuffing.
- Depending upon the size of the disc you can fill more or less into it. Once the stuffing is filled in, pinch the dough from every side and close it.
- Do not overstuff it otherwise it will open up during frying.
- Keep this under a wet cloth. Repeat the process with all the balls.
- Once all dumplings are ready, heat oil in a wok/pan.
- Once the oil is nicely heated put in the dumplings. Fry them from all sides till they are golden brown. Once fried, remove on a paper towel to drain the excess oil.
- Modhak is now ready to serve.