Masale Bhat

Masale Bhat, a Maharastrian Rice Pulav served in weddings and at other celebrations.

This Rice preparation is made with various vegetables in combinations or just alone.

Each region and family in Maharashtra has their own recipes where vegetables vary and so do the use of masalas. The vegetables used are cauliflower, peas, brinjals, tondli or kundri as is known in East India.

My family recipe uses cauliflower and peas. It is for my Bengali husband's taste buds that I add potatoes.

 Ingredients:

• 1 cup Rice For this preparation, I avoid Basmati and use the small grain perfumed rice Ambemohar or Kolam old rice. Some people do use Basmati but I think the masalas used and the preparation tastes best with small grain, the choice is yours.

• 100 gms cauliflower.
• 100 gms peas.
• 1 medium potato.
• 1tbsp ginger paste, 1tbs garlic paste, 1 green chilli and 1,tsp coriander leaves all this to be made into a paste,
• 1/2 tsp haldi powder,
• 1 tsp chilli powder.
• 1 tsp coriander powder.
• 1 tsp jeera powder.
• 2 tsp Goda masala, if this is not available use garam masala.
• 1 tsp shahi jeera.
• Few curry leaves.
• Pinch of hing.
• 2 tbsp chopped cashew nuts.
• 1/2 cup grated fresh coconut.
• 1/2 cup chopped coriander leaves.
• 1 lime + lime to serve.

Method :

• Boil 2 cups water and keep aside.
• Heat a vessel and add 1 tsp oil and 2tbsp ghee.
• When hot add the shahi jeera when it crackles add the cashew nuts and the masalas.
• Now add the vegetables and curry leaves and mix add the hing (hing is added at this stage to retain its flavor.
• Mix in the ginger, garlic, green chilli and coriander paste.
• Cook for 2mins.
• Add the soaked rice salt and mix.
• Add the hot water and juice of 1 lime and let it boil .
• Now put the flame on sim and cook till the rice is cooked, cover the vessel while cooking.
• Serve garnished with fresh coconut and coriander leaves and a slice of lime.
• This can also be eaten as a single meal with the addition of a koshambir, which is a salad of cucumbers, tomato and onion, a papad and jalebi as sweet to be enjoyed with a Mattha. Mattha is a curd drink like Buttermilk but with added spices of ginger and coriander and green chilli.