Masale Bhaat (Maharashtrian Pulav)

 There are few recipes which are signature dishes that belong to Maharashtrian Cuisine and that cannot be substituted with any other dishes. For example, Kanda Pohe, Batata Vada, Misal Pav, Thalipeeth, Masale Bhaat etc to name a few. Masale Bhat is usually prepared in Marathi household during any auspicious occasion in the house. It is the most easiest and most favored dish during Satyanarayan Puja, Ganesh Chaturthi or Navratri even as there is no Onion Garlic used in the preparation of this dish. The consumption of Onion Garlic during fasting is not preferred as they are categorized as "Taamasic" in nature and have been known to invoke carnal energies in the body. Hence, this dish can also be prepared during the fasting occasions of Navratri.

Let's have a look at the recipe:

Ingredients:

2 cups Basmati Rice (Any kind of rice is fine)

1 Bay Leaf

3 Green Chilies

1/2 inch Ginger

1 tsp Turmeric Powder

1 tbsp Red Chili Powder

1 1/2 tbsp Goda Masala (if not available then use 1 tbsp Garam Masala. Recipe for Goda Masala mentioned at the end.)

1 tbsp Coriander Powder

1 tbsp Mustard Seeds

1 sprig of Curry Leaves

1 cup Sliced Tendli (Ivy Guord)

1 cup Cauliflower florets

1/2 cup Green Peas

5-6 Whole Cashews

4 tbsp Ghee

4 cups Water

Chopped Coriander

Salt

Method:

Wash the rice thoroughly, drain it and keep aside.

With the help of mortar pestle roughly smash the green chilies and ginger together. We don't need a fine paste but crush it enough to make a mixture. Keep it aside.

Now take a pressure cooker and add 2 tbsp of Ghee to it on medium flame. Add mustard Seeds and curry leaves and wait until they splutter.

Add Bay Leaf and the mixture of Ginger and Green Chilies to it and lower the flame to avoid burning of the ingredients.

Add turmeric powder, red chili powder, coriander powder and goda masala to the cooker and mix it well.

Make sure flame is on low as we don't want to burn the spices.

Add veggies to the cooker and give it a good mix. You can use your choice of veggies as well, but Tendli is the standard vegetable that is always added to this recipe.

After 5 mins, add drained rice to the cooker and mix it well on medium flame.

After 2-3 mins add 4 cups of water to the pressure cooker and mix all ingredients well with flame on Medium.

The measurement of water varies based on the type of rice you are using and pressure cooker too. But 2:4 measurement usually is the safest. We need the texture of rice to be soft and more on sticky side and not dry like Jeera Rice. So I would suggest take a call and add water accordingly.

Add Cashews, Salt, Coriander leaves and 2 tbsp of Ghee and mix well.

Cover the pressure cooker with the lid and on medium flame turn off the stove after 3 whistles.

Once cooker cools down and all pressure is released open the lid and using a spatula mix the rice delicately. 

Serve Hot with Papad, Pickle or Koshimbir (Salad in marathi).

Note: Goda Masala is easily available in the market. Every Maharashtrian household has "Goda Masala" stocked up in their pantry. Every family has different recipe for Goda Masala. Goda Masala is prepared by dry roasting each ingredient mentioned below separately and then grinding them into fine powder:

Stone Flower (Patthar Phool or Dagad Phool), Star Anise, Black Cardamon (Badi Elaichi), Green Cardamon (Choti Elaichi), Dry Red Chilies, Cloves Bay Leaf (Tej Patta or Tamalpatra), Cobra Saffron (Nagkesar), Cinnamon (Dalchini), Black Pepper Whole, Dessicated Coconut, Sesame Seeds, Cumin, Asafoetida (Hing), Niger Seeds (Ramtil or Karale).