21 October, 2008

Chavli Amti: Recipes from Your Kitchen to Mine

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Roasted Spices for Amti Masala

Yes, it’s a time for this month’s “Recipes from Your Kitchen to Mine”. This month I have tried 2 recipes from different blogs and if time permits I will post the second recipe before the clock strikes 12 on 31st October. So today I am posting a recipe I tried from Nupur’s One Hot Stove.

Nupur’s One Hot Stove is one of the inspirational blogs where she takes us on virtual culinary journey of authentic and delicious Marathi cuisine. Coming from a beautiful city of Kolhapur, Nupur warmly welcomes us to savour simple yet heavenly home food which she grew up enjoying eating and later creating the same magic in her kitchen. Well, I don’t think I need to write more about Nupur or her blog as most of us visit her very often to see the Marathi culinary gems she churns from her One Hot Stove.

On one of such visits I stumbled upon delicious looking Chavli Amti. Amti is as dear to Maharashrtians as Rasam is to South Indians. I have come across many recipes of Amti in last two years of blogging but surprisingly never ventured into making it till now. Since I am quite partial to Black Eyed Peas these days, I couldn’t resist the temptation of trying her Chavli Amti. Well cooked plump black eyed peas in delicious creamy coconut, onion and tomato gravy was something which is hard to resist. And with freshly made batch of Amti Masala from her blog it was everything any true foodie can think of.

Except for the soaking bit I followed Nupur’s recipe without twisting and tweaking. In recent experiment with cooking the black eyed peas in Methi Lobia, I have learnt that black eyed peas can be directly cooked without soaking them overnight. Since I had few other things to do, I could soak these beans for 2 hours and it came out just perfect when pressure cooked. So don’t worry if you don’t have time to soak the peas in water. Just bring a pot of water to a boil and add these beans. Cover and pressure cook for 15 minutes till they get nicely cooked and plumped. The freshly ground Amti Masala is sure to find its way into many other recipe I am going to cook. As Amti Masala doesn’t contain over powering spicy ingredients, it is just perfect for the recipes which needs little kick of aromatic, fresh spice powder. Roasting of lentils and spices along with onion and coconut simply jazzes the whole dish and gives creamy base gravy with a touch of sweet and nuttiness. I made it little thick on first day to go with fresh batch of Phulkas and added little more water on next day to get thin gravy to serve with a pot of steam cooked rice and needless to say we licked our fingers and plates clean ;) Thank you, Nupur for inspiring me to cook this extra ordinary dish which has become talk of our home :) This is my third and final entry (I hope so;) for dear Sra’s My Legume Love Affair-Fourth Helping, initiated by lovely Susan. Well, this should show my love affair with legumes and lentils, I think ;)

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Chavli Amti

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Amti Masala Powder
Prep & Cooking Time: 5 mins
Makes: ¾ cup
Shelf Life: 3 months
Recipe Source: One Hot Stove

Ingredients:
½ cup Coriander Seeds
¼ cup Jeera/Cumin Seeds
2 tsp Shah Jeera/Black Cumin Seeds
1 inch Cinnamon Stick
10 Cloves
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Freshly Ground Amti Masala


Method:
Dry roast all the ingredients in a pan at medium-low heat till they change colour to lovely golden red and fragrant. Let it cool completely before you proceed.
Grind these roasted spices to smooth powder and store this aromatic Amti masala powder in an air tight jar or container and use as and when needed.

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Chavli Amti

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Chavli Amti (Black Eyed Peas in delicious spiced gravy of Coconut, Onion and Tomato, a recipe from Maharashtra)
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 30 mins
Serves: 4-6
Recipe Source: One Hot Stove

Ingredients:
1 cup Black Eyed Peas, washed and soaked in a bowl of water overnight
1 medium onion, thinly sliced or finely chopped
2 large tomatoes, pureed or finely chopped
1½ tsp Amti Masala Powder or use any Curry Powder of your choice (Garam masala, Sambar masala etc)
1 tsp Jaggery/Sugar
Salt to taste

For Masala Paste:
1 tsp Urad Dal/Split Black Lentils
1 tsp Channa Dal/Split Chickpeas
1 tsp Coriander Seeds
½ tsp Methi/Fenugreek Seeds
1 tsp Jeera/Cumin Seeds
3-4 Dry Red Chillies (Adjust acc to taste)
1 small Onion, finely chopped
3 tbsp grated Coconut, fresh or frozen or desiccated
½ -1 tbsp Oil

For Tadka/Tempering:
½ tbsp Oil
1 tsp Mustard Seeds
Few Curry Leaves
A big pinch of Hing/Asafoetida
½ tsp Turmeric Powder

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Chavli Amti

Method:
Cook soaked beans along with the same water used in soaking in a pressure cooker for 10-15 mins till it is cooked thoroughly. I soaked these peas for about 2 hrs in water and cooked them in pressure cooker. Alternatively if you don’t have enough time to soak the peas in water, bring 2-2½ cups of water to boil in a pressure cooker and to this add washed beans. Cover the pressure cooker lid and proceed to cook for 15 mins or for 3 whistles. Let the pressure cooker cool slightly and let it release all its pressure before opening the lid to avoid nasty accidents in your kitchen.

For Masala Paste:
While black eyed peas are cooking, add all the ingredients listed under the masala paste ingredient list in a pan and fry them in a little oil till they are lightly roasted, about 2-3 minutes on medium flame.
Switch off the flame and let the spices cool slightly. Grind it to a smooth paste by adding little water at a time. Keep it aside until required.

Proceed to make Chavli Amti:
Heat oil in a pan and add mustard, hing, curry leaves and turmeric powder in that order and let the mustard pop and splutter. To this add finely chopped/sliced onions and sauté till it turns golden brown, about 2 mins.
Now add chopped tomatoes or tomato puree, sugar, amti or other curry powder, ground masala paste and salt to taste. Fry this on medium flame for another 2-3 mins.
Add cooked black eyed peas along with the water in which it is cooked and bring the whole mixture to a boil. Add little more water if needed and simmer for another 5-10 minutes. Serve it hot garnished with finely chopped coriander leaves along with roties or steaming bowl of rice and enjoy.

16 comments :

  1. Hi Sia,
    Looks so good. Vegetarian is not boring dish to learn different legumes with different spices.

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  2. This looks really creamy.
    I think it is really wonderful to cook from other bloggers.

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  3. Why do you want it to be the final entry? I'd love more. I too am posting another legume dish - there's no getting away from them easily in Indian homes, I guess.

    I have black-eyed bean salad lined up for tomorrow's menu! :-)

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  4. Looks delicious..thanks for the tip about soaking time of chawli,normally I soak overnight...good to know shorter time works too :-)

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  5. I've been eyeing this at Nupur's blog. Love black eyed peas too. Looks yum, Sup!
    Got your email. Do sign me up for that :)
    Hope you're doing well. I'll be off to India for 2 months in mid-November. I know, I know- lucky me! This is the first time in 9 years that I'm staying longer than 3 weeks at a stretch! Some family stuff to attend to but it will also be fun. Hope to come back with tons of recipes :)

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  6. thtatz really yum .. i havent tried amti masala earlier .. looks good

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  7. I also cook the black eye beans without soaking much.. Curry looks great Sia! Great clicks..

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  8. looks yummy!! lovely insights! i have book marked this recipe

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  9. Sia.. nice recipe drolling :)

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  10. hi Sai,

    You have a way with those photos.My god! I never get so tempted with pictures as much as I do when I visit your site. the masala is something that I am going to try as I have never heard of this one.

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  11. Amti Masala, really new to me !! Need to try !! his masala with black eyed beans might be wonderful !! Lovely pic Sia !!

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  12. Amazing, Sia. Love the pics, and the recipe is too good. Have to try it:-)

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  13. i am going to cook it now... lets see if it turns out as good as it seems to be on the pic..... will post what the consumer (hubby dearest) says thank you

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  14. Hi Sia, Greetings!

    I was rummaging through the internet to find some recipes that would go well with steam rice. That's where I bumped into this site and onto the 'Chavali Amti' Recipe page. My husband hails from Western Maharashtra, where Amti is a part of daily meal. So, I read through the 'tempting recipe' and voila! It came out too well. Super Delicious, tasty, Yum! I just cannot have enough of it. It took me a little time because of the grinding process. But, it was worth the time and effort. To add a twist to the curry, I topped it with freshly squeezed lime juice and a smidgen of chilli powder and kasuri methi. Many many thanks to you for making my dinner a sumptuous, gastronomical, delectable one! :) Your site is a treasure trove of some finger-licking recipes. Keep posting and Happy Cooking!

    Warm Regards, Best Wishes, Blessings and Love,
    Archu

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  15. @Archana Kadam, that's wonderful :) When little bit of hard work yields such satisfying experience then it's worth all that elbow grease! I am glad to know u enjoyed your meal, Archana. and ur twist to the recipe sounds wonderful!

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Namaste! I am Sia and welcome to Monsoon Spice, my virtual home. Thank you for all your comments, inputs and feedback. I really appreciate the valuable time you spent browsing through my recipe repertoire.

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