Watli Dal

Watli Dal is a bright and beautiful dish that packs a punch. Served only during spring months of March- April in western India, it has a special place in the food menu and Naivedya for Chaitra Navratri Haldi-Kunku or Hartalika and Manglagaur pooja.

The watli Dal is savoury or spicy and sour, made with harbara chana Dal and the star of the season, sharp and sour raw mango (kairi). It is often served with Kairi Panhe, which is a refreshing sweet drink made with raw mango as well.

This recipe is perfect for the start of summer when standing before the hot stove might start to get too warm. It is an almost no cooking involved recipe, basically prep, mix and its ready!

Ingredients-
1 cup Chana Harbara dal (चण्याची हरभरा डाळ)
2,3 Dry red chillies
2,3 green chillies
Few leaves of kadhipatta
2 spoons grated dry coconut
2 sp fresh grated coconut
1 Raw unripe mango (kachhi Kairi)
1/4th cup, half bunch Chopped cilantro
4 tbsp oil
One inch ginger
1 tsp sugar
2 tsp jeera
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 sp hing / asafoetida
Salt

Method –
1) Soak chana daal for 5 to 6 hours in water
2) After 6 hrs coarsely grind dal with little water, green chilli, ginger, salt, cumin, little sugar. The texture should have a bite with bits of dal intact. The thickness should be similar to oats, easily scooped.
3) Mix all other ingredients with dal as follows –
4) Make phodni (tempering) – In a small pan, heat 4 to 5 spoons oil. Add mustard, hing, turmeric and dry red chilli. It should crackle lightly. Take it off the heat and let it cool to warm. Separate the red chillies and crush them. Keep it aside for later.
5) Finely grate the raw mango. Add it to the ground dal.
6) Add freshly grated / scraped coconut and chopped cilantro.
7) Add grated dry coconut on top.
8) Add the reserved crushed red chillies from the phodni/tempering oil.
9) Serve fresh, at room temperature.

Tip –  This recipe is best served immediately or within 2 hours of preparation. Or immediately refrigerate for up to 6 hours. It is highly perishable as it contains uncooked ingredients, chana dal and mango.

Spicy Mango Jam with Fenugreek Seeds (Methamba)

Methamba is a spicy mango jam made in summer season across Maharashtra and Western India. Summer is the most awaited season in most of India, because heralds the everloved, sweet, smooth, rich and vibrant mango.

Sweets and desserts made with mango are very popular. But today I’m sharing a recipe which is true to my roots, and dear to everyone from Konkan which is coastal Maharashtra, called Methamba (Methi- fenugreek, Amba – mango). It uses the unripe sour green mango, or “kairi”. The unripe green mango fruit has quite a bite, is very sharply sour, with white or pale yellow flesh and green skin before it ripens into a sweet yellow/orange soft fruit which we know better.

This authentic recipe, will make you pucker your lips with its tangy yet spicy, Continue reading “Spicy Mango Jam with Fenugreek Seeds (Methamba)”