Discovery of Marwar: A culinary journey

 

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Editor’s note: These delicious recipes have been excerpted from ‘Bapu’s Curries: Culinary Journey of a Father’—by Shreeparna Khaitan and Surbhi Anand. They offer a gateway into a heritage cuisine that is rarely found in restaurants—outside the usual chaat/thali variety. Added bonus: They offer wonderful options for vegetarians looking to expand their culinary horizons.

 

Ludvayan (A family heirloom recipe)

Portions 4-5 | Prep time 15 Minutes | Cook time 10 Minutes

 

Ingredients

 

1 carrot, thinly sliced

50 gm French beans, thinly sliced

50 gm cauliflower florets, small

50 gm green peas

5 baby potatoes, cut into small pieces and boiled

50 gm button mushrooms, roughly chopped and sautéed with butter

400 gm cooked rice

4 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped

1 onion, roughly chopped

5 tbsp tomato puree 

50 ml red wine (optional)

200 ml fresh cream

50 gm parmesan cheese or cheddar cheese, grated

1 tbsp tomato ketchup (optional)

 

Spices & Herbs

 

Salt and pepper to taste

 

Cooking fats

 

2 tbsp butter

 

Utensils

 

Cooking pot or steamer to par boil or steam all the vegetables

Rice cooker or a pan to cook rice

Frying pan

 

Method

• Par boil all the vegetables separately. Cook the rice and keep it aside.
• Now to make the final dish, heat butter in the frying pan, once hot and bubbling add garlic and onions along with the red wine if you choose to use it. Let this cook for 1-2 minutes.
• Now tip in all the vegetables along with salt and pepper to taste. After 2-3 minutes of cooking, tip in the tomato puree and the cream (the amount of tomato puree and the cream can be adjusted according to preference).
• Let the cream simmer for a few minutes. Finally add the cooked rise and toss everything together. You can add the tomato ketchup now for some tanginess. Add a generous helping of cheese and toss all the ingredients well and serve hot.
• The Khaitan family favourite “Ludvayan”, is ready to be savoured on a lazy afternoon.

 

Serving Suggestions

• This dish is best enjoyed with garlic bread on the side and a green salad. We prefer to make it live on family picnics.

 

Tips

• Once all the preparation has been done, Ludvayan can be prepared in small batches according to the taste preference of different family members.

 

Badshahi Kofta (Stuffed Carrot Kofta)

Portions 4 | Prep time 45 minutes | Cook time 30 minutes

 

Ingredients

 

For the koftas
1 kg red fat carrots

50 g almonds, powdered

50 g cashew nuts, powdered

200 g cottage cheese, grated

1 ½  tbsp corn flour

Pinch of saffron

Salt and pepper to taste

 

For the gravy

1 tsp black peppercorns

2 tsp turmeric

2 tsp cumin seeds

4 to 5 small pieces cinnamon sticks

1 tsp black nigella seeds (kalonji)

10 to 12 cloves

3 tsp coriander powder

8 tomatoes, pureed (approx. 2 cups)

250 g curd

Salt to taste

 

Cooking fats

 

5 tbsp ghee

 

Utensils

Medium sized Topia for boiling the carrots 

Heavy Bottomed Pot for cooking the gravy

 

Method

• Peel the outside skin of the carrots. Then, cut them into 1 inch cylindrical pieces. 
• Now scoop out the stem with the help of a peeler or apple corer, so that each piece becomes a hollow cylinder. 
• Steam the carrots for 10-15 minutes or until they become al dente. 
• Separately mix the grated cottage cheese, almond powder, cashew nut powder and the saffron along with salt and pepper together and fill this mixture into the hollow of the carrots. 
• Your koftas are ready. 
• To make the masala paste take the peppercorns, turmeric, cumin seeds, cinnamon sticks, cloves and coriander powder and grind them coarsely. 
• Now take a heavy bottomed pan and add the ghee, once hot add the nigella seeds and let them splutter, then add the ground masala. Fry till the latter becomes brown. 
• At this point add the salt, tomato puree and the curd to the masala paste. Keep stirring till the time the oil separates. 
• It is time now to add the koftas to this curry along with one fourth cup of water so that the curry coats the koftas properly. 
• Your Badshahi Kofta is ready to be served. These koftas will be arranged in a shallow platter first and then the gravy will be poured to cover them.

 

Serving Suggestions

• These koftas are rich and can be paired with Bathue ki Roti or Paratha.
• This Badshahi Kofta can be a part of any kind of Indian table.

 

Tips

• The filling needs to be stuffed in the carrot very tightly otherwise the koftas will tend to break.

 

Moong Moth aur Besan Katli Chaat

Portions 4 | Prep time 120 minutes | Cook time 15 minutes

 

Ingredients

 

25 gm sprouted black gram (kala chana)

25 gm sprouted whole green lentil (hari moong dal)

25 gm sprouted black lentil (kali masoor dal)

80 gm bengal gram flour (besan), sieved

2 tbsp lemon juice or to taste

1 green chilli, finely chopped

1 cup fresh coriander, finely chopped

1 ½ cup water

2 large potatoes, boiled, peeled, and grated

 

Spices & herbs

1 tsp salt 

½  tsp cumin seeds 

1 tsp chilli flakes 

⅓  tsp asafoetida

 

Cooking fats

1 tbsp olive oil 

2 tbsp olive oil for shallow frying 

 

Utensils

 

Kadhai to cook the besan mix 

Steel Tray 

Frying pan to shallow fry the katlis

 

Method

 

• Steam the sprouts in a pressure cooker with 2 tablespoons of water. One whistle should mean that they’re cooked; add the lemon juice and half a teaspoon of salt. Keep aside.
• Take the bengal gram flour in a bowl and add the remaining salt, cumin seeds, chilli flakes, green chillies, chopped coriander and mix all this well.
• Now take the water and add it slowly to the flour mixture, until it becomes a watery batter.
• Take a pan and heat the olive oil. Then add the asafoetida and let it sizzle. In this, add the batter and keep stirring it for 2-3 minutes or till it reaches a thick consistency.
• Take the pan off the heat and add the grated potatoes to this batter and mix it well. Put it back on the heat for 2-3 minutes and keep mixing till it reaches a doughy consistency.
• Take a one-inch deep tray, line it with oil and spread the dough evenly. Let it cool till it sets.
• Once it is set, cut it into square shaped pieces or katlis. Shallow fry these on medium heat till they become golden brown.
• Transfer them on a kitchen towel to remove excess oil.
• Finally place these squares on a flat dish and place the sprouts on top of them.
• Serve these with green coriander chutney.

 

Serving suggestions

• It can be a high-tea snack or a starter for a lavish meal.

 

Tips

• Let the cooked besan cool down completely so that the katlis are neatly cut.

 

Santare ka Jhol (Soupy Orange Curry)

 

This curry will come out best in the winters, with fresh, sweet and citrusy seasonal oranges. The flavour is sweet and tangy with lots of chilli and jaggery to create a balance.

Portions 4-5 | Prep time 30 minutes | Cooking time 50 minutes

 

Ingredients

 

Juice of 12 oranges (approx. 1 litre)

1 tbsp jaggery powder

1 ½ tbsp lemon juice

4 tbsp sugar (optional)

Salt to taste

 

Spices & Herbs

 

½ tsp black salt

½ Kashmiri dry red chilli

 

For the Panchphoran tempering:

2 tbsp mustard oil

5-6 curry leaves

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1/2 tsp fennel seeds

1/2 tsp nigella seeds

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds

1 ½ tbsp deggi mirch powder

 

Cooking fats

 

150 ml fresh cream

 

Utensils

 

2 Heavy bottomed cooking pots

Small tempering pan

 

Method

• Place the heavy bottomed cooking pot on low heat and pour in the juice. Let it heat for 5-10 minutes — at this point, you can add the jaggery, lemon juice and black salt to the juice. Make sure you mix properly.
• Keep stirring the juice and cook until it reduces to half the original amount, i.e., approximately 500 ml.
• Keeping the gas on low flame, add the cream while stirring continuously. Once the mixture starts to simmer, add salt to taste and give a good mix.
• To balance the flavours, the orange juice reduction should be sweet and sour. if the curry tastes too sour, add sugar to balance. Simmer for another 2-3 minutes to make sure that the sugar has melted properly.
• Now switch off the heat and strain the mixture in a separate cooking pot. Keep it on low heat on a separate burner.
• Now, move on to tempering the spices. Add mustard oil to a small pan — once hot, add the curry leaves with all the spices and the chilli powder. Let the spices crackle for 10 seconds and take off the heat.
• Now add the tempering to the simmering curry. Once again, do a taste test to make sure that it is sweet, sour and spicy.

Serving Suggestions

• This curry pairs really well with hearty breads. In our family we love Marwadi Tikariya with this jhol but Garlic Naan will be great too.

Tips

• The oranges should have a sweet taste, their juice should be pressed gently to avoid seeds being mixed with the juice.
• Once the cream is added to the cooking pot, the heat should be maintained at low to avoid splitting of the cream.

 

Haldi ka Saag

 

This unique curry uses fresh tuber of turmeric that is harvested in winters and consumed regularly for keeping oneself warm. This is one of those medicinal curries that can boast of immunity boosting properties too. The tartness of the sour dahi, the earthy flavours of raw turmeric, heat of green chillies and ginger makes it a potent curry contrasting with the sweetness of fresh winter peas.

Portions 10-15 | Prep time 20 minutes | Cook time 40 minutes

 

Ingredients

 

250 gm fresh tuber of turmeric, grated

8 green chillies

70 gm ginger, grated

125 gm green peas, boiled

2 medium potatoes (approx. 250 gm), peeled and grated

5 medium onions (approx. 300 gm), thinly sliced

7 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

1 kg soured yogurt

 

Spices & Herbs

 

1 tsp garam masala

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1 tbsp coriander powder

1/2 tbsp red chilli powder

Salt to taste

 

Cooking fats

 

250 gm ghee

 

Utensils

 

Large Kadai

Heavy bottomed cooking pot

 

Method

• Pour ghee in a kadai and heat it on medium flame, fry the raw turmeric until the colour darkens. Do it in 2 batches to let the grated turmeric dehydrate a bit. Keep aside.
• Similarly, fry the grated potatoes, ginger and onions, and then, keep these aside as well. If you feel that more ghee is required, please add some more.
• In the remaining ghee add green chillies and ginger, fry it for a minute, add the yogurt gradually, while continuously stirring until it starts to bubble. Stirring will prevent the yogurt from curdling.
• Now add the coriander powder and the red chilli powder followed by the fried raw turmeric, potatoes, ginger, onions and the green peas, mix everything well.
• Tip in the garam masala and salt to taste. Let this simmer on low flame for about 20-25 minutes.
• You will notice that the ghee has started to separate and the yogurt has disappeared.
• Adjust seasoning and the Haldi ka Saag is ready to be served!

 

Serving Suggestions

• This Haldi ka Saag pairs best with Aakri Roti, Phulka, Missi Roti, Tikariya or any freshly made Indian bread.

 

Tips

• Best to eat this curry in winter as turmeric is considered a warming food. Keep the serving size small for anyone eating it for the first time because it can cause pimples etc. in warm weather.
• You can cook a big batch of this saag and store it in the refrigerator for over a month.
• For souring of the dahi, you can keep it at room temperature for 24-48 hours depending on the season. Dahi gets sour quickly in the summers.