Makhanak Kheer

Makhanak Kheer:

Makhana or Lotus Seed is one of the specialty of Mithila. It is obtained from the water source. According to an old saying it is one of among those three things which is not found even in paradise, the rest two are Fish and Betel leaf. The one and most popular dish prepared from Makhana is " Makhanak Kheer". This is a must eat preparation of Kumar Purnima (Kojagra) for newly wed couples. There is concept of preparing it and leaving it under the sky for sometime in the night and then enjoying the taste of it. This sweet preparation is much different from any other Kheer or Payesh preparation made in other parts of the country . In other words this a unique dish which is made in Mithilanchal and every maithil takes pride in exclusivity of this.

Ingredients:

Makhana: 75 gms
Milk: 01 Ltr
Bayleaf: 2 nos
Cardamom: 02 nos
Dried coconut: 10 gms
Dried dates (Chopped) : 20 gms
Raisins: 25 gms.
Mawa (optional): 50gms
Sugar: 100gms

Preparation:

• Roast Makhanas in a Kadai for 3-4 minutes। Let it cool for a few minutes and grind it to a course texture
  
• Chop dry fruits except raisins।

Cooking:

• Bring milk to a boiling stage along with Bay leaf and Cardamom and reduce by stirring continuously .


• You can add mawa (optional) which will give a thickening to the milk.


• Add the powder of Makhanas now with dry fruits. Allow it to simmer for some time till you get your desired consistency.


• Add Sugar as per your taste.


• Serve it hot or cold garnished with raisins.
  
  

Stuffed Daal Pitthi:

The concept of stuffed Daal Pitthi is very uncommon in Mithila. This could be called an innovation again which is influenced by Italian Pasta called Ravioli. It has a wide range of veg and non-veg stuffing. Though the stuffing of Pitthis could be anything and everything edible, yet can be tried out best with Paneer( Cottage Cheese), Coriander leaf and Green chilly mixture for Veg stuffing and seasoned sautéed minced meat stuffing as Non-Veg.

Below is my innovation which is a fusion of Mithila and Continental cookery .

Ingredient:

Whole Meal Flour ( Aatta): 100 gms
Arhar Daal: 75 gms
Mustard oil: 10 ml
Cumin seed: 2 pinches
Asafetida ( Heeng) : 1-2 gms
Salt and Turmuric : As required
Chopped coriander leaves: 25 gms
Paneer: 75 gms.
Green chilies: 10 gms

preparation:

Make a semi soft dough for pitthis , Roast Daal, make a paste of slit green chilies.
Mash paneer & mix it with chopped coriander leaf. Season with salt and pepper.
Make small and thin casings of the dough, stuff it with the mixture and seal it well .

Cooking:

Pressure cook daal. And leave stuffed Pitthis in it.
Cook it over moderate flame for 8-10 minutes.
When sauce gets a creamy smooth texture, add the tempering of cumin and asafetida.
Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve hot.

Variation: one can easily put a variation of Nonveg Filling by replacing Paneer with Sauteed minced meat or Kankorak Chokha.

Goidila Pitthi:

This is an innovation which could be called the fusion of two local dishes only, Goidila ( a sauce prepared from green peas & flavourings) and Pitthi. Goidila is a kind of gravy / sauce which is usually taken with rice and chapattis. It gets its body from green peas paste and flavoured with Garam Masala.

Ingredients:

Basic Pitthi of 100 gms of flour

Green peas : 300 gms
Onion: 200 gms
Ginger Garlic Paste: 50 gms
Cumin Pd: 15 gms
Coriander Pd: 15 gms
Ghee: 10 gms
Tomatoes: 75 gms
Double cream: 20 ml
Hot Spices: large and small cardamom, bayleaf, clove, cinnamon stick.


Preparation:

parboil green peas and make a small paste of it.
Prepare basic Pitthis of the flour and moisture
Make a paste of 50 gms of onion and slice the rest
Chop tomatoes

Cooking:

Heat oil or Ghee in a pan and add a tempering of Hot spices, when they start crackling add slice onion, sauté it for a minut or two and add Ginger , Garlic and Onion paste with a pinch of salt and turmeric.
Add pawdered masalas and cook it well on the flame.
When masalas are cooked add chopped tomatoes and mix it well.
Add the peas paste and fry it along with masalas for 2-3 minutes and dilute it with water to thin consistency.
Allow it to boil for 8-10 minutes (keep checking the consistency of the mixture. And add water accordingly. )
Now finally add Pitthis to it and cook it over moderate flame for another 8-10 minutes.
When Pitthis are cooked and the sauce gets a creamy smooth texture add the tempering of ghee and Cumin.
Garnish it with Double Cream and serve Hot.

Maus

Maus (Mutton Curry)



The best accompaniment for pua is maus (mutton curry). Preparing both these dishes brought back memories of so many holi celebrations. Holi was never complete without the standard fare of Pua, Maus or Kathal/Jackfruit Curry (for vegetarians) & Dahi Vada.






Ingredients:

• Mustard oil :3-4 tbsp

• Jeera : 1 tsp

• Whole Garam Masala :3 bay leaves, 4 green cardamon, 2 black cardamom, 2" piece cinnamon, 10-12 black peppercorns, 5 cloves, 4-5 dried red chillies

• Onions :6 medium sized cut into thin slices
  

• Garlic Paste :2 tsp

• Ginger Paste :1tsp

• Turmeric powder :1tsp

• Coriander powder :2tsp

• Red Chili powder :2tsp

• Tomato :1 big sized
  

• Mutton :1/2 kg

• Water for gravy : 500 ml

• Salt to taste

Method:

Heat mustard oil in a kadhai. Add jeera & let it splutter. Immediately add the whole garam masala & let it crackle. Now add the sliced onions. Let the onions turn to golden brown colour on low-med heat. Add the garlic & ginger pastes. Stir. Make a paste of the turmeric, coriander & red chilli powders with 2 tbsp water & add to the kadhai. Also add the sliced tomatoes at this stage. Mix well.

When the masala is half done add the mutton pieces. Increase the heat and fry the mutton pieces for 2-3 mins, stirring continuously. Lower the heat. Cover and cook. Keep stirring in between so that the masala doesn't stick to the bottom of the kadhai. Add 1-2 tbsp of water if the masala appears to stick to the kadhai. Add salt at this stage.

When the oil separates from the masala cook uncovered for 10 mins. Now add the hot water and bring to a boil. When the gravy reaches the consistency you want turn off the heat. Remove to a serving dish.

Serve this mutton curry with the pua.

Pua

What should my first dish be? There was no hesitation in deciding that it had to be a sweet dish. It meant that it had to be 'Pua' which is an all time favourite dish for my entire family. My four year old nephew loves this dish, but eats Pua only if it is called Banana Pakoda. Munchkin this is for you.

Pua


The major difference between this recipe and the recipes of pua/malpua available elsewhere is that this Pua contains sugar & doesn't need to be dipped in sugar syrup.







Ingredients:

• Milk :500 ml

• Sugar :300 gms

• Maida(Flour) : 250 gms

• Kismis(Raisin) : few pieces

• Cardamom powder : 1/4 tsp

• Desiccated Coconut : few slices
  

• Banana : 4-5 nos
  

• Oil for frying

Method:

Boil milk and cool. Add sugar to the milk and let it dissolve. After the sugar is completely dissolved add the maida to the milk. Mix well so that you get a very smooth batter. There shouldn't be any lumps in the batter. The batter should not be very thin. If the batter looks thin add some more maida for a thicker batter. Let the batter rest for half an hour. Meanwhile chop the raisin & the coconut slices. After half an hour add the raisin, cardamom powder, coconut and mashed bananas to the batter & mix well.

Heat oil in a kadhai. Pour a ladle of the batter in to the kadhai. The pua will puff up like a puri. Cook on low heat till both the sides turn golden brown.

Pua can be had on its own or with Rabdi. Pua is also a good accompaniment for mutton curry.

Tip:

Do not keep the batter for a very long time after adding the bananas. If you do not want to make pua out of the entire batter add bananas only to that portion of the batter that you will use.

Daal Pitthi

Daal Pitthi is an excellent food variety prepared in Mithila. It is good for consumption during any time of the day as any meal practice (breakfast, Lunch or Dinner). This again resembles with one of the continental dishes called “Pasta” and could be tried out with lots of variation of sauces served with it. The only difference of it with Pastas is that , that pastas are made out of refined flour and cooked separately (or dried) from its sauce, while Pitthis are made out of Whole meal flour (Aatta) and coked along with its sauce which is prepared from good quality (preferably roasted) Arhar Daal. Ofcourse being an Indian preparation it differs in the addition of spices and flavourings too, but the same Pitthis could be tried out with other pasta sauces like Carbonara (a white pasta sauce flavoured with Bacon) or Nepolotana (a tomato and basil based sauce flavoured with Oregano/ Marjoram) etc.

Alike Italian pastas Pitthis are given different shapes and sizes like Macroni, Fussili, Canneloni etc. but they are best for fresh consumption and could not be sun dried (as the color will change to dark , giving a very poor appearance to the dish)

So here is the basic recipe of preparing Daal Pitthi and some of the variation of it.

Ingredients:

Whole Meal Flour (Aatta): 100 gms
Arhar Daal: 75 gms
Mustard oil: 10 ml
Cumin seed: 2 pinches
Asafetida (Heeng) : 1-2 gms
Salt and Turmuric : As required
Chopped coriander leaves: for garnish

Preparation:

• Make a semi soft dough of Aatta. Flatten the chunk of it to paper thin using a rolling pin and cut it in fancy shapes.


• Roast daal in a kadhai for 3-4 minutes.


• Chop coriander leaves.

Cooking:

• Parboil daal or pressure cook it with salt and turmeric. Now add the fancy shapes of pitthis to it and cook the the mixture over moderate heat for 8-10 minutes.


• When the sauce gets a creamy smooth texture reduce the flame and add the tempering of Cumin seed and heeng.


• Serve hot garnished with chopped coriander leaf.

Stuffing of Pitthis: Pitthis can be stuffed with anything and everything edible. one can try out the filling of both the kinds ,Veg and Non - veg. which will enhance the taste and nutritional value of the dish. I have used the stuffing of Mashed Cheese in the above picture which can be replaced with any non-veg mixture also.

Tadka Daal Pitthi:

Prepare the basic Dall Pitthi sauce with above ingredients and add athe tempering of Chopped onion, garlic, green peas, slit green chilies and tomatoes.

DOODH BAGIYA ( SWEET DISH )

Introduction

It is a milk product, which is popularly known as “Doodh Bagiya” amongst Mithila people. Doodh Bagiya is specially made in the month of ‘Poos’ (January) to Celebrate ‘ Pooshat’ of new born baby in the family. Although it is a common sweet dish in Mithilanchal. So here goes the mantra to make this yummy-yummy sweet dish.

Ingredients
01 cup New Rice flour
05 cups Milk
01 1/2 tbsp Cashew nuts (chopped)
01 tbsp Dry Coconut (chopped)
1 ½ tbsp Almond (chopped)
½ tbsp Pistachio nuts (chopped) to Garnish
Sugar as desired

Method:

• Paste the rice flour with luke warm water and make 1 ½ inches Bagiyas out of that paste.
• Now pour the milk in a pan & keep it on the fire to boil.
• When its boiling add Cashew nuts, coconut, almond, Bagiya & sugar in it and stir well for about 10 min.
• Take the mixture from the fire and put it in a bowl & garnish it with chopped Pistachios.
• And its ready to serve….

Aloo kaa Duum (दम-आलू)

Motivated by mithilacusine, recently, I tried to re-invent aloo-dum. My all time favorite aloo dum was appreciated by my family.

दम-आलू (Aloo kaa Duum) is a propularly known as Aloo kaa Rasgoolla. Typically it can be prepared with the recipie of Mutton, replacing mutton cube with the aloo (potato). Following are the ingradients that can be used to prepare aloo duum for a family:

Aloo: Baby size (400 gm).

Onion: 250 gms.

garlic: Two bigger piece.

Ginger: Size of index finger

Green Chilli: 6 pieces

Curry Leaves: 10 (if you want a unique test, not used in mithila but I like it).

Garam Masala: One tea spoon.

Coreinder Power: 1 tea spoon.

Black pepper Power: 1/2 team spoon.

Desi Ghee: 2 tea spoon

Salt, Turmeric Powder up to regular taste level

Method: Cut the onion in very fine piece and prepare garlic paste. Fry onion in karaahi (lohiyaa) till brown and put the garlic paste.

Fry the combination till smell of garlic hit your nose. Peel of the potato and make several hole using fork so that masala will pentrate into it to make it more tasty.

I dedicate this re-used to my family. This is evident from this
picture.

Put the neatly cleaned potato in the onion garlic mixture and mix salt, termeric , powder , garam masala. Fry this mixture for 3-5 minutes and put them in cooker. Let this mixture remain in pressure for 10 minutes.

Once pressure is off, put two teas spoons of desi ghee and your aloo dum is ready serve this along with daal and taruaa.