Xacuti

Xacuti

Food Blogging Marathon from 2/9/2013 to 30/9/2013. 

Each day a new alphabet. 4 categories. 

Regional Food, 

Baked Dishes, 

International Flavors / Fusion flavors, 

Street Food / Condiments / Misc / Recipe less Posts on Food

I wanted to Xacuti for a long time. Somehow it was not happening for many reasons. Whenever I said I am making it, I was discouraged by saying you can only make non vegetarian Xacuti. I cook non vegetarian food but don't eat and since it is just my husband and I that I will be cooking for, it becomes difficult to cook non veg and veg the same day. I was searching for some other recipes with X when I happened to chance upon some vegetarian version of it. 

Actually I had got one very nice recipe using drumsticks called Xengo Temperado, from one of my old cook books but unfortunately I did not have drumsticks so I had to make Xacuti. 

I have used the masala that my neighbour had told me about many years back. There are many ingredients and many steps involved in making Xacuti but it is worth the effort. 

Though the spelling is Xacuti it is pronounced as Shaguti or Shagoti. Because I was given the Masala recipe for 1 kilo of chicken I am giving you the same. But I only made the with about 250 gms of vegetable reserving the masala to be used on another day.

Ingredients: 

1 kg vegetables, I used mix of medium size potatoes, small onions and small brinjals. Peel and make two pieces of the potatoes. Peel and keep onions whole. Remove the stalk and cut the brinjals into two pieces vertically. Keep potatoes and brinjals in water till needed.

For the Masala: 

1 cup grated/scrapped coconut

1 big onion peeled and sliced thin

10 to 12 Dried Kashmiri chillies*

1 tsp jeera/cumin seeds

2 tblsp dhane/coriander seeds

1 tblsp khuskhus/poppy seeds

6 to 8 kali miri/black pepper corns

2" piece of dalchini/cinamon

6 lavang/cloves

1 badiyan/star anise

2 tsp badishep/ Fennel seeds

1/2 tsp haldi/turmeric powder

* I have used red chilli powder made of kashmiri chillies as I did not have whole kashmiri chillies.

other ingredients: 

1/2 cup thick coconut milk

2 cups thin coconut milk

1 big onion sliced thin

1 tsp ginger paste

1 tsp garlic paste

3 to 4 pieces of kokum

4 tblsp oil

salt to taste

Lemon juice to taste

1 tblsp coconut oil (optional)

Method: 

First make the masala. To make if first heat a iron or any thick kadhai/pan and and on medium heat roast the scrapped coconut till golden brown. Remove and keep aside. 

Now add 1 tblsp oil and fry the dry kashmiri chillies for a few seconds or till they are coated with oil. Drain and remove and keep aside.

Now in the same kadhai/pan roast  cumin seeds, coriander seeds, poppy seeds, black pepper corns, cinamon, cloves, star anise,

fennel seeds for a few minutes on low heat. Do not let the spices burn. They should be just fragrant and crisp. Cool
When the spices  cold grind it to a smooth paste along with coconut, Kashmiri chillies  and turmeric powder. Use a little water. The paste has to be smooth. 
Now in a pan heat oil and add kokum and saute for a few seconds and add sliced onions and saute till onions are translucent. 
Add ginger garlic pastes and saute further for a few minutes or till the raw smell goes. 
Add the vegetables and give it a good stir so that all the vegetables will be coated with oil. Cover and cook on high heat for 4 to 5 minutes stirring  once. 
Add the masala and mix well. Add the thin coconut milk and let it come to a simmer and lower the heat and let cook till the vegetables are cooked. The thin coconut milk will have reduced to almost nothing. Now add the thick coconut milk, salt and lemon juice. 



Switch off heat and pour the coconut oil, if using.   









Serve hot with rice 











or chapati/roti. 

This is my 7th regional recipe and it comes from Goa. 

Logo by Preeti.

Khandvi

Khandvi

Food Blogging Marathon from 2/9/2013 to 30/9/2013. 

Each day a new alphabet. 4 categories. 

Regional Food, 

Baked Dishes, 

International Flavors / Fusion flavors, 

Street Food / Condiments / Misc / Recipe less Posts on Food

This is a very easy and quick recipe to make and almost an instant sweet to make for the unexpected guests. 
This is not to be confused with the Gujarati Recipe of the same name, which is a savoury one. This is done in some communities of Maharashtra, particularly in the Kokan belt.

This is actually cooked in sugarcane juice. But now with hygiene of these sugarcane stalls in question and availability of good quality sugarcane juice  has become rare so it is made by dissolving jagery in water and using it to sweeten it instead of sugarcane juice. 
If you have access to good quality sugarcane juice please do try making with it. The taste is much better with it.You will need double the amount of juice and will have to boil it to reduce it. So 10 cups of juice boiled and reduced to make 5 cups and then used, will give a wonderful taste to these Kandvi.

Ingredients:

 1 cup Rice rawa or regular big grain rawa/sooji/semolina
1 tblsp ghee
1 +1/4 cup jaggery* 
1 tblsp grated ginger
1 cup grated fresh coconut
pinch of salt
1/4 tsp grated nutmeg/jaiphal (optional)
4 to 5 cups water
1/2 cup chopped mixed nuts (optional)
*These are not very sweet but if you prefer it you can add more jagery.

Keep water to boil in a steel pan/ vessel and add jagerry salt and grated ginger to the water. Once the water boils lower the heat and let it simmer till the rawa is done. The water should simmer at least 5 to 7 minutes after jaggery melts.
Heat a heavy bottom pan/kadhai on medium heat on the other stove and add ghee and let it melt. Add rawa and roast till light golden brown in colour. Now add the grated fresh coconut and roast for about 5 minutes or till you get the roasted coconut smell.
Now add the hot water to the hot rawa and stir quickly so no lumps form. Be very careful when you add the water. Mixture will start to thicken almost immediately. Cover and cook for 10 minutes on low heat. Stir once.

 Pour in a greased tray and shake the tray to level and smoothen it. Leave it to cool. You can  sprinkle chopped nuts as soon as it is poured in the tray to make it richer. I didn't use as I prefer plain.

 Cut into squares or diamond when cool.

 Serve with fresh grated coconut and a spoonful of ghee. 
This can be served at room temperature or cold.




This is my 4th regional recipe.








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