Gujarat -- Mini Thali

Blogging Marathon# 39 - Indian States: Day 8
State: Gujarat
Dish: Mini Gujarati Thali

Gujarat is a state in the North-Western coast of India. It is known locally as Jewel of the West. Gujarat is the home of many many freedom fighters like Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Vallabhai Patel, successful entreprenuers like Dhirubhai Ambani (Reliance Industries), Azim Premji (Wipro Limited) and Jamsetji Tata. Gujarat played an important role in the economic history of India.

Cuisine: Gujarat is primarily a vegetarian cuisine due to the influence of Jain vegetarianism and traditional Hinduism. When i think of Gujarat, I think of the wide variety of dishes they have. There are so many snack items, so many breads, so many of everything. Gujaratis travel with bags full of snacks wherever they go and most of them are probably homemade. Adding a little sugar or jaggery to some of the dishes is common in Gujarat, the sweet flavor is believed to neutralize the slightly bland taste of the vegetables. Sweets (desserts) are extremely popular too in Gujarat.

Staple Food: Wheat, Rice, Lentils

Specialties: There are hundreds of Gujarati specialties, here are a few: Handvo, Muthia, Patra, Undhiyu, Khandvi, Dhokla, Kachori so on and so on.

Today's Dish(es): I wanted to try more than one dish from this amazing cuisine and with the time I had, I made a mini thali with simple and everyday Gujarati dishes. I have some good Gujarati friends and was lucky enough to enjoy their delicious home cooked dishes. Most of the dishes look so simple to make, but they are tricky and need some practice to make them perfect like Khandvi, Dhokla, Handvo etc.

For my thali, here's what I made:

• Simple Gujarati Bhindi nu shaak (Okra Curry)
• Sev Tamatar nu Shaak (Tomato Curry)
• Gujarati Aloo nu shaak (Potato curry)
• Gujarati Osaman Dal
• Lauki Muthiya
• Jeera Rice

Gujarati Bhindi nu Shaak: I added spices that my Gujarati friends used to use in their dry curry recipes to make this simple curry.

Ingredients:

Okra - 12~15, washed, dried and chopped (I used frozen okra)

Ground Coriander - ½tsp 

Ground Cumin - ½tsp
Red Chili powder - ½tsp
Garam Masala - ½tsp
Cumin seeds - ½tsp
Mustard seeds - ½tsp
Salt - to taste

Method:

• Heat 1tbsp oil in a nonstick skillet; add the cumin and mustard seeds and once the seeds start to splutter, add the okra and mix well. Cook until okra is cooked through and slightly crispy around the edges.
• Add all the dry masalas and mix well, cook for another 1~2 minutes.

Sev Tamatar nu Shaak: Recipe courtesy Rajani @ mykitchentrials.

Ingredients:
Tomatoes - 3 medium, chopped
Chili powder - ½tsp
Ground coriander - ¼tsp
Ground Cumin - ¼tsp
Sugar - 1tsp
Sev - ½cup (I used store bought)
Mustard seeds - 1tsp
Asafoetida/ Hing - a pinch
Salt - to taste

Method:

• Heat 2tsp oil in a saute pan; add the mustard seeds and hing. Once the seeds start to splutter, add the tomatoes and cook covered until the tomatoes turn mushy. 
• Add the dry masalas, sugar and salt. Mix well and cook for 1~2 minutes. 
• Add the sev just before serving.

Gujarati Osaman Dal: This is a very flavorful dish which is sweet, tangy and crunchy.

Recipe adapted from DK's Chefinyou.
Ingredients:
Masoor dal - ½cup
Peanuts - ¼cup
Jaggery - 2tbsp
Tamarind paste - 1~1½tbsp
Turmeric - ¼tsp
Green chilies - 2~3, chopped
Curry leaves - 8~10
Mustard seeds - 1tsp
Cumin seeds - 1tsp
Fenugreek seeds - ¼tsp
Asafoetida/ Hing - a pinch
Salt - to taste

Method:

• Pressure cook masoor dal until soft and mushy.
• Once done, add peanuts, jaggery, tamarind paste, turmeric and salt to dal and simmer for 3~4 minutes.
• Heat 2tsp oil in a small pan, add mustard, cumin seeds and fenugreek seeds and once the seeds start to splutter, add the hing and curry leaves. Add this to the dal and Enjoy!!

Gujarati Batata nu Shaak: This is a very simple potato curry. I boiled a potato, peeled and diced it. Then cooked it in a little bit of oil with mustard seeds, red chili powder and salt. Finally tossed some sesame seeds just before turning off the heat.

Lauki Muthiya: Recipe is here.

Lets check out what my fellow marathoners have cooked today for BM# 39.

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