Bhogichi bhaji..Maharashtrian mix veg& beans curry
- What is Bhogi?
Bhogi!! A festival celebrated all over india but with different names.. people in west & south call it bhogi wheras its well known as Lohri in north.Its all about celebrating the new beginnings. People usually bring out all the unwanted , bad, old things out of the house to clear and clean house . A bonfire is lit to burn it all.Actually these are the last few days of winter so the fire helps to warm people up as well as bring them together to celebrate. Its celebration of harvest , praying to ‘Lord Indra (Bhog)‘ –God of rain..to thank him for the crop. sSo basically for farms it should be the time when fires are lit to burn leftover or unwanted parts of crop.
When is it celebrated?
Its usually celebrated on 13th of January the day preceding Makar sankranti…its the day when Sun starts his journey to Makara (Capricorn) ,hence beginning the days filled with more sunshine.
The food :
Some parts have sweets made on this day like Patishapta or coconut laddos in East , whereas some parsts enjoy the bliss of winter along with the harvest produce. We’ve rice-lentil preparation or some winter greens.
- Bhogichi Bhaji:
Bhaji is a dry curry from Maharashtra.. the curry is made with fresh seasonal produce and together they make a mix veggie curry which is far different in taste and flavours than the normal mix veg curry served anywhere else. Fava beans, green chickpeas, jujubes ,sugarcane are some ingredients which cant not be missed in this. Well, if we cant find any of the veggies, it doent make huge difference but together they all are delicious!
My memories:
At place where I grew up, mums used to make thali (platter) to share with everyone in neighbourhood . This might be to taste everyones food, meeting people on festivity as well help food reach the unprivileged ones i believe!
As I always say recipes change from home to home, I remember Aai (mum) adding green sorrel (Chuka) in the curry giving it a slight sour taste .The curry needs to be succulent with the veggies coated with thickened gravy.
Start by choosing , cleaning and chopping fruits as well as vegetables.
Paste made of some ingredients for that lovely coating gravy.
To start make tempering (tadka) & later add onion and tomatoes .
Afterwards, add prepared paste which needs to be sautéed well.
The dry masalas like chilli powder, coriander-cumin powder, turmeric ,salt as well as little piece of jaggery.
Add in vegetables go in steps..the more time taking one should go early, followed by rest of them.Add enough water for vegetables to cook and cover.
Final addition of goda (or garam) masala and coriander @/or freshly scrapped coconut .Traditionally served with bajari (pearl millet) roti, yogurt, sesame chutney, spring onions , tilgul (sesame brittle).
: Recipe Card :
| Prep Time | 10 minutes |
| Cook Time | 20 minutes |
| Passive Time | 0 |
| Servings |
people
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- 1/2 medium onion
- 1 inch ginger piece
- 9-10 cloves garlic
- 1/2 cup dry desiccated coconut
- 7-8 curry leaves
- 3-4 springs coriander
- 1 cup fava beans or any other beans
- 1 cup green chickpeas ( or soaked black chickpeas)
- 1 cup peas ( fresh or frozen)
- 3 medium carrots
- 5-6 jujubes ( ber/ bor)
- 1/4 cup peanuts
- 1 cup greens-- sorrel green / fenugreek (methi)/spinach
- 1 long drumstick
- 3-4 baby brinjals
- 1/2 medium onion--sliced
- 1 small tomato--finely chopped
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1/4 tsp asafoetida
- 1 tsp Red chilli powder or more to taste
- 1/2 tsp cumin powder
- 1/2 tsp coriander powder
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 1/2 tsp salt--or to taste
- 1 small piece of jaggery (optional)
- 1 tsp Goda masala (or Garam masala)
- 1 Tbsp oil
- few sprigs of coriander
- freshly scrapped coconut
Ingredients
To be made into paste
fruits,Vegetables and beans
Spices
Garnish
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- Choose, clean and chop vegetables to desired shape.Keep them separate as they need to be added at different times.
- Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds, cumin seeds and asafoetida. Next goes in little freshly chopped coriander, curry leaves and onion-tomato. Saute for a minute.
- Prepare paste with ingredients listed under 'to be made into paste.' Add the paste to the pan and cook for 3-4 minutes. Mixture doesn't need to cook longer as it will cook further with vegetables.
- Add red chilli powder, coriander - cumin powder, salt, turmeric, jaggery. Saute .Add in carrots, beans, drumsticks, chickpeas and 1 1/2 cups water . Mix well and cover to cook.
- Check in between and after 3-4 minutes, add in rest of the vegetables.Add more water if needed.
- Check if vegetables are done..takes around 5-7 minutes.If vegetables are cooked, add in goda masala. Garnish with coriander and coconut. Serve hot with Bajara roti/ plain roti/ rice.
- If you would like to make the curry green, substitute red chilli powder with green chillies and add more quantity of greens. Green chillies can be added while making paste.
- Sorrel leaves have own sour taste so no need of added sourness. If you cant find sorrel leaves, add 1 tsp of tamarind pulp or lemon juice.
- Vegetables used are usually baby ones and fresh so they little time to cook.If making curry in different season, time needed may vary.
- No hard and fast rule to add goda / garam masala..the curries made at rural areas don't have masalas in it but they have the farm freshness to it.
- If you like more gravy, just add 1/2 can of coconut milk before the last boil.
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