Masale Bhaat
This dish smells like India to me.
Out of all the Indian food I cook on a regular basis, the spices and coconut in this “spiced rice” dish smell the best when cooking. It reminds me of being in a house in Pune.
Masale bhaat is is basically a Maharashtrian version of a vegetable pulao. You can eat it as a base for curries, or, if you are like me, you can eat it by itself,with yogurt. I could eat this simple meal several times a week — and sometimes I do, when my husband is out of town (I like Indian food more than he does).
While there are likely hundreds of thousands of ways to make masale bhaat (e.g. some people add eggplant or other veggies into it), I like this recipe because it’s SIMPLE. Don’t be discouraged by the rather long list of ingredients — it’s actually pretty quick to throw together, and it’s hard to mess up.
Masale Bhaat in the pot
Masale Bhaat (spiced rice)
Ingredients
* 1 cup rice
* 1/4 cup peas
* 1 cinnamon stick
* Several curry leaves (4)
* 1/2 tsp. mustard seeds
* 1/2 tsp. cumin seeds
* 3 Tbsp. unsweetened shredded coconut
* 1/4 tsp. turmeric (I always add a pinch more)
* 1/8 tsp. black pepper
* 2 cardamom pods, crushed (or a few shakes of ground cardamom)
* 1 green chili
* 1 tsp. lemon juice
* 1+1/2 tsp. brown sugar
* pinch of asofoetida
* 2 cups water
* salt to taste
* cilantro and more coconut flakes for garnish
Directions
1. Soak rice for about 20 minutes, and rinse under cold water.
2. Heat a bit of oil or ghee (or butter) in a large pot. Add mustard seeds, and when they start to pop, throw in the curry leaves, cumin seeds, asofoetida, cinnamon stick, black pepper and turmeric. After a minute, add the coconut and cardamom powder, and stir, making sure not to burn anything.
3. Fry for a couple minutes, and then add rice. Stir and leave for a minute. Then add 2 cups of water, green chili, peas and rice, and stir together. When it starts to simmer, add lemon juice and brown sugar, cover, and cook until the rice is ready (don’t overcook!).
4. Garnish with cilantro and more coconut flakes, if desired. Serve with yogurt, or whatever else you want.
