कोळ (Goan kol)

कोळ is a dish originally from coastal Goa and Maharashtra. It's made with coconut milk and spices. It's a great accompaniment with rice, or can be simply served as a cool soup along with a regular homemade meal. It's a great dish for hot summers!

Since our ancestors moved out of Goa towards central India many generations ago, the recipe here is recreated using normal cow milk instead of coconut milk. 

What do I need??

500 ml cold milk (boiled and cooled). Can be replaced by coconut milk

1 cup chopped onion 

1/2 cup grated dry coconut (fresh coconut can be used, in that case use less sugar)

10-12 peppercorns

2 tbsp ghee

1/4 tsp Amchur powder

1/2 tbsp sugar

1/4 tsp mustard seeds

Red chilli powder to taste

Salt to taste

What are the steps??

1. Make sure that the milk is cooled in refrigerator before using for the dish. It will taste really good.

2. Heat ghee and add onions and a pink of salt. Add peppercorns along with it. 

3. Once the onion is light pink and soft, add the grated dry coconut and mix together well.

4. Once coconut is slightly roasted, switch off the heat and let the mixture cool down. Make a coarse paste of this mixture once it cools down completely.

5. Now add sugar, salt, amchur powder to the milk and mix well. 

6. Add the paste to the milk and mix well together. कोळ is ready. 
Now, let's prepare the tempering now.

 

For the tempering.

1. Heat a tablespoon of ghee. 

2. Add mustard seeds. Once they start sputtering, switch off the heat and add hing (asofoteda) and red chilli powder. Add the tempering to the कोळ.

 

Enjoy with hot rice on a warm summer day!  

 

Any tips??

1. Amchur powder is added to the milk so that it doesn't spoil it. Adding tamarind or lemon will spoil the milk.

Shrikhand

Shrikhand is a traditional Indian sweet dish made with hung curd. Its mostly prepared in Maharashtra during Holi and Gudi Padwa (Maharashtrian new year). It's one of the most yummy and refreshing desserts. This recipe will make around 4-6 bowls of shrikhand, depending on the thickness of the curd.

What do I need??

1.5 lt thick Curd
2 cups powdered sugar
2-3 pinch of saffron strands
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg powder
1 cup finely chopped mixed dry fruits, like pistachios, cashews and almonds

What are the steps??

Preparing Hung curd or Chakka

1. First line a strainer with a muslin or soft cotton cloth and place it on a deep bowl.
2. Pour the curd into the lined strainer. Bring the edges of the cloth together and tie into a tight knot.
3. Gently press and make sure that whey is dripping out.
4. Now hang the cloth on hook, cabinet handle or refrigerator handle, so that the whey is allowed to drip down. Place a big bowl to collect the whey and leave the curd hanging for 5-6 hours or over night.
5. The hung curd prepared this way will be rich and creamy. With this 1.5 lt curd, you should get around 500-600 gms hung curd. But this may not be exact measure, it will depend on the thickness of the curd. Keep it in the refrigerator.

Preparing Shrikand

1. Take 1 tablespoon warm milk and add the strands of Saffron to that. Let it rest for sometime for the saffron to leave its natural colour.

2. Add the powdered sugar to the hung curd or chakka slowly and keep mixing well. You can also use an electric mixer for the same. The sugar should get completely dissolved in the curd and the mixture should be smooth and creamy. Add sugar according to taste. 

3. Add the saffron, nutmeg powder and dry fruits and mix well. The Shrikhand is ready to be served.

Any tips??

1. Add cardomom powder if nutmeg is not available
2. Add a bit of cold milk if consistency is too thick.