Khattu Mag

OK! It's celebration time in my kitchen! Does it happen to you? You are looking for a certain spice with it's 'potency' still in tact but it isn't within your reach for a long long time. Well yesterday one of the spices which is very dear to me and my cooking was gifted to me by a dear friend. What could it be? Well it is "hing" (asafoetida).

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Go to any desi store and you will find not one, but multiple brands of this spice, with huge number of bottles and cans systematically arranged one atop another. So why am I celebrating getting this simple and humble spice. Well, what I wanted was the "real' stuff, not the powder with wheat flour mixed in, and sure did I get it. I got about two pieces of 1" each, which will last a long time. The aroma of fresh hing is mind boggling. As soon as I open the dainty box that I put it in, the aroma wafts through the whole kitchen and I love it. For the tadka I just scrape a tiny bit into the oil and the aroma pervades my hands, for what feels like eternity. A little bit of OCD never harmed anyone!

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Anyway, just wanted to share this 'event' with all my blog buddies. Those who have used it will know what I'm talking about, those who have not, do try to get it if possible. If not, the ever faithful 'hing in a box' comes to the rescue ;-)
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'Khattu' in Gujarati means sour and Mag is whole moong. (Khattu is pronounced as 'kha' from 'khana' and 'too' and Mag is pronounced as 'mug' ) . The word 'khattu' itself makes my taste buds salivate. I do like 'khatta' dishes but nothing compared to my lil' sis, who is a total khatai fan. She can gobble up tons of 'imli' with me screaming in the background "don't eat it, you will get a sore throat", not that she listens ;-). A lot of natural souring agents are used in Indian dishes, curds, tamarind, tomatoes, lemon, kokam, anardana and amchur to name a few. The 'khatai' can elevate a regular dish to new levels which you never thought possible. Khattu Mag uses 'dahi' as the souring agent.
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Here is how I make it.
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1/2 cup whole moong
1.5 cup curds (dahi)
2 tbsp besan
1 tsp ginger & green chilli paste (as per your spice level)
1 tsp sugar/jaggery
1tbsp oil
Rai, jeera, hing, curry leaves, 4 cloves, 1' cinnamon piece, 1/4tsp methi seeds.
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Soak whole moong for about 2 to 3 hours, this reduces the cooking time. If pressed for time, can pressure cook it directly as well. Boil till soft with salt. Drain, but do not throw away the nutritious water, reserve it.
Mix curds, besan, haldi, ginger-chili paste with 1.5 cups water and reserved liquid from moong.
Heat oil, add rai, jeera, hing, cloves, cinnamon, methi, curry leaves. Add dahi mix and cook till besan loses it's raw taste. Add boiled moong and simmer for a few minutes. Adjust the consistency as per your liking.
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Enjoy this delicious goodness with rice or roti and some pickle on the side!
It's finger licking good!
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