Kolhapuri Kat Vada

My home town Kolhapur is most famous for 3 things. Kolhapuri Chappal, Sukka Mutton and chamchamit Misal. Until recently there were very few fast food joints in the city for the simple fact that if people were hungry, they would go and eat Misal any hour of the day. If it is lunch or dinner you have sukka mutton and bhakri as the preferred choice. While I will feature Kolhapuri sukka mutton and tambda rassa in a different article, I will show you how to make the “Kat” for the misal. This Kat can also be used with “Batata vada” to make “Kat- vada”.

Ingredients:

1 brown onion

½ cup freshly grated coconut

4 cloves of garlic

½ inch ginger

¼ cup coriander leaves

4 pods of cardamom

½ teaspoon of fennel seeds

2 sticks of cinnamon

½ teaspoon of coriander seeds

½ teaspoon of cumin seeds

¼ teaspoon of black pepper

2 star anises

½ cup of milk

2 tablespoon of kanda lasun masala

½ teaspoon of turmeric

salt

600 ml of water

5 tablespoon cooking oil

Preparation time: 15 mins

Cooking time: 15 mins

In a pan roast the cardamom, fennel seeds, coriander seeds, cumin seeds and black pepper and set aside. In the same pan roast the coconut until golder brown and set aside.

Add little bit of oil to the pan and saute the chopped onion until golden brown.

In a blender add the roasted spices, turmeric, star anise, roasted coconut, onion, coriander leaves, garlic and ginger and blend to make a fine paste.

In a pan add the remaining oil and add the kanda lasun masala to the oil and saute for ½ minute'

Adding the kanda-lasun masal at this stage ensure that you get the “tavanga” for the misal. If you do not have the kanda lasun masala substitute it with red chilli powder however add the red chilli powder while blending all the masala.

Saute the masala until oil starts separating and add the milk. Adding the milk was a tip, I picked up from my mother in law. Although milk seemed out of place in the recipe the first time I heard of it, it tapered down the spices a fair bit leaving the tavanga and the colour as it is. Let it simmer for 2-3 minutes and then add the water. Let the “Kat” boil for about 4-5 minutes and add some salt to taste.

For making Kat vada, halve the batata Vada in bowl and pour the cut over the vada. Garnish with chopped onion and juice of lemon.