Priya of Mahro Rajasthan's Recipes and Reshmi of Rasoi came up with the wonderful idea of starting a friendship chain in USA and CANADA for food bloggers and non-food bloggers and hence was born Maitri. To know more about maitri and be a part of it click on the banner right side.

Masale Bhaat is a maharashtrian rice dish usually made during the weddings. This is the marathi version of our vegetable pulao which is very spicy and flavourful.The reason i made masale bhaat for maitri was the mystery ingredient. Rajee Mani of Everyday Cooking was the wonderful lady matched with me for maitri, she sent me a package consisting of beautiful place mats, a card and the mystery ingredient. When i first looked in to it i thought it was some kind of masala powder and my guess was either biryani masala or five spice powder. I mailed rajee and it was a no, so i asked rajee to reveal the ingredient. She mailed me saying that it was Goda Masala, a popular spice blend widely used in maharashtrian dishes. Goda Masala is made with a mix of many spices that includes coconut, just a spoonful adds so much flavour to the dish.
Thanks Rajee for introducing me to Goda Masala and the wonderful gifts!


My job next was to cook a dish that has Goda Masala and blog about it. Since this was the first time i have heard about or seen Goda Masala it was hard to cook a dish with it. I found this Masale Bhaat at Madhura's recipes and made few changes to the original recipe.

Masale Bhaat : adapted from madhura's Recipes
serves 2 - 4

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups basmati rice, washed and soaked in water for 20 minutes
1 cup vegetables of your choice
1 large onion, chopped
1 tomato, chopped
2 green chilies, halved
1 tsp ginger garlic paste
2 t red chili powder
1 t turmeric powder
1 T goda masala
2 T roasted peanuts
1 bayleaf
salt, to taste
2 1/2 cups water
oil
ghee

To dry roast and powder

2 t coriander seeds
1 t cumin seeds
1 inch piece cinnamon stick
3 cloves

Method

Heat oil and ghee in a pan, add bayleaf, green chilles and onion, saute until onion changes color. Add ginger garlic paste and saute for a minute.

Add turmeric powder, red chilli powder, goda masala and the roasted masala powder, mix well for a minute.

Add the vegetables, salt , sprinkle some water and cook for 5 minutes.

Mix in the rice along with tomato, peanuts and water, check for salt. Bring it to a boil and cook on high heat for 5 minutes. Close the lid and cook on a low flame for another 10 minutes or until the rice is done.

Mix gently, serve hot with raita.

For Goda Masala recipe visit Madhura's Recipe

Chow Mein is a Chinese term for a dish of stir-fried noodles. It is so versatile that you can prepare them in so many ways and you can never go wrong. Chow mein in the US is often made with onion, celery and some protein. It is also a very popular take-out item in many Chinese restaurant.

Ingredients:

1 package chow mein noodles
1 cup onion, thinly sliced
2 cups carrot, thinly sliced
2 cups carrot, thinly sliced
1 cup scallions, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
3 t vegetable oil
2 t sesame oil
3 T soy sauce
2 T roasted red chilli paste
1 t rice wine vinegar
3 T hoisin sauce
1 t pepper powder
salt to taste

Method:

Cook the chow mein according to package instructions, drain and drizzle sesame oil, mix well and keep aside.

Mix all the sauces together along with pepper powder, salt and keep aside.

Heat oil in a wok or heavy bottom pan, add onion, garlic and fry. Add in the vegetables and stir fry on high heat until the vegetables are half done and crisp.

Add the noodles and the sauce mix, stir well to coat and check for salt.

Mix in the scallions and serve hot.