Name: Kolhapuri Masala Rice - An important component of every Maharashtrian Thaali
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 40 min
Ingredients: 6 black peppers; 2 cloves; 1 cup basmati rice; 1 brown cardamom; 1 ½ tsp caraway seeds; 1 inch cinnamon; 1 large or 2 small bay leaves; 1 medium size or 125g sliced onion; 5 green cardamom; 3 small size or 2 medium size green chilli; 1 ½ medium size or 140g tomato, chopped; 2 large or 9g garlic cloves; 1 tsp salt; 2 ½ tbsp ghee; 1 ¾ cup water; ½ inch or 4g ginger piece; ¼ cup chopped coriander

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Details

Servings

4 servings

Prep time

10 minutes

Cooking time

30 minutes

Calories

145.4 kcal

Kolhapuri masala rice is a perfect thaali recipe. Not too strong and not bland either. It is just ideal with right amount of spices in it.

This rice works best with Indian vegetarian and non-vegetarian gravy curries. But many times you will find me enjoying this dish on its own. All the ingredients required for this dish can be easily found in any Indian kitchen. And though I name it ‘Kolhapuri masala rice’, I have not used my Kolhapuri masala. The dish gets its name from the way it is prepared which is unique to the city of Kolhapur.

About Kolhapuri Masala Rice

Kolhapuri masala rice is a commonly dish found in non-vegetarian thaalis in and around the city of Kolhapur. The combination of spicy and flavorful chicken or mutton gravy with this masala rice is phenomenal. It perfectly compliments Kolhapuri Chicken Sukka I shared earlier.

There are several masala rice recipes in Indian cuisine, each with their own unique taste. Many of them use similar spices. And yet they taste different and are equally delicious. The subtle differences in the quantity of spices and the preparation methods gives this dish its variety in taste and texture. Consider the recipe for Masale Bhaat with Koshimbir that I had shared earlier as an example. That was a sattvic recipe prepared without using any onion and garlic. While Kolhapuri masala rice has a decent mix of onion and garlic. Both are unique in their own way.

Kolhapuri masala rice gets its unique taste and aroma from the use of manually crushed ginger, garlic, green chilli, cardamom and caraway seeds using a mortar and pestle. You can of course use readymade paste and powders. But for best results I’ll strongly recommend doing it manually together. Nothing beats fresh ingredients. The natural juices and oil released when creating fresh paste gives this dish a remarkable flavor and aroma. But you do not have to take my word for it. Experience it yourself and let me know the difference.

You can further enhance this dish by adding soaked cashews. So try out this recipe and let me know if this was your tummy to heart moment..

Kolhapuri Masala Rice

Ingredients

6 black peppers
2 cloves
1 cup basmati rice
1 brown cardamom
1 ½ tsp caraway seeds
1 inch cinnamon
1 large or 2 small bay leaves
1 medium size or 125g sliced onion
5 green cardamom
3 small size or 2 medium size green chilli
1 ½ medium size or 140g tomato, chopped
2 large or 9g garlic cloves
1 tsp salt
2 ½ tbsp ghee
1 ¾ cup water
½ inch or 4g ginger piece
¼ cup chopped coriander

Directions

In a mortar add green chilli, green cardamom, caraway seeds, ginger and garlic. Crush all these ingredients together with a pestle. Then keep it aside for further use.
Note : crush them finely.
Next in a pan add ghee and heat it.
Once ghee is hot, add whole spices like black pepper, brown cardamom, cloves, bay leaf and cinnamon. Sauté the spices for few seconds.
Then add crushed mix from mortar and blend it for few seconds.
Next add sliced onion. Sauté it till onion becomes translucent.
Later add tomato and cook till it becomes soggy.
Next add rice and saute it. Saute till rice becomes dry and brittle.
Then add coriander and salt. Mix it.
Next add water and stir.
Then cover the pan and cook for 15 minutes on medium flame.
15 minutes later turn off the heat and uncover the pan.
Your Kolhapuri Masala Rice is ready to be served.