Techa / ठेचा /ठेचा (Spicy Pounded Mixture of Garlic,Green Chili and Groundnuts)

Techa

Techa basically means pounded to coarseness. In Maharashtra a spicy very hot mixture is prepared from garlic, green chili and groundnut by pounding them together, thus it has got the name Techa. Now a days since pounding equipment like mortar and pestle have become rarity in Indian households thus grinder / mixer is used for making the coarse paste of Techa. Techa is eaten along with Jowar roti and Pithala (Thick broth of black gram flour). Even though it is very spicy and hot yet it is quite healthy as it contains garlic, green chili and groundnut. It can be stored for 7-10 days outside the fridge, but believe me it will be polished off before that time.

Preparation Time: 15 min

Cooking Time: 10 min

Servings: 10 very small helpings

Ingredients Required For Making Techa:

• 50 gm. Garlic

Peeled Garlic

• 50 gm. Green chili

Green Chilies

• 50 gm. Groundnut

• 0.5 ml. Oil

• Salt to taste

Directions For Making Techa:

• Peel and cut the garlic.

Garlic peeled and cut to pieces

• Wash, dry and cut green chilies.

• Roast the groundnuts.

Roasted Groundnuts

• Remove the peel of groundnut.

Roasted and cleaned Groundnuts

• Heat 1/2ml. oil in a thick wok and when oil is hot put green chili pieces and garlic pieces in it and cook for 4-5 min. with continuous stirring.

Garlic and Green Chili pieces being cooked in 0.5 ml. Oil

• The green chilies will change the color and garlic will start getting brown color.

• Add a teaspoon of salt and mix.

• Remove from heat and allow to them cool. 

Cooked Green chilies and Garlic

• Take cooked garlic-green chili mixture and roasted groundnuts in a grinder/ mixer and make a coarse paste without adding water.

Techa

• If you have grinding stone / pastel then pound the mixture to thick coarse paste. Techa made by pounding on a grinding stone / pastel  tastes authentic, but most of us make it in mixer / grinder now a days.

Tips:

• Green chilies and garlic can be cooked without cutting also.

• Water should not be added at any stage of cooking.

Suggested Variations:

• The amount of green chilies can be increased according to your liking as well as the hotness of chilies.

• Roasted sesame seeds can be added to the Techa after the Techa mixture has been pounded / ground to coarse paste.

Home made Ginger-Garlic Paste/घर में बनाएं अदरक लहसुन का पेस्ट

Ginger-Garlic Paste

Ginger and garlic are the two spices which are very often required during vegetarian as well as non-vegetarian cooking. There are times that even a house wife finds it taxing to make fresh paste of ginger and garlic every time it is required for cooking. Working ladies and mothers with small children are always stretched for time. I was a working young mother staying in cantonment area, thus had to plan, preserve and economize while running of the house hold, for there used to be times when even simple thing like garlic or ginger would not be available. I used to purchase ginger and garlic in bulk, and make the paste in large quantity at home. That is when I realized that apart from being pure, unadulterated ginger-garlic paste it was proving to be very economical and certainly the taste imparted to the dish by this pate would be exactly like fresh paste. 32 years of my married life and I have yet to purchase marketed Ginger paste, Garlic paste or Ginger-Garlic paste.

I strongly recommend for all of you to atleast try it once to know the benefit of home made spices.

Preparation Time: 15 min.

Making Time: 10 min
Servings: 500 gm. Ginger-garlic Paste.

Ingredients Required For Making Ginger-Garlic Paste:

• 250 gm. Ginger

• 250 gm. Garlic
• 10 ml. Cooking oil (I use sunflower oil) 

• 100 ml. Vinegar (preferably fruit vinegar than synthetic vinegar)

Grape vinegar

Directions For Making Ginger-Garlic Paste:

• Wash ginger thoroughly to remove all soil and dirt attached to it.

• Dry the washed ginger with the help of a towel / cloth.

• Peel the washed and dried ginger 

Peeled Ginger

•  Cut / grate the peeled ginger.

Peeled and Cut Ginger

•  Peel garlic and wash the peeled garlic to make sure no soil or any other dirt is attached to peeled garlic cloves.

• Dry the peeled and washed garlic with the help of towel/cloth.

Peeled Garlic

• Cut peeled, washed, dried garlic to small pieces.

Peeled and Cut Garlic

•  Take the cut garlic and ginger in a mixer/grinder.

• Add 50 ml. of vinegar and grind to smooth paste.

• If required then add remainder of vinegar in small portion.

Ginger and Garlic made to paste in Grape Vinegar

• Add cooking oil and pulse for 30 sec. 
• Store this ginger-garlic paste in a glass bottle.

Ginger-Garlic Paste

•  Store it in the fridge for 3-4 months also and it will neither loose its flavor not go bad.

• If you are taking fruit vinegar then the paste may change color slightly, but not to worry it is the fruit in the vinegar causing the color change, flavor will not change.

• If stored outside , not in fridge then the paste will last for a month minimum, because vinegar acts as preservative.

Tips:

• Any oil with strong taste and flavor should be avoided because it will leave it's own taste and flavor in ginger-garlic paste. 
• Fruit vinegar not only acts as a preservative but also adds nutrition so preferably use fruit vinegar.

• Make sure ginger and garlic are clean and dried before you cut them.

• Do not add water while grinding, always use vinegar. If you do not want to use fruit vinegar then take synthetic white vinegar, but water never.

• Make sure the container in which you are storing the paste is clean and complete dry.

Suggested Variations:

•  Ginger-Garlic paste can be stored in airtight good quality plastic containers also.

Ginger-Garlic Paste in Airtight Container

• Ginger and garlic after cleaning and cutting can be ground separately to made ginger paste and garlic paste.

• You can change the ratio of ginger and garlic from 1:1 to the ratio of your choice and taste.

• White vinegar can be taken instead of fruit vinegar.