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.

Dal - Methi (Thick soup of Split Pigeon Peas (Tur /Arhar daal) ) with Fresh Fenugreek leafs)

Dal-Methi with Rice and Palak ka kapa (Spinach vegetable)

Dal-Methi (Thick soup of Split Red Gram with Fresh Fenugreek leaves)

In Maharashtra dal-Methi and dal-Palak are very popular preparation of either Tur dal with Methi / Palak. Highly nutritious preparation and makes a complete meal when taken with Chapatti / Bhakri (roti made from Jowar flour) / Rice. I would say that apart from being tasty it gives an ample opportunity for mothers to make the children eat green leafy vegetable without cribbing.

Try this preparation of dal rather than the regular dal and you and your family will love it.

 Preparation Time: 10 min.

Cooking Time: 30 min

Servings:4 Large Servings

Ingredients Required For Making Dal-Methi:

• 100 gm. Tur dal

• 1/2Bunch of (Medium size) Fresh Methi leaves

• 2 Medium size Tomatoes

Tomatoes

• 3-4 Cloves of Garlic

Garlic cloves

• 3cm. Piece of Ginger

Washed and cleaned Ginger

• 2 Green Chilies

Green Chilies

• 1/4Tea spoon Mustard seeds

• 1/2Tea spoon Cumin seeds

• 1/2Tea spoon Turmeric Powder

• 1 Tea spoon Ghee / Oil

• 1/2Tea spoon Red chili Powder

• Salt to taste

• 300 ml. water

Directions For Making Dal-Methi:

• Wash dal nicely till water from washing comes out clean

• In a pressure cooker take

• Washed dal

• Water

• Salt

• Turmeric powder

• Close the lid of the cooker and Keep it on gas on high flame till pressure is built in the pressure cooker.

• Lower the flame and cook the dal for 10 min.

• Switch off the gas and allow the cooker to cool.

 Boiled Tur dal

• While the dal is cooking wash drain and cut the fenugreek sprigs (methi) finely.

Methi leaves cut finely

• Cut / grate the tomato or make the tomatoes to paste in a mixer.

• Peel and cut garlic finely.

• Grate ginger.

• Cut green chilies finely.

Finely cut green chilies

• Take oil in a thick bottom wok and heat on high flame till the oil is smoking hot.

Oil being heated in a wok

• Lower the flame when the oil is smoking hot.

• Put mustard seeds and let them splutter.

• Add

• Cumin seeds

• Finely cut garlic

• Finely cut green chilies

• Grated ginger

Ginger,Garlic,Green chilies added

• Cook for 1 min. so that all spices get cooked in oil on low flame.

• Add finely cut / grated / paste of tomato and cook on low flame till the mixture starts leaving the edges of wok.

Tomato added to rest of the spices

Tomato and spices cooked and ready for Methi to be added

• Add finely cut methi leaves and cook for 2 min.

Methi added to the Tomato and spices mixture

Methi cooked with tomato and spices and dal to be added

• Add red chili powder and mix.

• Add boiled dal and mix nicely.

Dal added to methi,tomato and spices mixture

• Give the mixture a boil and then take out in a serving bowl.

• Dal-methi is ready to be taken with Rice / roti.

Dal - Methi ready to be served

Dal-Methi

Dal-Methi Palak ka Kapa and Rice

Tips:

• Do not cook the spices mixture for a long time after adding Methi, otherwise the color of methi will change and will not look too appealing.

• Dal should be cook very nicely so that the grains of dal are not separately seen in dal - methi.

• Do not boil the dal methi after adding boiled dal to the methi and spices mixture.

Suggested Variations:

• Split red lentil (masoor daal) can be used instead of tur dal. 
• Garlic ginger paste can be taken instead of grated / cut garlic and ginger.

• Whole red chili can be taken instead of green chili.

• After the dal is taken out in the serving bowl seasoning (tadaka) can be done by 

• Heating one tea spoon Oil

• Adding
•  One whole red chili,
• 4-5Kadi patta, and 

Kadi Patta (Curry leaves)

• Mustard seeds,
• Cook it till seeds splutter and red chili become brown.
• Pour this seasoning on the dal-Methi.