Zunka – An Authentic Maharashtra dish

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Let us see how to make an authentic dish from Maharashtra, an Indian State – Zunka. The name sounds interesting, right?

Shhhh Cooking Secretly Challenge

I tried this Maharashtrian dish for an FB group. I have earlier said about this group where we will be paired with other fellow bloggers. They give you two secret ingredients to make the particular regional dish. So you should have guessed by now that this month’s theme was a dish from Maharashtra. I was paired with Renu, a lovely blogger who blogs at CookwithRenu. She gave me the secret ingredients Onion and Green Chili. In turn, I gave her two ingredients, chana dal and red chili powder with which she made delicious Chana dal Chataka

Maharashtra is the most industrialized state in India. It occupies the western and central parts of the country. It has a varied range of cuisines which have mild to spicy foods. Its staple food consists of wheat, jowar, bajri, lentils, and vegetables. Some of the popular dishes are Puran Poli, Batata vada, Misal Pav, and Pav bhaji. From this wide range of foods, I chose Zunka to make with the secret ingredients.

Zunka

Zunka is a traditional dish that is usually made with roti. It is made with Besan/ Chickpea Flour as a main ingredient. This is a delicious, spicy easy-to-make dish with lots of onions and green chili. I also served this with Dosa which tastes great. I adapted this recipe from this site.

How to make zunka

As I said, this is an easy and simple recipe. You will need just basic ingredients to make this. Make a paste of besan/chickpea flour with spices powders. Saute onions, green chilies, and garlic then mix the besan mix. Garnish with lots of cilantro. Serve with Sweet Potato Roti, Palak Roti, Cilantro Chapathi, Carrot Chapathi.

Other side dishes for you

Spicy Andhra Chicken Curry

Matar Paneer

Palak Paneer

Mushroom Gravy

Mixed Vegetable White Kurma

Paneer Butter Masala

Egg Curry

Zunka recipe

INGREDIENTS

Besan/Chickpea Flour – 1/2 Cup

Onions – 1/2 Cup

Green Chili – 2 Nos

Garlic Pods – 2 Chopped

Mustard Seeds – 1/4 Tsp

Cumin – 1/4 Tsp

Asafoetida – a pinch

Turmeric Powder – 1/2 Tsp

Red Chili Powder – 1 Tsp

Salt – As required

Oil – 3 Tbsp

Cilantro – To Garnish

METHOD

• Mix besan, red chili powder, and salt in a bowl. Add 1 cup water and whisk to make a batter without any lumps.
• In a pan or kadai, heat oil.
• Add mustard seeds. When it crackles, add cumin seeds.
• Add green chili, asafoetida, onions, and turmeric powder.
• Saute’ till onions turn translucent.
• Add the besan mixture to it and mix stirring on low flame.
• Check for salt.
• The mixture starts thickening and leaving the sides of the pan.
• Drizzle a tsp of oil and cover it for a few minutes.
• The raw smell of besan should go away.
• Add chopped cilantro and switch off.
• Serve warm with roti.

NOTES

1. Adjust green chili and red chili powder as per your spice requirements.
2. You can also use whole red chili.
3. After adding the besan mixture, turn the flame to low or the mixture will not cook and it will thicken.

PIN ZUNKA FOR LATER

Sending this recipe to Fiesta Friday this week co hosted by Alex and Zeba

Sending this recipe to CookBlogShare