Madhya Pradesh Thali

This weekend as part of our weekend thali project, we cooked up a meal from the state of Madhya Pradesh, one of the two states located in central India. Since Vikram and I have neither visited Madhya Pradesh nor have we eaten a lot of the trademark dishes from the state, we were looking at a day full of experimentation. A big shout-out to our friends Kunal and Vikas, both from Madhya Pradesh, who helped us with coming up with the menu. The best part of cooking dishes that you have not eaten before, is the feeling of anticipation when you taste it for the first time - you have no idea what to expect and it could end on a positive or a negative note. Luckily for us, this entire meal was filled with a lot of positive moments and we were blown away by the amazing taste of the dishes!

Butte ka kees (Link to recipe)

A trademark street food in Madhya Pradesh, we included this into the meal because of immense curiosity. On the one hand, it included corn and milk and on the other hand it had green chillies and hing added as well. I half expected the milk to curdle when I added it to the dish!! But it ended up great and was just amazing to taste. Our first reaction was simply “WOW” when we tasted this dish!

Indori Palak Puri and Aloo Matar (with besan) (Link to Recipe)

A popular dish in Indore, this spinach puri and aloo matar combination was extremely tasty. The Aloo Matar recipe did not call for tomatoes and used besan to thicken the sauce. Simple but satisfying!!

Dal Bafla (Link to recipe)

Similar to the Dal Batti dish from Rajasthan, this dish is eaten across Madhya Pradesh. We learnt that while the Batti in Rajasthan is entirely baked, in this dish the wheat dough is first boiled and then baked. When we read the recipe, Vikram exclaimed “this is the way bagel’s are made - this is the Indian version of the bagel!!”. Who would have thought!! We had a lot of fun making this dish even though we know that we didn’t ace it in our very first try.

Indori sev tamatar ki sabzi (Link to recipe)

This is another one of the dishes that seems to have variants across Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Gujarat. But as per the recipe I followed, the Madhya Pradesh version has milk added to it. A tasty combination of thick sev and a spicy sauce - whoever came up with the recipe has my respect. Madhya Pradesh is known for Namkeens so it makes total sense that there is a curry made out of sev!

Chakki ki shak (Link to recipe)

Wheat flour dough steamed and then cooked in a tangy tomato and yogurt based curry, this is a very popular dish in Madhya Pradesh. It was surprising to see a curry made out of wheat flour but after tasting it we can completely understand the fascination for the dish - hearty and flavorsome.

Carrot and Peas Pulao (Link to recipe)

This recipe may not be original to Madhya Pradesh but seemed to be featured in a lot of sites on Madhya Pradesh cuisine, so we went ahead and included it into the thali. It definitely complemented the Chakki ki shak very well.

Mawa batti (Link to recipe)

Now, let’s talk about why we chose Madhya Pradesh this weekend. It’s simple really. When a Gulab Jamun LOVER (a.k.a. Priya) comes across a dish that seems to be Gulab Jamun on STEROIDS, there is no way we are cooking a thali from any other state!! This dish is heavier than the gulab jamun since it also includes milk powder and maida and has dry fruits filled in the middle. Soooo gooood!!

Bhopali Gosht Korma (Link to recipe)

This is a trademark meat dish from Madhya Pradesh and almost every site on Madhya Pradesh cuisine and every friend cited this dish. The heavy use of oil\ghee and spices set this dish apart and increased the flavor of the meat.

At the end of the day, while we were enjoying the fruits of our labor, we spoke about how much respect we have for the people of Madhya Pradesh. We made three forms of atta (wheat dough) for Puris, Bafla and Chakki ki shak and a mawa dough for the Mawa batti. We had the help of the Kitchen Aid mixer at our house but it would be so hard for someone to make this entire meal by hand!! Not to mention the steaming, boiling, baking and deep frying of the dough!! Wait - we just did all of this amazing work as well!! Can you tell we are proud of our work?

I knew my love for Gulab Jamuns would have its benefits!! :-)