ABOUT KOSHIMBIRS

In this post, I will write the recipe for pumpkin koshimbir as an example but the intent is to let you know the concept of koshimbir so that you can make your own different varieties of koshimbirs. Since this preparation can be made with various different vegetables, this post will not have any specific health or Ayurvedic information about the ingredients.

The word 'koshimbir' has typical, simple, Marathi, middle class written all over it. A Maharashtrian thali is incomplete without a koshimbir. I refuse to call it raita because it is different from it. Raita can be called the north Indian cousin of koshimbir and a somewhat distant second cousin who lives in Greece is Tzatziki. It is a very simple, quick and yet a tasty and wholesome preparation and usually acts as a side dish with the main meal.

Usually, a koshimbir will have four components:

1. a grated raw vegetable but some vegetables taste better in koshimbir if cooked
2. yoghurt/curd
3. ground roasted peanuts or desicated coconut
4. chaunk

Keeping the yoghurt and chaunk constant, you can try many different combinations with vegetables, cooked or uncooked and use various other ground nuts like sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, almonds etc.

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 5 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Type: Main Course

Serves: 2

Vegan: No

Ingredients:

2 cups cubes of pumpkin/butternut pumpkin

2 tbsp curd/yoghurt

1 tbsp chopped coriander

2 tbsp desicated coconut

½ tbsp ghee/oil

½ tsp asatoetida

1 tsp mustard seeds

8 curry leaves

1 medium sized dry red chilli

Himalayan/Rock salt for taste

Preparation:

1. Peel the skin of the pumpkin. To some, it is a tedious task but it is a wonderful food sadhana and do it with complete awareness. Feel the pressure it requires for you to cut through the pumpkin skin, listen to the sound the knife makes as it cuts through the pumpkin. Inhale the scent as more and more surface area of the pumpkin gets exposed. Use the senses to heighten your awareness. Once it is peeled, cut the pumpkin into small cubes. Cook these cubes in a pressure cooker or in a sauce pan. The cubes should be soft but must retain the shape.
2. Take these cubes in a bowl and add the yoghurt, desicated coconut, coriander and salt and mix well. Keep this mixture aside.
3. Now, we prepare the chaunk. For this dish, instead of adding the main ingredients in the chaunk (which is usually the case), we add the chaunk to the main ingredients. Take the ghee/oil in a stainless steel ladle and heat it over low to medium heat. Add mustard seeds and wait for them to finish popping. Then add asafoetida, curry leaves and the chilli (in that order).
4. Now pour this chaunk into the mixture in Step 2, listen to the sizzling sounds and mix well. Traditional Maharashtrian koshimbir is ready.

Pitfalls:

When you heat the ghee/ oil before putting in the chaunk ingredients, make sure that it is not too hot. If the ghee/ oil overheats, first of all its composition will change chemically which is not good for health. Secondly, it will destroy the flavour and potency of the ingredients. So, it is better to start with low heat, add 2-3 mustard seeds to test and increase the heat, if required. If the ghee/ oil starts smoking and the ingredients turn dark brown or black, then the ghee/ oil and the ingredients have been damaged.

Notes:

1. Many people add sugar to koshimbirs but I do not as all my preparations are sugar free. If you want to make it sweet, add honey but in that case, use oil in the koshimbir instead of ghee. According to Ayurveda, mixing equal amount of ghee and honey is an incompatible food combination and hence I usually avoid mixing these even when not in equal proportions just to be safe.
2. Please refer my post Getting Started With Ayurveda for understanding of Ayurvedic terms and concepts.

Variations:

The most popular koshimbir is made using cucumber and ground roasted peanuts. Other common koshimbirs are made out of carrot and beet (cooked). One can even try parsley instead of coriander. But as stated above in the introduction, one can try many different combinations keeping the yoghurt and chaunk constant.