Thetcha!

Yesterday, I was talking to my friend Shveta from engineering days. And we both were getting all nostalgic about our hostel days. Bunking lectures, eating vada pav and chai from anna's canteen, spending hours simply sitting at the amphitheater, late mid night snacks during submissions and many more such memories. Hostel days was so much fun.

Considering the girls' hostel schedule, the gates used to close at 9.00 pm and we weren't allowed to step out after that. Hence, we had to stock up our rooms with food. Our mid night snacks included a lot of bizarre stuff, maggi cooked in small electric water boilers, marie biscuits with jam, bhel, and various tit-bit snacks from everyone's home. And our all time favorite was bread,butter and thetcha!

Now thetcha is a kind of hot green chatni or dip famous amongst maharashtrians, and I used to get it from my Nani every time I would visit her. Well coming back to the point (before I write pages drifting away in memories), Shveta wanted me to post the recipe of it on my blog. Instantly I called up my granny and she shared the recipe with me. And here it is for all of you, specially dedicated to all my hostel friends!!

For thetcha, you need:

Green Chillies - 4 to 5(for my American residing friends, use more as the chillies we get here are not very hot.)
Garlic - 8 to 10 petals
Coriander or Cilantro-  one bunch
Turmeric
Salt
Cooking oil

Method: Pour around 4 to 5 tablespoons of oil in a frying pan. On a medium-high flame let it heat up for a minute or two. Now, we need to fry the cilantro. I know it sounds weird  but that's the main taste maker. Make sure that the cilantro is dry. It should not be crispy fried. The right way is to just dip the leaves in the hot oil, keep it in for 5 to 6 seconds and remove it so that it retains the green color.

Once done with the cilantro, in the remaining oil, put the garlic and green chillies. You may put a lid on, as chillies tend to splutter the oil a lot. Let it cook for one minute or till they are all slight brown.

Once all the frying is done, grind it all in the mixer to a fine paste. Add salt to taste and a pinch of turmeric so it retains the green color for long. Add the remaining oil to the mixture as it acts as a preservative. And the thetcha is ready!!

Thetcha lasts at least for a week or two when stored in the refrigerator. You can mix a spoonful with butter or plain cheese  and it makes an awesome spread for breads, toasts, parathas etc. Its an excellent salad dressing. Get the lettuce, cucumber, carrots, tomatoes out of the fridge, dice them, add a dollop of thetcha, squeeze in a lemon, mix it well and yummy salad is ready. Also, for working folks, thetcha is a quick fix taste maker  for all dry sabzis like potatoes, okra, cabbage, cauliflower etc.

I hope you all enjoy reading my post as much as I did while arranging it for you. Do try it and let me know how it comes out. Finally its friday! Have a happy weekend!