Khatkhate

At least five vegetables, and tirphala -- Sichuan pepper -- is what makes it.

Vegan.

Ingredients

• 200 g radish, in chunks
• 200 g potatoes, in chunks
• 200 g sweet potato, in chunks
• 150 g carrots, in chunks
• 1 corn cob, in rounds
• 200 g pumpkin, in chunks
• 100 g coconut, grated
• 2 teaspoons tirphala, Sichuan pepper
• 4 pieces kokum
• 1 tablespoon tamarind paste
• 4 dried red chillies
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 2 tablespoons jaggery, grated
• 3 tablespoons coconut oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 700 ml water

Method

1. AT LEAST FIVE VEGETABLES, AND TIRPHALA -- SICHUAN PEPPER -- IS WHAT MAKES IT. Its article sets a floor rather than a list: khatkhate is prepared with AT LEAST FIVE VEGETABLES, plus grated coconut, jaggery, kokum, tamarind, TIRPHALA, dried red chilli, garam masala and turmeric. Five is the requirement and the choice is open -- it names radish, potato, sweet potato, carrot, corn on the cob, pumpkin and any seasonal vegetable. Tirphala is the thing that could not be substituted: it is a Sichuan-pepper relative and it numbs and tingles rather than burning, and no other Indian dish here uses it.
2. THE TIRPHALA IS SOAKED AND ITS WATER USED, NOT THE HUSKS. Two teaspoons crushed in a little warm water for ten minutes, then the water strained in near the end. The husks themselves are gritty and overpowering.
3. THERE ARE THREE SOUR THINGS AND THEY ARE NOT INTERCHANGEABLE. Kokum, tamarind and the tirphala water. Kokum is fruity, tamarind is deep, and between them they carry a dish with no onion, garlic or tomato in it at all.
4. THE VEGETABLES GO IN BY HOW LONG THEY TAKE. Radish, carrot and corn first, then potato and sweet potato, then pumpkin.
5. THEY ARE CUT LARGE AND LEFT WHOLE. This is a stew where every vegetable should be identifiable on the plate.
6. THE COCONUT IS GROUND RAW WITH THE CHILLIES. Not toasted -- which is the opposite of the xacuti on these pages. A pale, sweet, raw coconut paste.
7. THE JAGGERY IS TWO TABLESPOONS AGAINST THREE SOUR THINGS. It is the balance, not the sweetness.
8. THE KOKUM GOES IN FOR THE LAST TEN MINUTES ONLY. Boiled long it turns bitter, as tamarind does.
9. ITS ARTICLE WARNS OF A NAME CLASH AND IT IS WORTH PASSING ON. Khatkhate ladu is a Malvan sweet of sev strands bound into a ball, and the article says plainly that DESPITE THE SHARED NAME it is A SEPARATE PREPARATION and is NOT consumed with this stew.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under India · All recipes