Throughout the cooking/recipe section of this blog you’ll find a lot of exotic dishes, both veg & non-veg, using the khaskhas masala.
Poppy-seeds based gravy can provide a richness to any dish, that can be matched by no other ingredient. We have been using khaskhas in our dishes since ages. But, being heavy… and of “garam taseer” (having a ‘hot effect’ on the body according to the traditional systems of medicines) it is recommended to be used during the winter months only.
Earlier, in our kitchen, it was used mostly for non-vegetarian (read, mutton) dishes. A demand-driven phenomenon, I guess. But, for the last two decades, or so, I have been using it extensively for a variety of vegetarian dishes as well. (Since my wife is a vegetarian…and I feel it is not fair that she has to miss out on this majestic ingredient).
Since the toughest & most time consuming part of any Khaskhas based dish is preparing the base, I decided to take it up separately, altogether. The base, once prepared in bulk, can then be stored, frozen, (in small portions) for a long time… & then used for a variety of dishes as and when the mood urges 😊
I plan to take up those recipes separately, subsequently.
Method
Heat oil in a thick bottomed kadahi. This is very important since, at no stage we want our masala to stick to the bottom, get browned, and mar the looks of the masala.
When the oil is hot enough add the whole peppercorns. Fry, till they start floating to the top.
Finely slice 500 gms onions, and add to the kadahi. Keep stirring. (At no point the onions should be allowed to brown. Keep the flame low if required.)
When the sliced onions have glazed & start looking a little transparent, time to add the rest of the onions, garlic & ginger after grinding all the three into a paste form in the mixer blender.
Keep stirring the mix, and fry till the masala looks cooked & oil has floated to the top. It is important to heed this advice since, otherwise, the masala will carry a dominant Garlic Ginger flavour. We definitely do not want it in this preparation. Again, take care to not allow any browning happening (I told you beforehand… it’s hard tedious task, getting this base ready).
Meanwhile, drain the water completely from the soaked khaskhas, and put it through a grinder to make a fine paste. You’ll have to add water to the grinder jar from time to time to achieve that.
When the oil has started showing on the top & the sides in the kadahi with the Onion Ginger Garlic masala, add the Khaskhas paste to the kadahi, mix thoroughly and let cook on sim (it takes a long time…only relief is that there is no longer any risk of the masala browning, so one can take it a little easy.)
Keep frying & stirring (occasionally) to prevent the masala from sticking to the bottom.
When all the moisture has evaporated, and the oil has been released completely, your Khaskhas masala base is ready.
Take it off the stove. Allow to cool down, before dividing into appropriate portions for freezing for later use.
