Saturday, September 12, 2015

SAOJI / SAAVJI MASALA / SAOJI SPICE POWDER



Saoji or Saavji food preparation is a very spicy one from Maharashtra. This comes from Nagpur region where there is a large Saoji community and their cuisine is supposed to be very traditional and spicy.Majority of the savji people are non vegetarian and hence preparation of variety of meat dishes is very common in the community. The spicy, meaty delicacies are made out of chicken, mutton, goat and even fish, cooked with hot chilli pepper, poppy seeds, cardamom and coconut, in a sauce thickened by sorghum flour.
Small family style restaurants called Savjikhanavali or Saoji Hotel / Bhojanalaya, found in large numbers in places like Hubli, Bangalore, Belgaum in Karnataka, Nagpur and Solapur in Maharashtra.
This spice powder can be made and stored for a long time. You can even use it for some vegetarian dishes.



For Saoji Masala :
 Black pepper corns ... few
 Cloves .................. 3-4
Dagad phool ........ 1 tsp
 Shahi jeera / kummel seeds .. 1 tsp
 Cumin seeds .................. 1 tsp
 Fennel seeds / saunf ....... 1 tsp
Nutmeg ................ 1/8 tsp
Bay leaves ................... 2
Black cardamom ........ 1
Cinnamon stick ........... 1 inch piece
Green cardamoms ...... 4-5
Mace ......................... 1
Dry red chillies .......... 4-5 (use more if you like spicy)
 Poppy seeds / khuskhus .... 1 tbsp
Dry dessicated coconut .... 2 tbsps
 Jowar ka ata / sorghum flour .... 1 tbsp

Method:

Dry roast the whole spices first. Remove from the pan.







Next dry roast the dessicated coconut on very low flame until it gives out an aroma and changes colour. Remove from the pan.






Now roast the sorghum flour taking care not to burn it..








Let the ingredients cool. Mix them together.







Grind them to a fine powder. Store it in a clean, dry sterilized container.


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35 comments:

  1. Something new for me. Thanks for sharing this masala recipe.

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  2. A great recipe. Love making my own blends so will try this one.

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  3. Woow, Thts so new to me, Fantastic dear shobha

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  4. What an interesting mix, what is dagad phool??

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    Replies
    1. Nayna it a kind of blackish flaky spice .. light in weight, mostly used in garam masala.

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  5. I really like the look of this spice blend too. Will give this a try. Thanks Shobha.

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  6. Sounds flavorful.. will try this for sure.. Very new for me..

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  7. i dont think it tastes good because you are not using ginger garlic paste... and it is the base of any saoji's nonveg dish.

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    Replies
    1. Nikita, for your information this is the spice powder for storing and the ginger garlic will be added fresh while cooking any dish with this masala..

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  8. That's so true, ginger garlic paste has to be added while cooking

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  9. Can you please suggest a substitute for sorghum flour? Will wheat flour or Besant or ragi flour be okay?

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    Replies
    1. Bajra or ragi flours can be used but the colour of the curry might change. Try rice flour.

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  10. Very good and perfect recipe. I tried this and then giving my opinion.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you so much for liking and trying out the spice powder.

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  11. Is the Saoji masala the same as Varhadi masala?

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  12. Love this masala. My classmate had gifted me this great tasting masala now I will surprise him with a packet of masala made by me. Thanks

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    Replies
    1. Wow.. that will be a lovely surprise for him.. home made special masala.

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  13. Never heard about this masala, intrigued about the addition of Jowar flour.

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    Replies
    1. Jagruti, the flour gives a body to the curry.

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  14. Can you also please share the method of using this for mutton saoji?

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    Replies
    1. I have posted a Saoji Chicken Curry in the blog.. check it out and replace the chicken with mutton following the same steps.
      Thanks.

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  15. exactly what i was search for...now i can make the saoji chicken curry at home. Thank you shobha aunti :-)

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  16. That's an interesting spice mixture. Didn't even know there is a Saoji community. I'm sure one can use this aromatic spice mixture for vegetarian dishes too.

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    Replies
    1. Yes Mayuri we can use it for any curry.. veg or non veg.

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  17. How much masala need to put for 1kg chicken

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    Replies
    1. I add 1 tbsp .. The amount you add to the curry is as per your preference because it is quite spicy.

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  18. Very nice saoji masala.should we add coriander powder while making dish as it is not included in masala.

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    Replies
    1. You can add if you want. It will have one more additional flavour.

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