The Comfort Dish From The Mountains - Jholi Bhaat

Everyone has a different comfort food. It essentially means something you can fall back upon, the feeling of a warm, comforting hug in a bowl of food. There is nothing better than having your comfort food when you are down. It is in fact a pattern that most people choose a dish that takes them down a trip of nostalgia as their comfort food – something their parents made or something that reminds them of the happy and safe moments of the days gone by. For someone, that might be a hot bowl of maggi, aloo paratha for someone else and rajma chawal for someone else. Jholi bhaat is one such recipe that is comfort in a plate for a lot of Pahadis who live far from their homes.

Jholi, a dish made with curd and besan, is mostly like kadhi, but still unique in itself. Actually, it is more adaptable as the besan can be replaced by rice flour. It is usually eaten with rice or bhaat and saag. Jholi is great for winters as it keeps your body warm, hence it is so popular in the pahadi regions of India. Below is an easy and simple recipe to make authentic jholi.

• 1/2 cup besan
• 1/2 cup ghee
• 4-45 dry red chili
• 1/2 tsp hing
• 1 tsp haldi
• 12-15 curry leaves 
• 1.5 cups curd 
• 4-5 cloves garlic 
• Salt as per taste 
• 1/4 teaspoon coriander powder
• 1/2 teaspoon red chilli powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds 

Method 

• Take a big bowl and add besan with haldi powder.
• Add salt and water, stirring continuously to make a thick paste.
• Make sure there are no lumps.
• Add curd and more water in the besan paste and mix well.
• Churn the paste until you get a thick paste like consistency.
• Take a pan, add ghee and heat it on low to medium flame.
• Once the ghee heats up, add garlic cloves and cook until garlic is golden in colour. 
• Add cumin seeds, red chilies and hing to this. 
• Now pour the curd mixture in the pan.  
• Stir with a ladle carefully to mix all the ingredients. 
• Add turmeric powder, coriander powder and red chilli powder and stir continuously.
• Now, add salt and mix the spices well with the curd.
• Cook till the gravy starts to thicken. The flame should be medium. 
• Cook for 2-15 mins and adjust water for a thick gravy.
• Stir nicely to make sure the jholi doesn't burn or stick to the pan. 
• Once cooked, remove from flame and garnish with curry leaves. 
• Serve hot with steamed rice and saag.

This recipe will definitely soothe your soul in this chilly weather. Try jholi bhaat and experience the joy of savouring it for yourself.