Ashadi Ekadasi Recipe: Here’s How You Can Easily Prepare This Lip-Smacking Maharashtrian Favourite Dish At Home

Maharashtrians today are observing Ashadi Ekadashi or Maha Ekadashi, which honours an incarnation of Lord Vishnu, Lord Vitthal. As per the age-old tradition, the holy pilgrimage to Pandharpur is regarded to be the ultimate experience for devotees of Lord Vitthal.

As per the ritual, saint Dnyaneshwar’s palki leaves from Alandi, while saint Tukaram’s starts at Dehu, both in Pune district of Maharashtra. Devotees from various locations in Maharashtra march towards Vithoba temple, Pandharpur, invites a total of over a million pilgrims every year. The journey takes 21 days. However, this year, owing to the covid-19 concerns, no major celebration has been has taken place

An essential Maharashtrian fasting favourite is Ratalyacha Kees or sweet potato stir fry dish that can be easily prepared at home. In Marathi, ratal means sweet potatoes and kees means grated. So the grated combination is a storehouse of essential nutrients that fuels the body with enough energy to keep treading throughout the day. It is a mix of spicy, sweet and tart in taste, which can be made in a jiffy.

Here’s how to make the delicious Ratalyacha Kees

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Ratalyacha kees. Ashadi Ekadashi is a celebration of everything native – God in the form of deity – Vitthal God in the form of art – Abhanga God in the form of food – Ratalyacha kees (sweet potato) Requesting @rekhadiwekar to post the recipe. And my plate came from one of my trips to South Korea. They are known for their traditional copper ware and i bought some as souvenir. #mauli #ashadiekadashi #eatlocalthinkglobal

A post shared by Rujuta Diwekar (@rujuta.diwekar) on Jun 30, 2020 at 10:20pm PDT

Ingredients

• 2 – Sweet potatoes
• 2 – Green chilies, finely chopped
• ½ tsp – Cumin seeds
• 2 tbsp – Ghee
• 1 tsp – Sugar
• Rock salt to taste
• 2 tbsp – Roasted peanut powder
• 2 tbsp – Fresh coconut, scrapped
• A small bunch of fresh coriander, finely chopped
• Juice of 1 lemon

Recipe:

• Scrub the sweet potatoes well and wash thoroughly to remove all dirt.
• Grate without peeling. Transfer to a bowl of clean water. This helps prevent the sweet potatoes from browning and also get rid of extra starch.
• Heat a non-stick pan on medium flame. Add ghee to it. Once the ghee is hot, add cumin seeds. Once the seeds crackle, add chopped chili and stir fry for few seconds. Add the drained sweet potato and stir fry for two-three minutes. Cover and cook for five minutes while occasionally stirring.
• To the cooked sweet potatoes, add roasted peanut powder, salt, and sugar. Mix well. Lastly, add lemon juice and garnish with fresh scrapped coconut and finely chopped fresh coriander leaves.
• It can be served with curd or raita .