Kanda Khobra Vatan means Onion & Coconut paste or masala in English. It is a very famous Maharashtrian recipe and is used as base in many authentic local recipes.

Kanda Khobra Vatan is an authentic Maharastrian masala made from roasting onion, coconut and whole garam masalas and then grinding it into a paste. This Kanda Khobra vatan can be used when making Chicken, Fish, Mutton or Veg dishes to add taste and consistency to your recipe.

You can make this and refrigerate it for 2-4 weeks and use as base in various Maharashtrian recipes. The trick to this recipe is patience as you need to roast all ingredients on slow to medium gas before making the paste. This is my Aai’s recipe and is for the keeps.

I made Malvani Thali with this vatan and tastes so amazing. Here is the recipe.

Ingredients

2 medium sized onions sliced
1 cup fresh coconut shredded
2 cup dry coconut shredded
10 cloves of garlic
2 inch ginger
3 tbsp oil as required
1/4 cup water
salt as per taste

Whole garam masala
2 green cardamoms
2 tsp shahjeera
2 small bay leaf
1 tsp cloves
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp mace
1 black cardamom
1 star anise
2 tsp coriander seeds
2 tsp poppy seeds
1/2 inch cinnamon

Method

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan.
Lower the flame and add sliced onions. Roast slowly until brown in color. Remove it from the pan and keep it aside in a plate.
Again add 1/2 tbsp oil. Heat it and add fresh coconut shredded. Roast it on medium flame until it turns brown in color. Remove it from the pan and keep it aside in a plate.
Again add 1/2 tbsp oil. Heat it and add dry coconut shredded. Roast it on medium flame until it turns brown in color. Remove it from the pan and keep it aside in a plate.
Add 1 tbsp oil. Heat it and add whole garam masala. Saute it for a minute on slow flame. Make sure it doesn’t burn. Remove it from the pan and keep it aside in a plate.
Once all ingredients are roasted it is time to make the vatan or paste.
Take a grinder. Add the roasted dry coconut and grind coarse.
Add the rest of the roasted ingredients and whole garam masala to the coarse dry coconut and grind it.
Add salt and some water to the kanda khobra vatan. Grind it until it is fine in texture.
Transfer paste to an air tight container and refrigerate it.

  Here is the Kanda Khobra Vatan Video Recipe