Thecha is made with green chillies and peanuts
| Photo Credit: Getty Images / Arundhati Sathe
Between thecha chowmein on MasterChef India, and Malaika Arora pulling a Nigella Lawson for a video of thecha paneer, the Maharashtrian chutney has captured the popular imagination online. The humble and homely condiment is being given modern twists and is now on menus in high-end restaurants and part of global dishes. Celebs from Priyanka Chopra Jonas to Janhvi Kapoor are all fans of this easy and versatile number. Let us find out what the hype is about.Celebrated chef Vishnu Manohar hails from Maharashtra and is known online for his easy-to-follow YouTube recipes. He explains, “Thecha means ‘to grind’ or ‘to ‘crush’. We have two types of thecha, one made with red chillies and one with green. It is usually made using garlic, chillies, cumin seeds and salt. Sometimes people add lemon juice or coriander leaves too. We eat it with rotis or jowar rotis.”Vishnu says it is used commonly as a condiment. “If a curry is bland, we eat it with thecha. Nowadays, thecha chicken and thecha paneer have become popular. Thanks to its unique taste and strong flavour, it has been picked up by chefs.” On his channel you can find the recipes for different types of thechas.
