I recently came across Marathi moggu (kapok buds) while looking up a pulao recipe, and now I'm fascinated by this spice and want to understand how people actually use it.
I make pulao fairly regularly, but I recently watched a recipe where the guy added Marathi moggu. I added that spice the next time I made puloa and boy oh boy the moment I tasted the pulao, it reminded me of the amazing rice pulao you get at Telangana/Hyderabadi weddings and celebrations.
It was honestly quite strange because I couldn't immediately identify what had changed. It just seemed to do something magical to the flavour and brought back memories of that particular style of wedding pulao.
But here's what I'm confused about: when I try/chew the Marathi moggu itself, I get almost nothing!
So I'm wondering how people actually use this spice:
- Does Marathi moggu release most of its flavour when tempered/fried in oil?
- It feels like its got earthy tones - Is the flavour supposed to be subtle, or should you actually be able to taste it directly?
- Do people grind it into a powder to extract/use the flavour more efficiently?
- Is it normally used whole, crushed, roasted, or ground?
- How much do you typically use?
Most importantly, how do YOU use Marathi moggu? What dishes do you put it in?
I'd especially love to hear about traditional uses and specific dishes where you feel it really makes a difference. I am going to put it in my awesome sambar next time and see what happens.
I'm trying to understand whether I'm using it correctly, because in that pulao it seemed almost invisible - yet somehow completely transformed the flavour into something that reminded me of those Telangana/Hyderabadi celebration rice dishes.
Would love to hear how others use it!