Week #21 of 52 weeks of 52 recipes: An attempt at a very authentic Maharashtrian dish

My husband grew up in Nagpur and so his palate is highly influenced by that. Despite belonging to a Tamil family, his tastes are more attuned to Mahasrastrian spices and dishes. So, I am always keen to try some of the hardcore Maharastrian dishes at home.
This particular curry I made is actually a Rassa. Rassa is a gravy thats more runny rather than thick, but the flavor is intense. This can be eaten with roti or bread, but rice is ideal as side dish. I made the masala first and then made a vegetarian version for myself, whereas had friends over for a non-veg version of it.

Tambada Rassa:

Ingredients:
Onion - 1 big onion sliced lengthwise
Ginger- 1 inch
garlic- 8 clives
Green chillies- 5-8
oil- i tablespoon

2nd set of ingredients:
Jeera or cumin seeds- 2 tablespoons
Poppy seeds- 2 tablespoons
sesame seeds - 2 tablespoons
1 inch cinnamon stick
Big Elaichi- 1
cloves- 5
peppercorns- 1 teaspoon
dry coconut- 1 cup

Chicken or vegetables cooked with Kashmiri Chilli powder( 2 tablespoons) and onions

Method:
Dry roast the jeera for 3 minutes until fragrant, now add poppy seeds for 2 minutes and then sesame seeds until they start popping. Add the remaining 2nd set of ingredients except coconut and dry roast for 2-3 minutes. Remove them and then add coconut and dry roast it till it turns slightly brown. Remove coconut. Now add onions in the same pan. Allow onions to cook a bit before adding oil. Let onions brown and cook down at least for 10-12 minutes. Empty that mixture into the dry roasted ingredients and gring them together into a fine paste.Keep aside and now grind garlic, ginger and chillies into a fine paste. Mix the two pastes together well. Add some oil in a wok and add the paste and fry for about 10-12 minutes untilt he raw smell of garlic has gone. The masala paste can now be used for a vegetarian, chicken or any meat Tambada Rassa.
If you are using chicken, you will need to cook chiken with some fried onions and Kashmiri Chilli Powder which gives it the red color with 3-4 cups water until it is cooked. Then you will add the masala paste and allow it to cook for 4-5 minutes. If you are using vegetables, cook potatoes,carrots, beans and cauliflower in 2 cups of water and onions and Kashmirir red chilli powder and then add the masala paste and let it boil for an extra 3-4 minutes.