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.

A modern twist

Chefs across the country are using the chutney in new ways. Famously a contestant on the TV show MasterChef India presented the judges Vikas Khanna, Ranveer Brar, and Kunal Kapur with a noodle dish tossed with thecha. The judges noted how the condiment works with the noodles, and is essentially like a hot sauce, or pesto. After that, various Instagram creators, including chef Kunal shared their versions of this recipe.

I see the condiment on menus across the country. At Beige in Bengaluru, the edamame ricotta kebabs are topped with a thecha oil, almost used as a chilli oil substitute. Naad in Hyderabad has a Cubano sandwich made with a beetroot thecha. Malaika Arora’s Scarlett House in Mumbai stocks up on her favourite recipe, thecha paneer. Also in Mumbai, Dough and Joe has wood fired pizzas, and one with a fiery thecha and stracciatella cheese topping. The newly-opened House of Akina in Bandra has the viral thecha Hakka noodles.

Of course, mixologists have also picked up on the trend. At Native Bombay, you can get your hands on a Thecha Picante, made with Tequila, chillies and raw mango.

Grindhaus is a brand that makes savoury clean label spreads. The brand has a spicy green chilli and garlic flavoured peanut butter called Thecha Blaze. Founder Prashanth Chander says, “We started off with a couple of south Indian flavours for our peanut butters, like gunpowder podi. A friend from North Goa suggested we try a thecha peanut butter because these flavours would work really well together.” The spicy spread has 90% peanuts, green chillies from North Karnataka, curry leaves and a hint of garlic. Another Indian condiment brand, The Nomad Food Project has a bacon thecha you can order from their website. This one is smokey and bold.

The Indian palate loves a spicy punch. This combination of raw heat and the peanut savouriness is sparking the imaginations of chefs. What is your favourite way to eat thecha?

Recipe for a Maharashtrian green chilli thecha

INGREDIENTS:

• Green chilies (15-20)
• Peanuts (1 cup)
• Garlic cloves (15)
• Cumin seeds (1 tsp)
• Salt (to taste)
• Oil to roast

METHOD:

• Heat a little oil in a pan and roast the cumin, peanuts, green chillies and garlic until fragrant and blistered
• After it has cooled down, transfer to a mortar and pestle and grind coarsely with salt
• Your thecha is now ready
• Note: You can also use a mixer-grinder or a chopper, but the right texture is best achieved with hand pounding
• Customise it according to your taste, with other herbs like coriander and spices