Читать книгу Ginger and Ganesh - Nani Power - Страница 9

This is the ever-popular dish of pea curry with cheese that you can find in most Indian buffets, but this version is spicy and doesn’t contain the usual buckets of cream. In fact, it contains none at all, so it is a quite healthy and protein-rich main course.

* 2 cups of peas, either fresh or frozen (I find the organic variety infinitely better, but then organic anything usually is)

* 3 onions, preferably Vidalia

* 4 dried red chilies

* ¼ cup oil

* 2 tablespoons homemade ghee

* 6-7 cloves

* 2-3 bay leaves

* 1½ teaspoons red chili powder

* ½ teaspoon garam masala

* 3 tablespoons cumin powder

* 1 tablespoon coriander seeds, lightly toasted in a tawa or flat pan

* 4 garlic cloves

* 1 piece of ginger

* 1½ teaspoons salt

* 1½ cups fresh tomato puree

* About 3½ cups water

* 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

* 1 teaspoon sugar

* 2 teaspoons Kitchen King Masala (Optional. This is a store-bought masala that Mishti insisted adds a specific Punjabi taste. It does taste delicious. I’ve tried to find the recipe to make my own to no avail.)

Grind garlic, onions, and ginger together with the coriander seeds in a food processor until smooth, the consistency of applesauce. Place a large saucepan on medium-high heat, and after about 5 minutes, add oil and ghee. Place the cloves, bay leaves, and red chilies in the oil and let them darken to a mahogany shade. These are referred to as the “whole” garam masala, as opposed to ground garam masala. At this point, add the garlic-onion-ginger paste. Stir for about 15 minutes. You really want it to dry out and become a nice golden caramel color and for the oil to come out around the edges. This process will really add a lot of flavor. It will take about 15 minutes and don’t rush it! Add red chili powder, ground garam masala, cumin powder, tomato puree, and water. Add salt, cover and let simmer rapidly for about 10 minutes. This will mature the gravy. Add 2 green chilies, about ½ cup more water and Kitchen King Masala. Boil for 10 more minutes. Add peas and paneer, sugar and lemon juice. Let meld together on medium-low heat for 15 minutes. The sauce should have a thick consistency, like that of a stew. Add a tad more water if it thickens too much.

This is perfectly fine to be made a day ahead, although the Ayurvedic tradition frowns upon this as the food loses vitality. It is classically served with a bread, such as chapathi, in the North, although rice is fine as well. Basically, Mishti taught me northern food with a Guju twist.