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Have you been looking forward to enjoying a sumptuous finger-licking sabzi bowl at home? A veg bowl made of regular ingredients but with extraordinary taste? Calling out with much pomp and show, the luxurious bowl of Matar Makhane Ki Sabzi. This sabzi prepared with unbelievable ease compared to its great taste may just compel the laziest of souls to cook. The cashew and tomato paste is the life of this sabzi and a gorgeous gravy in which peas and ghee-roasted makhanas are lavishly bathed and cooked until a bit soft. The simple spluttering tadka of asafoetida and cumin introduced for making gravy is good for both digestion and aroma. And the dish has a surprise element too as you may have noted by now. It excludes the indispensable onions, much to the delight of those who don't like onions or are following a keto diet.
All About Sabzi, Peas, And Makhanas
Firstly, let’s deal with the word sabzi. This is derived from the Persian word sabz, meaning greenery. In Indian cuisine, the word sabzi means vegetables cooked in gravy, whereas in Iranian cuisine it refers to both vegetables and herbs. Talking of the origin of the curry or gravy in which vegetables are cooked to form a sabzi, it has its origins in Farmana in Haryana around 4,000 years ago. Phew! That was four millennia ago. So, it was in the year 2010 that two archaeologists from Washington State University used starch analysis to find the origin of the world’s first-ever curry. They found the first curry to have been prepared in this ancient Harappan civilization site, of Haryana using only brinjal, turmeric and ginger. The sabzi that we cook today and have known for many centuries has got an inexhaustible variety that one cannot enlist over here. Peas are a Rabi season crop and are rich in vitamin C,E and zinc. They are used for making umpteen vegetarian dishes. The Matar Makhane Ki Sabzi is known by various names with a few variations. These are Matar Makhana curry with Khoya, Matar Makhana Curry, Mughalai Matar Makhana Sabzi, Kaju Matar Makhane Ki Sabzi. The low-fat, low-calorie but protein-rich bowl of Matar Makhane Ki Sabzi can be cooked with so much simplicity and ease while promising good taste, creamy texture and a thorough delight.
Matar makhane
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Servings: 3
Ingredients:
For tomato cashew paste:
1. 2 cups chopped tomatoes
2. ¼ cup broken cashew nuts
3. 1 tbsp ginger
For the gravy:
1. 1 tbsp oil
2. ⅛ tsp asafoetida
3. 1 tsp cumin
4. 2 cups tomato cashew paste
5. 1 tsp coriander powder
6. 1 tsp cumin seeds
7. ⅛ tsp sugar
8. 1 tsp chilli powder
9. Salt to taste
10. 1 cup green peas
11. 1 cup makhana
12. Fresh Coriander
Method:
1. Make tomato cashew paste by blending tomato, ginger and cashews into a smooth paste.
2. In a kadhai or wok, heat ghee, add makhana and toast on medium heat for 5 minutes or more until crisp. Take it out in a bowl.
3. In the Kadai, add oil, asafoetida ida, and cumin seeds and let it splutter.
4. Then add tomato cashew paste and saute for 5 minutes.
5. Add powdered spices and salt, mix well and cook for 2-3 minutes, until oil separates from it.
6. Then add green peas and cook for about 6-8 minutes on medium heat, until peas become soft.
7. Then add makhana and cook for 1 more minute.
8. Garnish with coriander leaves.
Relish abundantly your bowl of matar makhane ki sabzi cooked with simple and easily available ingredients at home. Eat it with hot basmati rice, zeera rice or rotis and salads. Prepare it on festive occasions or on a regular day to break the monotony of everyday cooked vegetables.
