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.
MISHTI’S SAAM SAVERA
“Morning Evening” is a Mughlai dish of spinach koftas and spiced gravy, so named because these koftas or dumplings, when sliced, resemble the moon in early twilight.
* 1 bunch fresh spinach, well-washed, tough stems removed, and blanched in 3 cups of salted, boiling water, squeezed dry and roughly chopped
* 1 batch homemade paneer (a dry goat’s cheese could be substituted)
* 1 teaspoon red chili powder
* 2 tablespoons corn flour
* ½ teaspoon salt
* 1 green serrano chili
* 1 teaspoon garam masala
* 2 tomatoes, roughly chopped
* 1 red onion, roughly chopped
* 2-inch piece of ginger, roughly chopped
* 2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
* 2 teaspoons coriander power
* 1 teaspoon cumin powder
* 1 tablespoon honey
* 1 tablespoon sour cream
* ½ cup water
* 2 tablespoons dried methi (fenugreek)
Season spinach with salt, ½ teaspoon of red chili powder, and 1 tablespoon corn flour. Mix well. Add more corn flour if it is too soft. Crumble paneer and shape into small balls the size of walnuts. Take a golf ball size of spinach, flatten in your palm and place a paneer ball on the spinach. Shape the spinach around the ball and squeeze tight to enclose. Place on a plate in the refrigerator.
Grind the tomatoes, ginger, onion, and garlic together in a food processor or blender to make a salsa texture. Heat oil in a large pan and add mixture. Cook over medium-high heat until oil shows around edges, about 15 minutes. Add coriander powder and garam masala. Stir well. Add sour cream, honey, and methi. Stir well. Add water and let simmer.
Meanwhile, heat oil to 350°F. Roll spinach balls in corn flour and carefully dip them in heated oil for 5 minutes. Remove to paper towels. They should be dark on outside. To serve, slice spinach balls in half carefully with very sharp knife. Heat sauce and place koftas on the sauce. Serve with chapathi, rotis, or puris.
MISHTI’S KADHI WITH DUMPLINGS
Besan or chickpea flour fritters stewed in a yogurt sauce. Quite delicious and nutritious.
FOR PAKORAS (DUMPLINGS):
* ¾ cup besan (chickpea flour)
* ½ cup water
* ½ teaspoon red chili powder
* ½ teaspoon baking powder
* ½ cup red onion, chopped
* ½ cup spinach, chopped
* ½ teaspoon salt
FOR SAUCE:
* 1 cup plain yogurt
* 2/3 cup besan (chickpea flour)
* ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
* 6 cups water
* 2 tablespoons ghee or oil
* 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
* 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
* 1 red chili
* 3 bay leaves
* ½ teaspoon fenugreek
* A pinch of asafetida (hing)
FOR THE PAKORAS (DUMPLINGS):
Mix the besan and water together until it is very smooth and resembles a thick icing for a cake. Add more water if it is too dry. Beat this for 3 minutes, until it becomes fluffy. Add remaining ingredients. Place small teaspoon balls in hot oil (375°F). To test, you can also just drop a small piece of dough in the oil, and if it pops up immediately it is ready. You can use a spoon. Mishti used her hand. After a minute, flip them and make sure they brown on both sides.
Remove to paper towel, and cool for 5 minutes. Place in a bowl of room temperature water and soak for 10 minutes. After that, remove by handfuls and squeeze out water gently. Place into Kadhi Sauce and cook on medium-low for 10 minutes to meld flavors. Serve with white basmati rice.
FOR THE SAUCE:
Beat besan and yogurt until very smooth—take time with this as it is very important the mixture is smooth. Slowly add 3 cups of water; it should be like a light pancake batter. Heat oil in pan and add cumin, mustard seeds, fenugreek, red chili, and bay leaves to sizzle. Add asafetida, turmeric, and salt. Add yogurt mixture to pan and stir well. Let this come to a boil and add 3 more cups of water. When it boils, turn down to medium-low and cook for 1 hour. Add pakoras to sauce to heat through, and serve with white basmati rice.
MISHTI’S POTATO AND TOMATO CURRY
A traditional Gujarati dish, present at all functions and dinners.
* 6 medium white potatoes, peeled, boiled, and crushed by hands into small pieces
* 1 large red onion, finely chopped
* 2 cloves garlic, chopped
* 1-inch piece of ginger, finely chopped
* ½ teaspoon mustard seeds
* 2 dried red chilies
* 10-12 curry leaves
* 2 green chilies, cut into rounds
* ½ teaspoon red chili powder
* 2 teaspoons coriander powder
* 1 teaspoon