State: Uttar Pradesh
Dish: Nimona (Green Peas & Potato Curry)
We are almost at the home stretch now, only 2 more days to go and we will be done with our month long marathon exploring the Indian States. Today we are going to Uttar Pradesh or UP for short, located in northern India. UP was home to powerful empires of ancient and medieval India, including Magadha, Gupta, Mughal and Nawabs of Awadh.
UP is a very touristy place with a number of historical, natural and religious tourist destinations. We visited UP twice and visited Agra (home of Taj Mahal), Mathura (birth place of Lord Krishna) and Fatehpur Sikhri. Though it has been more than 20 years, I still remember the beautiful sites.
Cuisine: Awadhi and Mughlai are the two major cuisines in UP and the cooking style in the state is similar to that of rest of Northern India. The cuisine consists of both vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes. Uttar Pradesh has been greatly influenced by the Mughal cooking techniques. Awadhi cuisine is similar to that of Kashmir and Punjab.
UP, especially Lucknow, is famous for Nawabi foods and use of rich spices, paneer and meats. Kebabs, dum biryani are some of the famous dishes. Chaat, samosa and pakora are some popular snacks in all of India, that are originally from Uttar Pradesh.
Wheat is the staple food of the state and breads are very significant. Breads are made of different types of flour and can be made in several different ways. Some popular breads are tandoori naan, kulcha, taftan, sheermal, lachha paratha.
Today's Dish: We have very good friends from Uttar Pradesh and the first we went to their house, they served us Matar Nimona and puri. I still remember being stuffed to the core after dinner that day. So I didn't really think much on what to make for today. I knew I had to make Nimona and I was lucky to find some fresh peas in the pod to make this simple, yet delicious curry.
Recipe adapted from Namita's Kitchen:
Ingredients: Serves 2~3
Green Peas - 1cupPotato - 1 medium
Wadi - ¼cup
Ginger - 1" piece, grated
Green Chili - 2, finely chopped
Asafoetida/ Hing - ¼tsp
Cardamom pods - 2
Bay leaf - 1
Dry Mango powder - ¼tsp
Red Chili powder - 1tsp (adjust as per taste)
Turmeric - ½tsp
Yogurt - 2tbsp
Cilantro - 2tbsp, finely chopped
Salt - to taste
Method:
- Boil the potato until tender, peel and dice them.
- I used fresh peas that I blanched for about 2~3 minutes until tender. If you frozen peas, then thaw them by running hot water on them or microwave with little water until tender.
- Grind most of the peas into a coarse paste. Reserve a few for garnish.
- In a saute pan; heat 1tbsp oil and add bay leaf, cardamom pods and cook for 30 seconds.
- Next add the grated ginger, hing and cook for 1 minute. Add the green chilies and the green peas puree. Mix well.
- Pour ½cup of water and bring to a boil.
- Add the cooked potato, salt, amchur powder, red chili powder and turmeric; cover and cook for 4~5 minutes.
- Finally add the yogurt, mix well and turn off the heat. Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve hot.
Lets check out what my fellow marathoners have cooked today for BM# 39.
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