Lots of times, I have been asked “What will you do after you’ve shared all the recipes that you know?” And my answer has always been “There is always more to learn and share in this world, especially- culinary world. It is a never-ending learning process.” As difficult as it might be for anyone to accept, there isn’t enough time for me on Earth to share all the recipes that exist in this world. So am quite safe, to say the least. When I started this blog, I wanted to share all kinds of recipes. Not just Indian, not just my specialty but All. And even though I try very hard to do that, I do see a pattern when I look back at what I have shared so far. I do lean towards desserts more. And one of my goals (even though am not a new-year-resolution-kind-of-girl) this year is to fill my other categories equally too.
This post is very special to me as it’s my 100th humble attempt to share a recipe with you all. It’s been quite a journey! When I realized I was a post away from hitting a century, I was torn between sharing something sweet for the special occasion or going back to my roots. I decided to ditch the desserts this time. But the delay in posting can be conveniently blamed on my husband who got Amba Haldi instead of the regular Haldi thwarting all my plans to make this winter favorite of mine. But I am known not to hold a grudge for long so all was forgiven once he got me the right kind.
Haldi ki Sabji, made the right way, tastes awesome. It is made only in winters because of its tendency to produce heat in the body. That being said it is extremely good for bones and has medicinal value therefore, you can justify all the ghee that you add to it. Yes, a “not-cutting-corner-or-fat-in-my-curry” kind of person like me got scared looking at the ghee in it. Hence, I am giving the hold-back version of ghee here. After all, am all for healthy bones, you see!
Ingredients
- 400 gm Haldi
- 250 gm Ghee
- 600 gm Thick Yogurt
- 70 gms shelled Peas
- 150 gms finely chopped Onion
- 100 gms Khoya
- 100 gms Paneer
- 20 gms Garlic
- 15 gms Ginger
- 2 Bay leaves
- 1/2 Black Cardamom
- 1/2 inch Cinnamon
- 1 and 1/2 tsp Cumin seeds
- 1 and 1/2 tsp Red Chili Powder
- 1 green Chili, chopped
- 2 and 3/4 tsp Salt
- 2 tsp Coriander powder
- 1 cup Water
- Milk, if required
Instructions
- Peel Haldi and grate it coarsely. Keep aside. Do the same with ginger and garlic too.
- Grate Khoya and keep aside.
- In a heavy-bottom wok, add ghee. To it add cumin seeds, ginger, garlic, green chilli and onions. Add red chili powder, salt and coriander powder. Cook well until raw smell of onion goes away completely.
- Add haldi and cook for about 35-40 minutes. Haldi turns light mustard brown color at this point.
- Add peas to it and cook some more.
- Meanwhile, in a separate pot, add 2 tbsp. ghee ( I just took some from the wok cooking haldi).
- Add bayleaf, cardamom and cinnamon to it.
- In a bowl, mix water and yogurt and whip well until combined. Add it to the pot with cardamom and cinnamon.
- Cook the yogurt until it comes to a roaring boil. The yogurt will have curdled at this point and that's fine. Give it another 30 seconds and switch off the stove.
- Add the yogurt to haldi and cook it well until it leaves ghee on sides.
- Add khoya and cook again until ghee oozes out.
- Add some small cubed paneer to the curry and turn off the stove. Serve hot.
- If the curry seems little thick, add 1-2 tbsp. of milk to thin it out.
Notes
This curry thickens over time. Add 1-2 tbsp. of milk instead of water to thin it out. Warm it again and enjoy.
Because this curry is all about Haldi, Paneer has been used in minimal quantity.
It is very important to cook haldi properly to get the best taste. Lot of ghee helps in doing that.
My mom swears by this method of cooking yogurt separately first and then adding to Haldi and I choose to believe it.
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