Dishes that belong to Pakistan, parts of Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber area all really add up to Peshawari cuisine. This cuisine has evolved from history, religion, geography and stories of these lands. I am sharing a vegetarian dish, a gorgeous way to enjoy one’s vegetables and I am calling it ‘Peshawari vegetable’. It quite reeks of the food moods of these lands and whispers tales of food cooked in the kitchens of Mohenjo Daro and Harappa.
My wholesome word for this recipe would be hearty.
When you go out shopping look for;
Onion
Ginger
Garlic
Cauliflower
Peppers
Carrot
Beans
Peas
Cashew nuts
Yogurt
Paneer(like cottage cheese)
Garam masala powder
Salt
Chilli powder
Turmeric powder
Butter
The recipe would be;
Soak a fist full of cashew nuts for thirty mins. You could use broken cashew nuts to make it cost effective.
Cut the florets from a cauliflower, take a bowl of peas, chop all the three coloured peppers, one each in small pieces and cut one carrot in small pieces. Golden fry all the vegetables. This is your vegetable kitty. Next take half a fist of cashews and fry them to golden also. To this add a hundred gms of small cubes of lightly fried paneer. Place all of this in a bowl.
Now go back to the soaked cashew nuts. Blitz into a white creamy paste.
Then take two onions, slice them and fry them to pinkish brown. Once cool, blend them into a paste.
Finely chop one inch ginger and five pods garlic.
In a cup of water dissolve three tbsp yogurt. Set aside.
Grate hundred gms paneer.
In a warm wok take one tbsp oil and one tbsp butter. When warm add the finely chopped garlic and ginger. Once it sputters, add the cashew paste and the fried onion paste and stir well. Time to spike up things with a tsp of garam masala powder, salt to season, half tsp of turmeric powder and half tsp or a bit more of red chilly powder. Mix well with a spatula and allow the mix to cook for about two odd minutes. Add the grated paneer and toss again for another minute. Pour in the cup of yogurt water. This makes the gravy. Once this simmers, add that pre-prepared vegetable cashew paneer bowl.
Once the vegetables acquire a crunchy yet cooked texture, add two tbsp fresh cream and a dash of lime. Enjoy with homemade parathas.
