HARI MATAR KA NIMONA

Hari Matar ka Nimona is a very popular winter dish in UP, MP and Bihar. We all wait for  winter, so that we can make tasty dishes from fresh peas, like aloo matar, khoya matar, matar ki kachori , matar ki tahiri etc. Hari Matar Ka Nimona is one of these dishes. Usually Nimona is made at the end of the winter season, because peas are mature at that time – no longer soft, sweet and tasty, and not very useful for other dishes. But mature peas can be used to make tasty Nimona. Fresh new peas can also be used – some like the nice sweet taste they give to Nimona. Many people, like my Mother-in-law, made Nimona with the green chana. Frozen peas can also be used to make Nimona.

PREP TIME: 25 minutes

COOKING TIME: 15 minutes                   

TOTAL TIME: 40 minutes

SERVES: 4 persons

INGREDIENTS FOR NIMONA:

1.     Green peas- 1cup

2.    Paneer – 50 gm

3.    Oil – 2 tbsp

4.    Cumin seeds – 1 tsp

5.    Coriander leaves – 1-2 tbsp chopped

6.    Garam masala- ½ tsp

INGREDIENT FOR MASALA PASTE:

1.    Onion -1 medium

2.    Garlic – 3-4 cloves

3.    Ginger – ¾ inch

4.    Tomato – 1 big

5.    Red chilli powder -1 tsp

6.    Coriander powder – 1tsp

7.    Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp

8.    Salt- to taste

HOW TO MAKE NIMONA:

1.     Peel and wash fresh peas. Keep aside.

2.    Take 1 onion, 1 tomato, 3/4-inch ginger, 4-5 cloves of garlic, for making masala.

3.    Put all the ingredient of masala in grinder jar. Grind the masala to a smooth paste. Keep the masala aside.

4.    In the same jar, without washing the jar, add green peas and make a coarse paste. Keep this aside. Also, keep a fist full of whole peas aside.

5.    Heat oil in a kadhai or pressure cooker. Add cumin seeds.

6.    When cumin seeds start crackling, add the ground masala.

7.     Sauté this masala till oil starts coming out from the sides, and paste becomes lumpy and starts gathering around itself.

8.    Now add coarsely ground fresh peas. Mix grounded peas and masala and roast it nicely.

9.    Add whole green peas with the roasted nimona.

10. Now sauté or bhuno it nicely for another 3-4 minutes.

11.  Cut paneer into small cubes. Add these cubes to the Nimona.

12.  Add ½ tsp garam masala.

13.  Add 1.5 or 2 cups of water. Or you can add water as you require.

14.  Cover the lid of cooker. Give 1 or 2 whistles. (If you have roasted Nimona in a kadhai, transfer it to a pressure cooker).

15.  After cooling, open the lid of the pressure cooker.

16.   Decorate with grated/ small cubes of paneer and coriander leaves. Serve hot in a bowl.

17.  Nimona goes well with poori, parantha, or roti.

Note:

1.    Originally people added fried potato cubes to nimona, but you can replace potatoes with paneer or mangodi or udada dal badiyan. For this, you have to cut potatoes in cubes, fry them, and add the potato cubes to the nimona. Similarly, you have to fry mangodi or badiyan before adding them to nimona.

2. If you are roasting nimona in a kadahai, you can continue cooking it in the kadahi. Give one boil after adding water. Cover the kadhai and cook for another 7-8 minutes.

3.   Lots of people make nimona with green chana (hola).

4. Nimona made from fresh green peas tastes good, but you can make equally tasty Nimona with frozen peas.

5.    Nimona is usually made from mature peas, at the end of the pea season.

6. Sometimes, Nimona needs more oil, at the time of roasting. If you feel that the oil is less you can add a little extra oil so that nimona will roast properly.

7. You can use a non-stick kadhai for roasting, so that nimona doesn't stick, and roasts nicely.