On the day that Navratri ended, S started his 41 day vow in preparation to his trip to the Sabarimalai temple in Kerala.This meant a continuation of the no onion, no garlic routine we had while Navratri was going on. Although it was not mandatory for us to do the same food regime, I didn’t want to make multiple dishes for the same meal, hence we also ate the same food as S. I adapted this recipe from a Paneer Makhni recipe from My Food Lab on Facebook.

No Onion, No Garlic Vegetable Makhani

Ingredients:

• 2 cups chopped mixed vegetables (I used a combination of carrots, cauliflower, potatoes and green peas)
• 1 cup frozen paneer, soaked in hot water for 30 minutes, drained and kept aside. Keep the water you soaked the paneer in
• 7-8 tomatoes, chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• 3-4 green cardamoms
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 4-6 kashmiri red chillies (if you don’t have Kashmiri red chillies, just use ordinary dried red chillies)
• 10-15 cashewnuts
• 2 tbsp raisins
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/4 tsp asafoetida powder
• 1 tbsp red chilli powder
• 1 tbsp coriander powder
• 1 tbsp garam masala powder
• 1 tsp kasuri methi
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup skimmed milk
• 3 tbsp oil
• 2 tbsp butter
• Salt to taste
• Coriander leaves to garnish

Method:

• Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan and when the oil warms up, add the cumin seeds, green cardamom, bay leaf and kashmiri red chillies, stirring for a couple of seconds between each ingredient.
• Then add the cashew nuts and raisins and stir for a couple of seconds.
• Next add the chopped tomatoes and stir well. Add some salt and water to cover the tomatoes and cook covered till the tomatoes are completely cooked and mushy.
• Remove from the flame and cool down completely. Once cool, grind it into a very fine paste with the skimmed milk and the water from soaking the paneer. Then strain the paste into another container so it is lump-free. You may need to do the grind and strain a couple of times. Use the milk and water as required to grind the whole tomato mixture into as fine paste as possible and keep aside.
• In a seperate pan, heat 1 tbsp oil and when the oil heats up, add 1 tbsp butter. Then add the turmeric powder and 1/8 tsp asafoetida. Then add the vegetables plus some salt and cook covered till the vegetables are about 80% cooked. Remove from the flame and keep aside.
• In the same pan as you cooked the tomato paste, heat the pan and add the balance oil. Add the balance butter when the oil starts to heat up. Then add the remaining asafoetida powder and stir for a couple of seconds. Then add in the strained tomato gravy and let it come to a rolling boil. Now add the red chilli powder and coriander powder and stir.
• Then add in the half cooked vegetables and let it boil in the gravy for 5 minutes. Next add the drained paneer and stir well.
• Add the garam masala powder, kasuri methi and let it boil. Check for seasoning and add what is missing.
• Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with any Indian flatbread or rice.

Note: You can also add fresh cream if you are planning on making this for a party or dinner. If adding fresh cream, then add it after adding the vegetables and paneer, but before the garam masala and kasuri methi. You can add about 1/2 cup of cream to the recipe.