Matar Nimona, Fresh Green Peas Curry

          I was just browsing through some food blogs, was not actually looking for this recipe, in fact I didn't even know about Matar Nimona but somehow I landed on this dish. But after that, when I checked the web, there are so many blogs with the recipe for Matar Nimona. This curry is mainly done in the states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh,  during the winter months, when fresh green peas are in season. Though I have made some curries using green peas, this was very different because, we grind the fresh green peas and then cook the curry, but the  other ingredients added are all that goes into a regular curry. Though this currry should go very well with rotis too, it's best served with some plain rice and ghee..

Need To Have

• Fresh Green Peas - 1 cup
• Green Chilly - 1
• Potato - 1 medium, diced
• Tomato - 1 medium
• Onion - 1 medium
• Ginger - 1" piece
• Garlic - 3 to 4 cloves
• Cinnamon - 1" piece
• Cloves - 2
• Cumin Seeds - 1 teaspoon
• Black Pepper Corns - 1/4 teaspoon
• Black Cardamom - 1
• Coriander Powder - 2 teaspoons
• Red Chilly Powder - 1 teaspoon
• Turmeric Powder - 1/4 teaspoon
• Garam Masala - 1/4 teaspoon
• Salt to taste

Recipe source here

Method

          Grind together the onion, garlic and ginger into a fine paste and keep.

          Grind the green peas and green chilly and keep.

          Grind the tomato and keep.

          Heat some oil, add the cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, when they start popping, add the cumin seeds and pepper corns. Once the cumin seeds sizzle, add the onion paste and saute for 4 to 5 minutes till the raw smell goes.

          Then add the ground tomato and saute for a couple of minutes. Then add the turmeric, red chilly and coriander powders and saute everything well for another 2 minutes.

          Now add the ground peas and saute for about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the diced potato pieces and salt, mix, cover and cook on low heat till the potato is almost cooked.

          Add about 2 cups water, bring it to a boil, then simmer it for about 10 minutes. Finally add the garam masala and serve it with some white rice.

Note
Serving with ghee is optional, but it tastes very good when mixed with rice and ghee and some lemon juice.
Fresh green peas is recommended, but when not in season, we can still make it with frozen peas.
The consistency of the curry is like that of a soup, in fact, if we keep the spice level low, we can serve this as a soup too.