Tuesday, September 7, 2010

khoya matar makhana or khoya matar paneer paneer : Banaras special curry


Khoya matar makhana is a special curry and we were introduced to this exotic sounding curry when we shifted to Banaras after my dad's transfer from Chandigarh. Somehow my mother never made this khoya matar makhana but she would often make a version of matar paneer that was close to the original khoya matar. In fact many Banaras families make their matar paneer with khoya in it because it gives them the pleasure of both.

Khoya matar makhana is a wonderfully rich and yet subtle flavoured curry. Very creamy in a different way and sweetish spicy, so much different from the usual Punjabi curries we had grown accustomed to. I am not very sure if this curry belongs to Banaras but that was the place we had it for the first time and till date I have never tasted it anywhere else.

That Banaras loves it's khoya and milk products so much I am pretty sure in my heart that khoya matar makhana evolved in Banaras, taking makhana from the neighboring state Bihar.

khoya matar paneer recipe

Yes the reason why I believe this curry belongs to Banaras is that the people of this city are obsessed with khoya, there is a whole market dedicated to khoya named khoya gali near chowk area, and that's not all, there is one kachori gali too and you know how famous is banarasi kachori ....

Like many other banaras special curries, khoya matar does not use any onion garlic and can be a fasting curry too during navratras. I will post a navratra version of this curry sometime.....

Coming back to the recipe, this curry is a creamy rich looking special kinda curry but surprisingly it is not high on fat like those those shahi sounding creamy buttery curries.

Yes, milk powder has very low fat content if you use skimmed milk powder and this khoya is made from that. Also as I have used paneer for this recipe that too has fat in it but overall this curry is lower on fat than the other creamy buttery paneer curries. Nevertheless, this curry is medium rich when fat level is considered although I find it topping the scale of deliciousness.

ingredients....

khoya 1 teacup loosely packed ( I used home made khoya )
green peas (I used frozen this time) 1 cup ( 2.5 cups when not using paneer )
paneer chopped into small cubes 1 cup ( optional as the original recipe is khoya matar makhana)
Use a cup and half of shallow fried makhana if not using paneer
raw tomato puree 1 cup freshly made with raw tomatoes (this is not part of the original recipe, do not use if making khoya matar makhana)
bay leaf 1 no.
salt to taste
khoya matar paneer recipe ghee 1 tbsp
milk 1 cup (optional, I used water instead )
  
to be made into a paste...
ginger 1 inch piece
green cardamoms 2 nos.
black cardamom 1 no.
cinnamon 1 inch piece
cloves 4 nos.
cumin seeds 1 tsp
black pepper corns 1 tsp
red chilly powder 1-2 tsp

preparation....

Make a paste of the ingredients listed for paste with little water..

Pour ghee in a kadai and add the fresh tomato puree if using, bay leaf, the masala paste and salt to taste.

Now heat the mixture over medium flame and stir to bhuno it a bit....ghee will be separated within a couple of minutes.

Now add the khoya in it. In the meantime I microwaved the peas for 2 minutes, they can be boiled on gas stove too.

khoya matar paneer recipe

Bhuno is the process of dry roasting such a mixture especially a masala paste, so bhuno again till the khoya masala mix bubbles a bit...

khoya matar paneer recipe

Add a cup of water or milk ( adding milk will result in a whiter curry but a bit more rich ) or water , the cooked peas and cubes paneer ...

khoya matar paneer recipe

and let it boil covered till the ghee floats on top...the whole cooking process takes less than 10 minutes...

khoya matar paneer recipe

Serve hot with naan or chapati. The curry is creamy in a different way and the granular texture of khoya makes a surprising gravy. A little sweet and a little spicy and it tastes very good with any plain roti, naan, rumali roti or kulcha.....

khoya matar paneer recipe


Enjoy this quick yet rich curry and think of the ghats of Banaras. Khoya matar makhana or khoya matar paneer both will become your favourite ways to indulge in Indian khana.



24 comments:

  1. I had TOTALLY given up this dish!! because i had assumed that it is something full of calories. Now i can introduce this in my kitchen with the homemade fat free khoya.... I am feeling happy :)

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  2. This is super yum.. I will definitely make it and let you know how it turned out..

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  3. hi sangeeta ,
    khoya matar paneer looks delicious ....like the addition of fat free home made khoya which makes it more healthy n tasty ...yummy

    Satya
    http://www.superyummyrecipes.com

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  4. a completely new dish to me, but definitely sounds interesting

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  5. sure it taste really yum because of the khoya.. looks good and nicely explained the recipe too

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  6. um-um :) Adding a little bit of trivia about Kachori gali, its said that in the early days, people from near by used to come to this gali after cremating their near and dear ones at Manikarnika ghat and have kachoris/sabzis, especially those coming from outside Varanasi. Am sure, you would be knowing it, found it quite strange when dad told me this, but then life goes on... Came across a lovely poem... "http://sangeeta-homealone.blogspot.com/2010_04_16_archive.html" ;-)

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  7. Thanks puja for the kachori gali information....i knew about this and the fact that the mithai shop just opposite the kachori gali is a place for mourners to eat , at the same time other people go to buy mithai there too.... Even i was a bit shocked n surprised to know this when i was younger but now i understand that this is the spirit of banaras ... the city of Shiva ...there is life after death n destruction too..
    Somehow whenever i go for boating there i refrain myself from going close to the manikarnika ghat ....

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  8. and thanks for mentioning my poem too.

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  9. Have heard about this dish but never tasted it. Maybe, sometime I can give it a try.

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  10. I'm lovin it ! I made this dish years ago..it was very heavy...but same time yummy too!

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  11. I love anything with paneer.This one's yummier with khoya too
    Sinfully Spicy

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  12. Dear Sangeeta
    Thats a awesome recipe. I have eaten some thing like this during my stay in Benaras ( no onion Garlic) but did not know the recipe.
    I will make this after I make some khoya at home. I am very scared to use Khoya from the market.
    Have a nice day

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  13. Adding khoya must have made it more tastier, gravy looks rich and yummy...nice clicks too sangeetha..

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  14. Sangeeta, you have to visit Indore one of these days for the gastronome delights it offers. We too have a khoya market and there are different kinds of khoyas for different purposes. I usually carry two kinds for my in-laws in Ahemdbad. And yes, we have a whole gali and then some for the street fares, and open all hours of the night too!

    I love this khoya curry recipe. My mom sometimes adds khoya to jazz up the curries for visiting guests. Just makes them so rich and yummy.

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  15. Hi Sangeeta,

    I made both khoya and khoya mattar following your recipes.. It was very good.. Thanks a lot for the super-quick way to make khoya, my grandmother liked the idea and we may make some sweets in future..

    I have posted photos and blogged about it at http://gaurigharpure.blogspot.com/2010/09/party-for-four.html

    Do drop in when you can,

    Regards,
    Gauri

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  16. Thank you Gauri...

    I love it when somebody comes up with such great feedback... you know this home made khoya post has become a popular with my blog hits...:)
    I am getting lots of visitors on these two posts daily.

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  17. looks delicious! thanks for stopping by my blog and keep visiting

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  18. Hi Sangeeta,
    Do i use just the seeds or the whole pod of the green and black cardamoms?

    vini

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    Replies
    1. Hi Vini, normally we use the whole pod of both green and black cardamom if grinding it in a mix of spices, but if you find it difficult to grind, discard the outer skin.

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    2. Hi Sangeeta,
      I followed ur recipe to the T .Only change i did was i added only 1/3 cup khoya. turned out very delicious and so flavourful. Thanks.

      Vini

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  19. Hello...

    Came across your blog and was instantly transported to my childhood. Dad was posted in Banaras and we spent a lovely 3 years, the best of our transfer postings ever! Thank you for reviving my memories!
    Your khoya matar reminds me of what my Nani used to make. She added sauteed makhana into it as well, but used khada garam masala- the creaminess of the gravy being enhanced by the khoya (I use homemade too! Stuff that's left after making ghee.) and some of the makhana disintegrating into the gravy. Usual festival fare, I must say...
    Thanks for reminding me!

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  20. Hello...

    Came across your blog and was instantly transported to my childhood. Dad was posted in Banaras and we spent a lovely 3 years, the best of our transfer postings ever! Thank you for reviving my memories!
    Your khoya matar reminds me of what my Nani used to make. She added sauteed makhana into it as well, but used khada garam masala- the creaminess of the gravy being enhanced by the khoya (I use homemade too! Stuff that's left after making ghee.) and some of the makhana disintegrating into the gravy. Usual festival fare, I must say...
    Thanks for reminding me!

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  21. Super Like .. I tried this dish ... its super tasty :)

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