Maruti Makhana

Makhanas are puffed lotus seeds, just like pop corns are puffed corn kernels. Today is the second day of my Navratras and I decided to treat myself with Makhana Kheer today. My Mom usually roasted them in a couple of teaspoons of ghee and added salt and pepper – it made a nice munch. I believe makhanas are also added to a variety of curries but I have never tried it. Simple and quick to make- this is how I went about it-


Ingredients:

Phool Makhanas- 1 Cup, Milk- 500 ml, Sugar as per taste, Kesar – a few strands (optional), Dry fruits and raisins (vertically cut almonds, pistachios, cashew nuts), Ghee – 2 tsp (optional), Cardamom Powder- 1/2 tsp (optional)

Cut Makhane into four parts. Take a pan and heat ghee into it. Fry the makahne, till they turn light pink in colour. Fry all the Makhane in the same manner.Take a pan and grease it with ghee.

To make sweet syrup (chashni) take sugar and 1/3 water of the quantity of sugar. Boil it till the sugar dissolves completely, and then add milk into it. You will see a brown colour foam forming at the top of the pan, take it out with the help of a ladle. Prepare a 3 string syrup. 3 string syrup is extremely thick and freezes instantly on the spoon.

Now add fried makhane into the syrup and stir it continuously with the ladle. Put this mixture into the greased pan. Within half n hour the mixture will settle down. Makhane Pag is ready. Break the makhane into small pieces and store it in an air-tight container. Makhane Pag can be stored in the refrigerator for 20 days. Take it out from the refrigerator and eat it whenever you like.


Ingredients:

Makhane - 100 gms, Ghee - 200 gms, Sugar - 500 gms, Milk - 1 table spoon.

Fry the makhana. Keep aside:- Take 2-3 makhanas and crush them. Heat the oil. Add onions, tomatoes and mix well. Add the dry spices: green chillies, ginger paste, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder, salt, water and mix well. Grind the mixture and make a smooth paste. Add the indian baby gourd and potatoes and water''. Add salt, garam masala. Add coriander leaves. Serve hot

Ingredients:

1/2 cup makhana, 200 gm indian baby gourd, 200 gm potatoes, 2 tomatoes, 2 onions, 1 tsp turmeric powder,1 tsp garam masala, 2 green chillies, Some ginger paste, 2 tsp coriander powder, Few coriander leaves, 1 tsp red chilli powder,2 cups water, 4 tbsp oil, Salt to taste.

Heat 1 tsp of the oil in a cast-iron or nonstick skillet and add the lotus seeds. Stir-fry them, stirring constantly, until they turn golden-brown and crisp. You don''t want them to blacken. Make a paste with the cashews and 1 cup of water and set aside. Heat the remaining oil in a skillet (if you used a cast-iron one to roast the lotus seeds, replace it with a nonstick or stainless steel one for the rest of the recipe. You''re using tomato in the recipe and acidic ingredients don''t react happily to cast iron). Add the onion and saute over medium heat until it turns transparent, about 5 minutes. Add the ginger and garlic and saute for a few seconds. Add the powdered spices and saute another 30 seconds. Add the tomato puree and mix thoroughly. Cook, stirring frequently, until the tomatoes darken and the oil begins to express itself. Add the lotus seeds, the frozen green peas, and the kasoori methi. Give it all a good stir and a cup of water. Once the curry comes to a boil, add the cashew paste and salt to taste. If the curry is too thick, add some water. I like my curry rather thick-- perfect to scoop up with an oven-fresh naan. Spritz in a few drops of lemon juice for some added complexity. Garnish with chopped coriander


Ingredients:

2 cups phool makhana or lotus seeds (they keep in the pantry forever-- I am not even sure which year I bought mine, and they''re still great) ,1 cup green peas, 1 medium onion, chopped,3 tsp vegetable oil, like canola, 5 cloves of garlic, smashed or minced very fine, 2 tsp ginger paste, 1 tbsp coriander powder, 1 tsp garam masala, 1/2 to 1 tsp red chilli powder, like paprika or, if you''ve more adventurous tastebuds, cayenne, 1/2 tsp turmeric, 1 cup tomato puree, 1/4 cup kasoori methi (dried fenugreek leaves-- pick them up when you shop for the lotus seeds at the Indian grocery store), 1/3 cup of cashews, Salt to taste.

Roughly chop the spinach and rinse it carefully in a bowl of water. Place into a saucepan with the tumeric. The water left on the spinach will be sufficient for cooking it. Cover and cook until the spinach is wilted and almost cooked. Using the immersion blender, blend until semi smooth.

In a pan, toast the phool makhana in a pan with a little ghee until lightly brown (you can toast them in a dry pan if you prefer). Remove and keep aside.

In the same pan with the remaining ghee, toast the cumin until brown. Add the onions and cook until transparent. Add the tomatoes and cook until they lose most of their liquid. Then add the spices – the turmeric, garam masala, Cinnamon stick, chilli powder and salt to taste – and the water. Mix and allow to simmer for 1 – 2 minutes.

Add the spinach and the milk and simmer for another 3 minutes. Add the toasted Phool Makhana to the spinach gravy. Bring to the boil, simmer for a moment, remove from heat and serve.

Ingredients:

1 bunch spinach, 1 onion, chopped, 2 tomatoes, diced, 1 cup Phool Makhana, 1 tspn Cumin, 1 tspn Garam Masala, 0.5 tspn chilli powder, 1 Cinnamon stick, 0.5 tspn Turmeric, 0.25 cup Milk, 1 Tblspn Ghee, Salt to taste

Heat clarified butter in a pan. Fry makhana in the ghee. Cut cottage cheese in samll pieces. Mince onion, tomato, garlic, ginger. Cut cashewnut in samll pieces. Soak poppy seeds in 1/4 cup of water. After 1 hour grind the soaked poppy seeds to a fine paste. Chop coriander leaves very finely. Heat clarified butter in a pan. Add onion, tomato, garlic, ginger paste and brown it, stirring continously. Add poppy seeds and fry for 2 minutes and then turn off the gas. To this mixture add makhana, cottage cheese, cream , salt, red chili pepper, turmeric, dried pudina leaves. Keep this mixture aside for half an hour. After half an hour put the pan on the flame and add milk. When it comes to a boil add 3 cups of water. Simmer it till the makahana are completely done and soft. Then add cashewnuts and garam masala. After 1 minute put the flame. Transfer the mixture to a dish and sprinkle some corainder on it. Serve it hot with nan, roti or parantha.

Ingredients:

2 cup Makhana, 250 gms Cottage Cheese (Paneer), 4 Onion (Pyaj), 4 Tomato (Tamatar), 1 " long piece Ginger (Adrak), 4 - 5 cloves Garlic (Lasun), 1/2 cup Cream (Malai), 2 cup Milk, 1 tsp Red Chily Powder (Lal Mirchi), 1/4 tsp Turmeric (Haldi), 1/2 tsp Dried Pudina Leaves, 1 cup Cashewnut (Kaju), 1/2 tsp Garam Masala, 1 tblsp Poppy seeds (Khuskhus), Coriander Leaves (Dhania Patta), 4 tblsp Clarified Butter (Ghee)

This Makhana pulao is just what you need to add both beauty and taste to your table. A simple and easy to make rice preparation - try this truly irresistible mouthwatering delight. Make your day with a great meal.

Ingredients:

Rice 400 gram, Butter 50 gram, Vegetable oil 50 gram, Garam masala 10 gram, Makhana - lotus seed 200 gram, Yoghurt 100 gram, Salt 50 gram
For garnish,Coriander leaves 30 gram, Onion 30 gram.