Nimona

This is another winter speciality, a vegetarian dish taught by my mother. We use green peas in a number ways in our dishes. This dish makes use of green peas paste to culminate into a brilliant preparation called ‘Nimona’. We Bongs call it ‘Namuna’, though the process may vary from UP or more precisely Lucknowi style ‘Nimona’ but the taste is as awesome in whichever way you choose to make it.

Nimona

I made it in exactly the same way as my mother used to cook it and I remember to scrape my dish to the last bit of it lest on the plate. The recipe preserves the subtle aroma and flavor of Bengal to the fullest and you can actually perceive it in every morsel!! Goes wonderfully well with hot inflated fulkas/roti/paranthas, Nimona is a superb and interesting variation to the same old monotonous subzi/ veg dish. Now the way it is made in a Bong Kitchen.....

Ingredients:

• 500gms green peas
• 1 tsp ginger paste
• 1 tsp garlic paste
• 2 onions chopped
• 2 medium sized potatoes cut in small cubes
• 1 tomato chopped
• 3 green cardamom
• 1 inch cinnamon stick
• 3 cloves
• 1 bay leaf
• ½ tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp Kashmiri red chili powder
• 2 green chilies
• ½ tsp sugar
• Salt as per taste
• Mustard oil as per requirement

Nimona

Process:
 

Step 1:

Make paste of peas, whole garam masala (cardamom, cinnamon, clove) and green chilies in your electric mixer grinder. Do not make the paste very smooth.

Step 2:

Heat oil in a skillet and fry the onions golden. Add the ginger garlic paste and sauté for 2 minutes. Add the potatoes, the powdered masalas and seasonings, mix well. Cover and cook on low flame until the potatoes are three fourth done.

Step 3:

Add the chopped tomatoes and continue frying. Now add the paste, a cup of warm water and let it cook till the water almost dries out and the paste is properly cooked.

Nimona

Step 4:

Serve with hot fulkas or paranthas.