2 tablespoons ginger - garlic - green chilli paste (i added 1/2" ginger, 3 cloves garlic and 2 green chillies)
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
1-2 teaspoon red chilli powder (or to taste)
1 teaspoon coriander powder
1 teaspoon kitchen king masala (optional, just my addition as I had plenty of it)
salt to taste
1/4 cup oil
2 tablespoons butter (optional, but recommended!)
2-3 tablespoons coriander leaves/ cilantro
2 to matoes (blanch, deseed & grate or just chop, deseed & puree)
For the paste
2 onions
2 tablespoons grated coconut
2 teaspoons khus khus or poppy seeds
For garnish (optional)
3-4 to asted cashew nuts
Instructions
Cook peas with about 2 cups water and a dash of salt.
Grind together the ingredients of the paste in a mixer
Heat 2 tbsp oil and add the whole spices - bay leaves, cardamon, cinnamon, star anise, cloves. Saute till a nice aroma emits.
Now add the ground onion paste and saute till light brown over low flame. Now this will take some time and patience but totally worth it! Here I followed her expertise advice to the T. For me it took a good 20 mins, or more. Do not increase the heat to speed up the process.
Add more oil to the onion paste as it gets dry. Add the butter too for a smooth consistency.
Once light brown, add the ginger-garlic-chilli paste and saute for a min or two.
Now add the grated/ pureed tomatoes, coriander powder, turmeric, red chilli powder, salt and cook till oil separates and the masala gets a nice sheen on top.
Add the peas along with its stock as per the consistency required. Let come to a boil & make sure the peas is cooked. Throw in the coriander leaves and kitchen king masala (if adding). Simmer for 2-3 mins. This gives the gravy a nice flavor of the fresh coriander.
Remove from heat and garnish with toasted cashew. Serve hot with rotis, ghee rice, pulaos.