Matar ka nimona is a green peas curry made commonly during winter in Uttar Pradesh. This matar recipe does have a strange name but it tastes good when made with fresh, sweet peas that one gets in winter. I remember mum cooking it during the winter months when I was a child. Some people also make it with green chana or fresh green gram.
It is a relatively simple, homestyle dish that goes well with chapatis and rice both. It is another great recipe with peas that come bountiful at this time of the year.
So here is my matar ka nimona recipe:
Matar Ka Nimona from UP
Matar ka nimona is a flavourful homestyle UP dish made with fresh green peas. It is enhanced by the sweet flavour of fresh peas.
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Ingredients
- 1.5 cups fresh green peas shelled
- 3-4 green chillies as per taste you can reduce or increase the number of chillies
- ½ inch ginger
- 5-6 cloves garlic
- 3-4 tomatoes
- 1 tsp. mustard oil use regular oil if you don't have mustard oil
- 1 tsp. garam masala
- 1 tbsp. coriander powder
- 1 tsp. cumin seeds
- 1 pinch hing asafoetida
- 2 tbsp. cilantro chopped
- Salt to taste
Whole spices
- 2 green cardamom
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 1 star anise
- 4 cloves
Instructions
- Make a masala paste of green chillies, coriander leaves, ginger and garlic along with tomatoes. This will have a greenish tinge.
- Now heat oil in a kadhai or pan.
- Add in cumin seeds and asafoetida and allow to sputter for about 30 seconds. Now add whole spices and cook for a minute more.
- Add in the masala paste. Cook for about 10 minutes till tomatoes are well cooked and there is no kachcha or raw smell to ginger-garlic paste. You can see that oil comes out on the sides of the masala.
- Take peas in a blender and make a fine paste leaving a few peas coarse or whole.
- Once the tomato-green masala is cooked, add the blended peas mixture to it and cook on a low flame for 5 minutes.
- Now add water depending upon how thick you want the curry to be.
- Add salt and coriander powder. Cover and cook on low heat till the gravy is done. Takes about 5-10 minutes.
- Switch off the heat. Add garam masala.
- Taste and adjust seasoning.
- Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot.
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Notes
1. This is best made with fresh peas though you could use frozen peas too. The flavour will be different then.
2. Some people also add finely cubed potato to the dish. In case you are using potatoes, cook them along with the green peas mixture.
3. You may use onion in the masala but I avoid it.
4. Make the curry thick or runny as per your preference.
5. Mustard oil is preferred though you may use regular vegetable oil.
6. This is really delicious and unique pea curry.
Nutrition
Calories: 101kcalCarbohydrates: 17gProtein: 5gFat: 2gSaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 130mgPotassium: 384mgFiber: 6gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 1146IUVitamin C: 50mgCalcium: 104mgIron: 4mg
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Do try this recipe and let me know how it turned out. I request you to leave a star * rating if you like it. Thanks.
You may also like these other winter delicacies:
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Nabanita Dhar says
I will try this, Rachna.
Now, a request, if you can please share an easy gajjar ka halwa recipe. The red carrots in the market are really tempting me ?
Aparna says
Hi Rachna.. had made it last week for 1st time n yes its absolutely tasty and different too and everybody at home loves it… will make it again perhaps next week using your recipe…thanks for sharing
Dagny says
I make this with boot... green chana. Will try with peas too. Awesome sweet peas flooding the local mandi!
Tarang Sinha says
Will try this. It's easy and seems yum. Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Rajlakshmi says
Hey this sounds easy enough. Looks delicious too. Will try it ?
Shalzmojo says
I loved it when I first tried it out a couple ofy ears ago in Varanasi – thanks for reminding me about it. I just bought both green channas and peas today only; this goes into making tomorrow for sure. I love it with rice! Yummm!
Reema D'souza says
This looks delicious and sounds like an easy to make dish. Will try it when I can.
Shalini R says
Wow. That's an easy recipe. Matar is flooding the markets! I will definitely give this a try 🙂
Soumya Prasad says
Oh, the peas is ground? That explains the color and the texture. My husband is a huge fan of peas but I do not have the time to shell the fresh ones. I shall try this with the frozen peas I have at home, this weekend.
Thanks, Rachna.
Rachna says
It really is worth making this with fresh peas. There is a difference in taste, at least I feel there is. But, I guess you can use the shortcut and see how it turns out. 🙂 It is among my winter favourites and I do hope you enjoy it.