Share
Veg Diwani Handi is a recipe made in rich gravy. This is a restaurant style dish which is paired up with naans, chapatis and parathas. The recipe shared here is easy to make at home and the rich gravy makes this dish special. It is a simple mixed vegetable curry made with vegetables like peas, carrots, cauliflower, beans and the curry paste is made of onion and tomato paste. The cashew paste added in the curry gives it a thick and creamy texture.
The flavours of the spices added in the curry gives a spicy flavour and the sweetness of the cashew paste makes the whole curry a combination of balanced spicy, sweet and savoury flavours. The vibrant colour of the gravy adds a fantastic appeal to it making it appetising. The butter added in the curry provides a glaze and when served in a copper bowl, this dish looks royal.
Incorporating some pure metals (and clay) into the kitchen boosts health and longevity. Food cooked in metals adds a lot of health benefits into the system. It is found through research that the food cooked in nonstick utensils gets in contact with the chemicals used to make them and therefore metals like brass, copper, aluminium adds to the nutrients in the food cooked.
One can also store water overnight in a copper utensil, and must drink the first glass from this to enjoy the benefits of this wonderful metal. Science has now proved that copper-rich foods boost collagen. Therefore, this metal offers advantages for the skin too. It detoxifies the body, helps increase haemoglobin, improves the secretion of bile and the peristaltic movements of the gut to aid digestion as well.
Here’s the recipe for Veg Diwani Handi.
Preparation time: 10-15 mins
Cooking time: 25-30 mins
Serves: 4-5
Ingredients:
For base gravy:
• 3-4 tbsps oil
• 4 medium-sized onions (sliced)
• 15-16 cashew nuts
• 5-6 medium-sized tomatoes (quarters)
• 1-inch ginger
• 4-5 garlic cloves
• 3-4 Kashmiri red chillies
• Salt, to taste
• 2 green chillies
• 220 ml water
For the half-cooked veggies
• 1 cup cauliflower (florets)
• ¼ tsp turmeric
• A pinch of salt
• ½ cup carrots
• Green peas
• ½ cup French beans
For the sabzi:
• 1 tbsp ghee
• 3 tbsp garlic (chopped)
• 2-3 green chillies (chopped)
• 1 inch dalchini
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 cardamoms
• 2-3 cloves
• 3-4 black peppercorns
• 2 tbsp Kashmiri red chilli powder
• 1 tbsp coriander powder
• 1 tsp jeera powder
• Blended base gravy
• Hot water, as required
• Half-cooked veggies
• 1-inch ginger (julienned)
• ⅓ cup Fresh cream
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1 tsp kasuri methi
• Fresh coriander leaves (chopped)
• 2 drops kewra water
For tadka:
• 2 tbsps ghee
• 5-6 almonds
• 5-6 cashews
Method:
For the base gravy:
• Slice the onions thinly, just the way we do for barista and further separate the layers.
• Set a wok/handi on medium heat, add oil and cook until the onions are completely golden brown.
• The onions will darken further even after removing from the oil, so make sure to remove them just before they are about to get golden brown colour.
• Remove the fried onions over the paper towel to absorb excess oil, further transfer in the grinding jar
• Now, remove 80 % oil from the wok/handi and add cashew nuts and roast them on medium low flame until golden brown in colour.
• Remove and keep aside.
• In the same pan, add tomatoes, ginger, garlic, Kashmiri red chillies, salt to taste and green chillies, cook on medium flame for 2-3 minutes, add water and stir well.
• Cook for 10 minutes on medium low flame, after cooking, switch off the flame and cool down to room temperature.
• Transfer it in a grinding jar, along with the roasted cashews and the fried onions, add some water to grind into a fine paste.
• The base gravy is ready.
For half cooked veggies:
• Set water for boiling, add turmeric powder, salt and cauliflower florets, blanch them for briefly 30 seconds and keep them aside.
• This step is usually done to remove impurities from cauliflower.
• Now, take the same wok/handi and add the reserved oil used for frying onions, and fry the carrots, green peas, blanched cauliflower and french beans.
• Cook them on high flame for 3-4 minutes keeping them crunchy.
• Remove in a bowl and keep aside to be used later in the sabzi.
For the sabzi:
• Continue to cook in the same wok/handi, add some ghee, garlic, green chillies and whole spices.
• Cook on medium low flame until the garlic turns slightly golden brown.
• Now, lower the heat and add the powdered spices.
• Add some water to prevent the spices from burning, and increase the flame to medium heat and cook the spices, cook until the oil and ghee is separated.
• Now, add the blended base gravy to wok/handi, you can add some hot water in the grinding jar to avoid the gravy wastage.
• Add hot water depending on the desired consistency of the gravy.
• Stir well and cook for 10-15 minutes on medium flame, stir in regular intervals.
• Next add the half-cooked veggies, ginger and mix well.
• Taste the gravy and adjust the salt as per taste, stir well and cook for 7-8 minutes on high flame.
• Now, lower the flame and add fresh cream, garam masala and kasuri methi, stir well and cook for a minute on low flame.
• Finish with some freshly chopped coriander leaves and 2 drops of kewra water.
• The sabzi is ready. Serve it hot just by adding the nuts tadka.
For tadka:
• Simply heat a tadka pan, add ghee and the nuts.
• Fry until they are golden brown and top it over the sabzi.
• Serve hot with some roti or naan or any Indian bread your choice.
