Peanut curry

This recipe was lying around in my drafts folder for a long time. Along with many other recipes, of course. Then I came across the JFI - Peanuts at Cook's Hideout. This is the first time I am submitting my recipe. JFI is started by Indira of http://www.themahanandi.org/

This type of peanut curry is prepared mainly during fasting. I consider fasting as a feast because though you abstain from regular food, there are certain kinds of food which you can make and enjoy. Peanut and buttermilk are the base for this curry with tempering of clarified butter( you can use oil but tastes better with ghee) and cumin.

Recipe:

1 cup roasted peanuts, skin removed, coarsely ground

1 cup yogurt

1/2 tsp red chilli powder- more if you dare

1/4 cup freshly grated coconut

1 cup water

salt to taste

sugar to taste

cilantro for garnishing

3 tsp clarified butter (ghee)

1 tsp cumin seeds

Blend all the ingredients from roasted peanuts to sugar in a blender and blend well.

The consistency of curry shouldnt be too thick but kind of like rasam. Add more water if needed.

Heat a pot and add the peanut curry base to it. Heat separately another pot for tempering. Add clarified butter to it and when hot enough add the cumin seeds. When the seeds start sputtering, add the tempered butter to the peanut curry base. Mix well. Let it simmer a little and then turn off the gas. Do not let it boil too much because this causes the yogurt to separate out. Garnish with cilantro and serve immediately with Upaas potato bhaaji or "vari cha rice ".

This curry is rich in proteins and calcium. The final taste should be a yougurty-spicy curry with hint of salt and aftertaste of sugar.

Enjoy,

Dipti.