Phool Makhana Curry | Phool Makhana Peas Curry | Side dish for Chapathi

Phool Makhana/ Lotus seed is used to make kheer in North India during fasting time. When i was in Bangalore, i used to pick a packet of this, whenever it's available in the store. Usually i just stir fry this and had it as such. It's so crispy and have the texture of popcorn.
I want to try this curry for so long that i noted down from some tv shows, but i couldn't find phool makhana in any nearby Indian Stores here in US. But last week, hubby bought it from some new store  and immediately i tried it. As expected, it turns out delicious, so to post here, today again i have prepared this and we had it with chapathi. Yummy combo, you must try this if you would like to have some new dishes for your chapathi/pulkha.

Phool Makhana Curry

Preparation Time : 10 mins | Cooking Time : 20 mins | Serves : 2 
Recipe Category: Curry | Recipe Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients
Phool Makhana - 1/2 cup
Peas(frozen) - 1/4 cup
Onion - 1 medium size
Tomato - 2 
Ginger - 1/2 inch piece
Garlic - 2 pods
Cashew - 4
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Red Chili powder - 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Coriander leaves - few
Oil - 2 tsp
Cinnamon - 1 small piece
Cloves - 1 
Cardamom - 1

Procedure

First cut the onions & tomatoes into small pieces.Heat the kadai with 1/2 tsp of oil, add the cinnamom,cloves & cardamom & fry for 30 secs.Then add onions along with ginger & garlic.Saute the onions till it becomes translucent,to make the process faster, add a pinch of salt.Once the onions become translucent, add the tomatoes & cashew and cover cook the tomatoes till it's mushy.Cool the onion & tomato mixture and then put it in mixie jar and grind into smooth paste.Heat the pan with 1/2 tsp of oil, add the phool makhana and roast till it becomes crispy. Remove it from the kadai and keep aside.In the same pan, add 1 tsp of oil and then add the onion tomato paste and the spices(turmeric, red chili & coriander powder).Add enough salt to the gravy and then add peas , let it comes to boil and allow to cook the peas.Once the peas are cooked and the raw smell of the masala leaves, add the phool makhana and let it be in flame for 2 mins. Switch off the flame and garnish with coriander leaves.Tasty Phool Makhana curry is ready, Serve it with chapathi or pulkha or with any Indian flat breads.

Notes:

• For extra flavor, you can add tsp of garam masala too.
• If you have ginger garlic paste, skip ginger & garlic while sauteing and saute 1 tsp of ginger paste in oil before adding the onion tomato paste.
• Cashew gives creaminess & rich taste to the gravy.
• If you want even more richer gravy, add 1 tbsp of cream at the end.