Gawar Ki Phali

• Combine the ginger, garlic, cumin seeds, green chillies, and cloves in a mortar and pestle — pound them together to form a rough paste and set aside.
• Pour oil in a pressure cooker and heat it. Add the onions and sauté them in the pressure cooker itself till golden brown. Introduce the ginger, garlic, cumin, chilli, and clove paste and sauté till it gives off a nice fragrance and aroma.
• Add in the tomatoes and cook until the oil begins to separate. Sprinkle turmeric powder along with red chilli powder, coriander powder, garam masala, and the meat masala to the vegetables and cook for a few moments till it turns into a fine mix.
• Add in the chopped gawar ki phalli and stir it well with the masala. As you cook, the masala will start sticking to the base. When this happens, add a couple of tablespoons of water to the mix and continue to stir the vegetables over a high flame. Continue this process until about ¾ cups of water has been used.
• Pour ½ a cup of water and stir it well. Place the lid on the pressure cooker and let it cook for three Open the lid and add in the potatoes, the rest of the water and stir well. Close the lid once more and let it cook for another three whistles. Release the pressure and if there is any water left, slightly reduce it by cooking it on a high flame with the removed lid.
• Test to see if the oil begins to separate again, add the coriander leaves at this point and stir it all together. Serve hot.

Trivia

Interestingly enough, the garam masala is believed to have originated in North India, thanks to the biting winters. The “hot spices” are a combination of many different spices including cumin, chilies, cardamom, and peppercorn, to name a few.