Nadur/Lotus Root Yakheni
Cultural importance: Nadur yakhen is a specialty cooked on weddings and other important occasions by Kashmiri Hindus.
Serving size: 3-5 people
Ingredients:
½ kg or 1 lb. of nadur/lotus root (available at Chinese and Indian store in U.S.A)
1 tsp. of white zeera/cumin seed/zeur
½ tsp. of badiyan/fennel powder
1 tsp. of shonth/ginger powder
½ tsp. powder or 1 stick cinnamon/dalchini
2 cloves/loung/roung
4 green elaichi/cardamom
½ tsp of black zeera
1 big elaichi/cardamom
2 bay leaves/tej pata
Pinch of heeng /asafetida
2 tbsp. of vegetable cooking oil
Salt to taste
1-1/2 cup of beaten low fat yogurt and half cup of beaten low fat sour cream (available at all supermarkets in milk section).
Method:
Peel the skin and wash nadur.
Cut nadur into 2 ½ inch long round pieces.
Take 1 ½ cup of water in pressure cooker or cooking pan.
Add nadur to water in pan or pressure cooker.
Add 2 small and big crushed elaichi; roung, dalchin, heeng, tej pata; zeera, salt, and heeng.
Cook nadur in a pan till nadur is tender or in pressure cooker, cook for 5 minutes.
Open the lid of pressure cooker to check for tenderness.
Beat yogurt, sour cream, shonth, badiyan, and crushed zeera in deep-bottomed bowl.
Take oil in a separate cooking pan.
Add mixture of yogurt to oil and sauté at a low heat with constant stirring.
Boil the whole mixture and add to nadur in pressure cooker or pan and cook for 5-10 minutes at medium flame.
Crush green elaichi and black zeera, and sprinkle over nadur yakhen. Cover the pan/cooker to retain exotic aroma.
Serve with white boiled rice.
