Sindh’s landscape consists largely of the alluvial plains along the Indus River. With the many waterways in Sindh it is not surprising that young lotus stem called bheay in Sindhi and fox nuts or seeds of Euryale water lilies called phool patasha in Sindhi and makhana elsewhere are part of Sindhi cuisine.
Another interesting aspect of Sindhi cuisine is the introduction of imported food products like macaroni used in dishes and agar-agar used to make a pudding called China Grass. These may have been brought to Sindh by the Sindhworkis, the traders who went overseas to trade in the famous crafts of Sindh like the carpets, lungis, embroideries, lacquered ware, a beautifully coloured nested boxes, ajrak, and brass and kansa work. The Sindhis set sail for Aden, the Straits settlements and Egypt. From Cairo and Gibraltar they moved on to other parts of Europe, Africa, the Caribbean and South America right till Chile one of the southernmost outposts. They made base in Calcutta and Colombo, and from there moved east to China, Japan, Indonesia and other East Asian countries. From peddlers to retailers to even building multinational groups of their own, the Sindhis prospered and brought exotic food home to cities like Hyderabad and Karachi.
The recipe I have described uses macaroni and fox nuts phool patasha in the typical tomato and onion curry.
Yield – 5-6 servings
Ingredients:
2 large sized onions – cut lengthwise.
2 large sized tomatoes – chopped.
1 large potato – cubed
½ cup fox nuts / phool makhana (25- 30 pieces)
1/4th cup macaroni
1 tbsp ginger garlic paste(Optional)
1 tsp cumin seeds
Coriander leaves
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp cumin powder/ 1 tsp gram masala
1 tsp red chilli powder
Salt to taste
Method of Preparing Phool makhana curry
1. In a pressure cooker, heat oil and then add cumin seeds. Cook the cumin seeds till they crackle.
2. Sift the onions to the cooker and fry them till they are well-browned or caramelized.
3. Add ginger garlic paste and cook for a minute.
4. Add roughly chopped tomatoes in the resulting mixture, and cook till the tomatoes become tender.
5. Now add all the spices in it and mix them thoroughly.
6. Pour one cup of water on the mixture and close the lid of the pressure cooker. Cook on high flame till the first pressure cooker whistle.
7. Now lower the flame and let it cook for 5-7 minutes more, then put off the flame
8. Open the lid once the pressure is released and mixture is cooled down completely
9. Whisk the curry using a wooden beater or hand-churner.
10. Add cubed potatoes and macaroni to the curry and again pressure cook for a while (till one whistle) and let it cool down.
11. Take a small pan, put little oil in it roast the makhana in it on low or medium flame till they puff-up and turn crunchy. Add them at the end so the crunchy texture of the roasted makhana contrasts with the smooth surface of macaroni and the moist gravy, but some prefer to add them at the 10th step of the recipe where it blends with the rest of the dishes.
12. Garnish with coriander leaves.
Best had hot with Bhuga Chawal (Caramelized Rice) but can also pair with rotis.
