Mixed Veggies In a Very Low calorie Makhani Gravy…but no compromise on taste!!!!

Hi friends! My regular readers would know that these days I am trying to cook and post curries which are low in fat. I  am trying to make curries without compromising on the flavour but surely the calories.

As foodies we all know that a Makhani gravy as the name describes is made in butter (makkhan) and cooked in a cream. I have posted two of these variants earlier Daal Makhani and Cauliflower Butter Masala, which also happens to be a very popular recipe from my site.

In the Makhani gravy the main base is tomato flavoured with whole spices. It’s easy to work with tomato and whole spices as they do not add to the fats, the real work goes in replacing cream and the butter as they are the fattening agents and add to the overdose of calories.

One can surely use a low fat butter and a low fat cream but that reduces calories to some extent but if one wants to indulge in an extremely low calorie affair then there comes the real challenge. I have surely not used any cream or butter here, so then what did I do? I found a very interesting ingredient which provides a creamy texture and still does not add much to the calories, this does not let one miss that creamy texture added by the cream…it’s the skimmed milk powder. It just conveniently replaces the cream in the makhani and one just does not miss it!!

Ingredients

a large handful of peas (I used frozen)

2 potatoes cubed

8-10 french beans chopped

1 small cauliflower cut into small pieces

1 carrot cubed

one onion boiled and pureed

2 tbsp ginger & garlic  paste

3/4 pack of tomato puree

6-7 tbsp milk powder

whole spices (bay leaves-3, cinnamon stick-1, black cardamom-2, green cardamom-4, cloves-4)

a pinch of nutmeg

1 tbsp kasoori methi

1 tsp sugar

2-3 tsp kashmiri chili pwd

2 tbsp coriander pwd

a pinch of turmeric

a pinch of garam masala

oil for cooking about 1 tbsp+ 1 tbsp ghee

salt to taste

Method

Boil  and cook all the vegetables in water.

Heat the oil and ghee mix and add the whole spices and let them crackle.

Now add the kasoori methi and saute for few seconds without letting it burn.

Add the g-g paste and add the kashmiri chili pwd.

Put the boiled onion paste and cook for a minute, now add the tomato puree and sugar.

Add the coriander pwd, turmeric and mix. Remove from fire and add the milk powder mixed in water, this prevents curdling of the milk. Saute for a few more minutes.

Now add the veggies, salt and garam masala and cook for a few more mins. Just before removing from the fire add the nutmeg and mix.

This curry goes well with Jeera rice, Whole wheat Naan, Paratha or Roti.

Just show off with some cream on top.
Tips-

One needs to be careful using the milk powder as it curdles easily. That’s the reason salt is added at the finishing stage plus when the milk powder is added as a slurry, remove the pan from fire.

I have used the skimmed milk powder, one is free to use any.

Sending this to Sara and  Sunita’s- Think Spice Think Garam Masala.