Bhey Mutter - Lotus stem curry with green peas - Lotus root recipe

'Bhey', as referred to in north India, is a popular lotus stem recipe but I didn't stumble upon it until after my marriage. My husband once asked me "Have you eaten Bhey Mutter". My immediate response was "What is Bhey?" He then told me that it is one of the popular delicacies in Punjabi cuisine & one of his favorites. I then had to Google this recipe or even better option - ask my mother-in-law 🙂 She is an excellent cook & my go-to-person for any authentic Punjabi recipe. By the way it is also referred to as 'Kamal Kakdi' in few parts of the country.

This is one of those rare Punjabi recipes that I cooked before I could taste it in a restaurant or elsewhere. But I realized that its easy & simply delicious. 

Lets get started.

For those who are unfamiliar with lotus stem - it looks like this. You can use fresh or frozen ones as available in your market/grocery stores.

Ingredients
2 -2 ½ cups of Bhey/lotus stem/lotus root cut into thin roundels.
1 cup of green peas
1 medium onion finely chopped
½ cup of tomato paste/puree (or use 2 finely chopped medium tomatoes)
1 teaspoon ginger paste
1 teaspoon garlic paste
1 teaspoon cumin seeds (zeera)
¼ tsp turmeric powder
1 teaspoon red chilli powder
½ tbsp coriander powder
½ teaspoon garam masala 
1-2tbsp of oil
salt to taste
coriander leaves for garnishing

Method

• Heat oil in a pan. Once hot add cumin seeds. When they splutter add onions & mix.
• When the onions become transparent, add ginger garlic paste & mix. 
• Cook till onions turn light brown. Now add tomato puree & stir. 
• Then add turmeric powder, red chilli powder, coriander powder, salt & stir to mix well. Cook for another 5mins till masala (mixture) is well cooked.
• Add the lotus stem & around ½ cup of water  (or as required) to avoid the masala getting burnt. This will also aid in the cooking of lotus stem. Cover to cook for another 10-15 mins or till Lotus stems are partially cooked. Then add the green peas & cook it till peas become soft. 
• Lastly add the garam masala, coriander leaves & mix well. 

Lotus stem is naturally crunchy so even after they are completely cooked you will not find them soft. That's the uniqueness of this recipe.

Hope you enjoyed this recipe as much as I did 🙂 Drop your comments to let me know if you liked it. 

Happy Cooking!!!
Shweta


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