Nutty Makhana Curry

I last had Makhana when I was in my early teens- while not quite a staple, it was something that was often made at home as long as we were living in Jharkhand. But once we moved to Calcutta, it disappeared from the dining table, and remained only as a vague memory.
Once I started visiting food forums, I was reminded afresh about makhana- if i made an effort, I could almost taste the crispy goodness, but the real thing remained a dream. Until, we moved to our new place, and I sighted makhana at the local grocery store. Thencame the challenge- the makhana was available, but I couldn't find the recipes I had lusted after. A detailed search finally yielded a recipe that looked interesting, but which was far too rich for my taste. I decided to replace the myriad dry fruits with flax seeds, and voila- one lip smacking dish that takes virtually no time to prepare.

4 pods of garlic, thinly sliced
2 inch piece - ginger, grated
1/2+1/2- yellow and red pepper, thinly sliced
2 1/2 - onions, thinly sliced
1 cup - makhana
1 tbsp - ghee
1 cup milk
1 tsp - garam masala
Oil to sauté vegetables
3 tbsp flax seeds
6- 8 cashew nuts
1 tsp kasuri methi
1 tsp sugar
salt to taste

Method

Heat the ghee in a non stick pan, add the makhanas and fry for a couple of minutes or until light brown. Keep aside.
Coarsely grind the flax seeds and cashew nuts (without water). Keep aside.
Heat the oil in a non stick pan, add the thinly sliced garlic, ginger, onions and pepper and saute for a minute on medium heat.
Add the coarsely ground nuts and cook for about a minute. Add the 1/2 cup of milk and cook until the milk evaporates.
Add the garam masala, salt, sugar and 1/2 cup of milk and bring it to a boil.
Add the fried makhanas and the kasuri methi and mix well.
Serve immediately. Goes best with hot rotis.