Malai Makhana Curry

My mother used to cook Makhana a lot when I was a kid, but it has been ages since I had it, and I'd almost forgotten it existed. Was reminded of it's existence a year or two back, when I saw MM post this recipe, but since makhana wasn't available at any of the stores near me, I could only lust. After moving to the new place, I saw makhana at my grocer, but it took me nearly 6 months to finally make this.
I ground the spices, which wasn't such a good idea. Next time, I will remove the spices before grinding, and I am sure I will like it much more that way.

Makhana /Lotus Seeds/Puffed Fox nuts, 3 Cups
Green Peas, 1 Cup
Oil, 1 tbsp

For the gravy:
Bay Leaf, 1
Cinnamon, 1 inch
Cloves,3
Green Cardamom, 2
Black peppercorns, 8
Onions, chopped,2 medium
Tomato puree, 5 tbsp
Ginger, paste, ½ tsp
Garlic, paste,1 tsp
Salt, to taste
Coriander powder ,1 tsp
Kashmiri Red chili powder, 1 tsp ( gives a lovely red colour without any heat)
Fresh Cream, ½ cup
Oil, 1 tbsp
Water, enough to get a thin consistency gravy

Dry roast makhanas in a non stick pan over low heat with constantly stirring. When makhanas start going crunchy pour a tablespoon of oil all over them and continue to stir till they start changing colour to pale golden brown. Remove from heat and keep aside.
Boil green peas and keep aside.

Heat oil in a pan and then add bay leaf, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, peppercorns. Sauté till they start to crackle. Add onions and fry till light golden brown. Add ginger/garlic paste and sauté well. Add tomato, tomato puree and all the spice powders. Sauté till oil separates and then take it off heat. Blend the mix to a smooth fine paste (use water if necessary) and strain it back into the pan. If you don’t want the heat of the whole spices, pls. fish them out before blending the paste. I didn’t want to add red chili powder so I left the whole spices in. If you want to add red chili powder, don’t add the peppercorns or reduce the quantity.

Add water to the strained mix and let it come to a boil. Add green peas & makhanas. Let the gravy simmer well on low heat so that the makhanas get a chance to soak up the gravy and go soft. Add the cream, mix well and cook for another couple of minutes.
Serve hot.

You can avoid the cream by adding milk instead of water to the gravy.
Mushrooms and Paneer also work well with the Makhanas.