Methi Matar Malai

This was supposedly my most favorite dish when I went to restaurants. That was the time when North-Indian food was "exotic" food, to be indulged in on most special occasions. Times and tastes have changed now, but somehow the memories of MMM came back to me a few days back and I decided to try it out at home. Then began the search for the recipe that most suited my signature. After a lot of tailoring, this one emerged.
The first time I made it, I was scared it might turn out a bit sweetish and I added loads of pepper to ward off my fears. What a disaster that was! It was perfect, except that the only flavor that stood out was pepper. :-P After the lesson learnt, here's the recipe without the pepper:

Ingredients:

1. Methi leaves - cleaned and chopped - 1 cup
2. Fresh green peas - 1 cup
3. Cashewnuts - 10-12
4. Poppy seeds (optional) - 2 tsp.
5. Green chillies - 3 or 4 ( depending on the desired spice level)
6. Ginger - 1 inch piece
7. Garlic - 4-5 pods
8. Cloves - 2 or 3
9. Cinnamon - 1/2 inch piece
10. Cardamom - 1 or 2
11. Fresh cream - 1 tbsp.
12. Milk - 1 tbsp.
13. Jeera - 1/2 tsp.
14. Salt - as desired
15. Sugar (optional) - a pinch
16. Oil - 2-3 tsp.

Procedure:

1. Grind together cashewnuts, poppy seeds, green chillies, ginger, garlic.
2. Powder cardamon, cloves and cinnamon.
3. In a kadai, heat oil and temper with jeera.
4. Add the green peas and saute till they are tender.
5. Add the methi leaves and saute for a minute. the leaves will shrink and give out a flavor
6. Add  the ground paste and milk . Add the powdered closes, cardamon and cinnamon.
7. Add salt and sugar and cook for around 5 minutes in the gravy. If it is too thick, add a little more milk.
8. Add fresh cream and switch off the flame.
9. Serve with rotis.