Ker Sangri

Ingredients

• 75g dried sangri beans
• 40g dried ker berries
• 1 tsp salt, for soaking
• 4 tbsp mustard oil
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp carom seeds (ajwain)
• 1/2 tsp asafoetida
• 6 whole dried red chillies, Mathania if you can find them
• 2 tsp red chilli powder
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 150ml plain yogurt
• 100ml water, for the yogurt
• 1 tsp amchur (dried mango powder)
• 1.5 tsp salt
• 3 tbsp raisins
• 1 tsp fennel seeds, lightly crushed

Before you cook

• Rinse the sangri and ker in several changes of water to wash off the desert grit.
• Soak them together overnight in plenty of cold water with 1 teaspoon of salt.
• Drain and rinse them again the next day.
• Whisk the yogurt with 100ml water until completely smooth.

Steps

1. Boil the soaked ker and sangri in fresh salted water for 20 minutes, until a sangri stick bends without snapping.
2. Drain them and press out the excess water with the back of a spoon.
3. Heat the mustard oil in a heavy pan over medium-high heat until it smokes lightly, then lower the heat to medium to take the raw pungency out.
4. Add the cumin seeds, carom seeds, asafoetida and whole dried chillies and fry for 30 seconds.
5. Add the drained ker and sangri and fry them for 5 minutes, stirring, so they take on the oil.
6. Take the pan off the heat and stir in the chilli powder, turmeric, ground coriander and ground cumin.
7. Return the pan to low heat and pour in the whisked yogurt, stirring steadily so it does not split.
8. Simmer for 10 minutes until the yogurt tightens around the vegetables and oil begins to bead at the edges.
9. Stir in the amchur, salt, raisins and crushed fennel.
10. Cook for a final 3 minutes and taste — it should hit sour, salty and hot all at once.
11. Serve hot with bajra roti and a spoonful of ghee, or let it cool and eat it cold the next day when the flavour has deepened.