Use this sauce on grilled meat or chicken or simmer your favorite meatballs in it. If your supermarket does not carry a wide variety of raw nuts, try a health food store.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup raw unblanched almonds
- 1/2 cup shelled, unsalted raw pistachio nuts
- 2 Tbsp butter or mild vegetable oil
- 1 large sweet onion, peeled and grated
- 1/2 tsp ground coriander
- 1/4 tsp mace
- 1/2 tsp freshly ground white pepper
- 2 green cardamom pods, husked, and ground
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 pinch nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp saffron threads, soaked in 2 tablespoons hot water
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 3/4 tsp salt, or to taste
Preparation:
Heat a heavy 10-inch skillet over medium heat. Add almonds and pistachios and cook 8 to 10 minutes, stirring often. Let cool 5 minutes. Place in a food processor or heavy-duty blender and process until nuts are powdered. Set aside.In a medium saucepan, heat butter over medium-high heat. Saute sweet onion until lightly browned. Add coriander, mace, white pepper, cardamom, cayenne pepper, and nutmeg. Cook about 1 minute, until fragrant. Continuing to stir, add saffron, cream, salt, and powdered nuts and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 12 to 15 minutes.
Makes enough sauce for about 1-1/2 pounds of grilled meat or chicken breasts. Or simmer your favorite meatball recipe in the sauce for 15 minutes.
Yield: 2-1/2 cups sauce
