Green Peas Peanut Curry/ Pattani Kadalai Porial

  This dish is dedicated to my friends who are peanut lovers! In this curry I have exclusively used peanuts and  green peas along with relevant spices. Peanuts when cooked as a whole gives a unique texture which is neither hard nor very soft and that could be the main attraction of this dish - and with the spices this dish becomes irresistible. 

Ingredients:

1 cup of green peas
1 cup of peanuts
2 large tomatoes
4 cloves crushed garlic
1/4 tsp of turmeric
1/2 tsp of red chilly powder
1 tsp of coriander powder
1 tsp of channa masala
1/2 tbsp of oil 
1/2 tsp of fennel seeds
coriander leaves for garnish
salt as required

Preparation:

1.Soak peanuts for 2 hours and pressure cook peanuts and peas with enough water. 
2.Chop the tomatoes and crush the garlic. Heat oil in the skillet and add fennel seeds. Saute till nice aroma comes, then add tomatoes and crushed garlic. Saute well till the tomatoes become mushy.
3.Now add red chilly powder, coriander powder and salt.Then add the cooked peanuts and green peas and 1/2 cup of water. Close the lid for 10 minutes and allow the gravy to thicken.
4.Add channa masala and coriander leaves to the skillet.
 Serve with rice/ roti.

Dum Aloo

    I tried a different version of Dum Aloo for my daughter's birthday get together a few weeks ago and it came really well. Due to my friends' positive appreciation, I was overwhelmed to post this recipe.

Ingredients:

15 baby potatoes
2 medium onions
3 large tomatoes
1 tbsp of ginger-garlic paste
Handful of cashew nuts
1 1/2 tsp of red chilli powder
2 tsp of coriander powder
1 tsp of cumin powder
1 tsp of amchur powder/ dry mango powder
1 tsp of fennel seeds 
2 cloves
1 cardamom
1/2 cup of yogurt
1 tbsp of chopped coriander leaves
oil as required
salt as required

Seasoning:
 
2 bay leaves
2 small pieces of cinnamon stick
2 broken red chillies

Preparation:

1.Pressure cook (2 whistles) the baby potatoes and peel the skin. Poke them with fork.

2.Shallow fry the potatoes to golden brown on the pan with little oil . Keep it aside.

3.Fry the onions translucent and grind them along with cashews, fennel, cloves, and cardamom in to a paste. Add 2 tbsp of oil to the preheated skillet and add cinnamon, red chillies and bay leaves. 
4.As nice aroma comes, add onion paste and ginger-garlic paste. Saute well till raw smell disappears. Fine chop the tomatoes and add them to the pan along with the remaining spices.
5.Saute in medium flame till the tomatoes become mushy. Add salt and the potatoes and beaten yogurt. As the gravy starts bubbling, add amchur powder.
6.Stir for 2 minutes. Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve with roti/ naan or puri.

Karamani Sundal

Being a vegetarian household, I rely on various lentils to provide a balanced diet. Black eyed peas is a common legume available widely both in India and the United States. I experimented with this lentil to make a sundal and my kids loved the dish!

 

Ingredients:

1 cup of black eyed peas/karamani
2 green chillies

1 tsp of cumin seeds
1/2 inch of ginger

1/2 tbsp of grated coconut  
1/4 tsp of mustard

oil for seasoning
salt as required

Preparation:

1. Soak karamani for overnight and pressure cook them with salt.

2.Grind ginger, green chillies, cumin seeds and coconut together. Add little oil to the pan and add mustard. As the mustard sputters, add the ground mixture. 
3.Saute for a minute then add the  cooked karamani. Mix well and cover the lid.
4.Karamani Sundal is ready to be relished.