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    Home » Recipe Index » Vegetarian

    Published: Dec 16, 2014 · Modified: Dec 22, 2024 by Cherian Thomas

    The South Indian green peas masala stew of your dreams

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

     

     

    You’ve seen ratatouille. That scene when Anton Ego takes that bite, only to be reminded of him mom’s cooking. Everyone has one. And this is mine.

    There’s also a story why I love this dish

    Puttu is a staple breakfast in my family. And as it goes, plantain is the “side dish”. It was so easy a breakfast when my mom had to rush the three kids out the door by 7:45 AM. But I totally hated the “side dish”. In fact, I don’t like most things sweet. Except white chocolate, of course. So being the fussy eater I am, my mom made this for my brother and me. This curry is so incredible that I often end up finishing what was planned for two days.

    Decades later on, my wife would try making this for me only to realize competing with my mom is Tywin going to war with Daenerys Targaryen. How difficult can a green peas curry be?

    Little do we know the subtleties matter.

    Five years and several experiments later, I went back to my mom. Here’s her secret.

    This is a very simple curry, but you have to get the ingredients right. The secret is, you don’t use frozen peas. You use the real ones. Soked in water overnight.You’ll also need a pressure cooker.

    The South Indian green peas masala stew of your dreams

    Jane Jojo
    You’ve seen ratatouille. That scene when Anton Ego takes that bite, only to be reminded of him mom’s cooking. Everyone has one. And this is mine. There’s also a story why I love this dish Puttu is a staple breakfast in my family. And as it goes, plantain is the “side dish”. It was so easy a breakfas
    5 from 1 vote
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 10 minutes mins
    Cook Time 30 minutes mins
    Total Time 40 minutes mins
    Course Breakfast
    Cuisine kerala
    Servings 2 serving
    Calories 50 kcal

    Ingredients
      

    • 1 cup Green peas
    • ¼ teaspoon ginger
    • ¼ teaspoon garlic
    • 1 tomato
    • 1 onion
    • 1 teaspoon coriander
    • 1 teaspoon chilli power
    • ¼ teaspoon turmeric
    • ½ tablespoon garam masala
    • as required salt
    • pinch Aniseed a
    • 3 clove

    Instructions
     

    • Soak green peas in water overnight. Enough water to submerge it and a little more.
    • Mise en place: Chopping onions, ginger, garlic tomato and green chillies into fine slices.
    • Pressure cook the green peas for one whistle and bring the heat down right after. Do not open the lid. Allow it to cook with the residual heat.
    • While that’s pressure cooking heat coconut oil and add aniseeds and cloves and roast slightly
    • To it add ginger, garlic & onion and salt and sweat it out. Close the lid when doing.
    • Reduce the heat a bit and add coriander powder, chili powder, turmeric power and garam masala and roast.
    • Reduce the heat a bit and add coriander powder, chili powder, turmeric powerand garam masala and roast.
    • Once it browns, add the sliced tomato. Close the lid and allow it to cook, occasionally stirring it.
    • Now add the cooked green peas to with enough residual water to form the gravy.
    • Bring that to boil, add more salt as required and you are done.

    Notes

    Use the real dry green peas and not the frozen ones.
     
     
    The spices need to go before the tomato is added. They need to sautéed in the onion and roasted slightly
    Last and the most important, don’t overcook the green peas. I ran the green peas for two whistles the first time and ended up with a mush. I didn’t do it intentionally but after I cooked the green peas till first whistle I keep it on the electric heater, shut down. The residual heat took it to the second whistle 🙂
     
     

    Nutrition

    Serving: 192gCalories: 50kcalCarbohydrates: 10gProtein: 3gFat: 0.3gSaturated Fat: 0.1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.1gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.03gSodium: 6mgPotassium: 213mgFiber: 3gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 548IUVitamin C: 23mgCalcium: 20mgIron: 1mg
    Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

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    Comments

    1. Avatar for Nirmala_Prem Nirmala_Prem says:
      December 15, 2014

      I've never been a fan of green peas curry, and now I know why!!! I'm pretty sure the goop that was served to me was nothing like this... no aniseed or clove... I'm SO gonna try this out!

    2. Avatar for Ramya_Menon Ramya_Menon says:
      December 15, 2014

      Lovely account Cherian! Made me think of my Achammas Pattani Curry. :)

    3. Avatar for Veena_Jan Veena_Jan says:
      December 15, 2014

      Cherian ..exactly the same way my mom also cook green peas curry :)

    4. Avatar for Elza_Sujo Elza_Sujo says:
      December 15, 2014

      My kids love it!I make it often...good combo with puttu...

    5. Avatar for Ramya_Menon Ramya_Menon says:
      December 17, 2014

      Quite a few ladies and Anand too :p!

    6. Avatar for Girija_Devi Girija_Devi says:
      December 17, 2014

      I like it

    7. Avatar for Vivek_Raman Vivek_Raman says:
      December 17, 2014

      looks like you have ground the onions but description says slice

    8. Avatar for Sushmita_Singh Sushmita_Singh says:
      December 17, 2014

      The same way my mom prepares n I'm carrying forward the legacy :)...thanks for sharing this :)

    9. Avatar for Vivek_Raman Vivek_Raman says:
      December 17, 2014

      Cooking is much more than just recipe. if only we could capture and transmit that special thing via web!

    10. Avatar for Sushmita_Singh Sushmita_Singh says:
      December 18, 2014

      Hahahahaha....well said Cherian :).... Being a mother of two beautiful kids I can say this very well that every mother is special to her kids :)...

    11. Avatar for Veena_Jan Veena_Jan says:
      December 18, 2014

      So true Sushmita.. :)

    12. Avatar for Sujata_Shukla Sujata_Shukla says:
      June 18, 2015

      Lovely post Cherian! Surprisingly the recipe is quite comparable to the Eastern UP 'Nimona' my mom in law used to make, though in hers the peas are soaked and then ground into paste, fried with onions, spices and tomatoes, and finally cooked with a few pieces of potato! I had not realised that a dish from Lucknow and its environs would so closely match one from Kerala! I will post that recipe soon!

    Continue the discussion at comments.alittlebitofspice.com

    2 more replies

    Participants

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