Split Green Pea - Methi Dal

"Peas porridge hot, Peas porridge cold, Peas porridge in the pot nine days old, Some like it hot, Some like it cold." Porridge with peas sounded so preposterous when I heard the above rhyme for the first time. Ofcourse, I was a kid then. It never occured to me to ask an adult about the meaning of the poem. The only peas I knew about were the green peas / matar. I was told by some one at that time that porridge is the equivalent version of Indian payasam. I added this & that and simply assumed that the poem is talking about some sweet green peas stuff. It was beyond my comprehension how the guys ate the stuff and that too when it was nine days old when unrefrigerated food gets spoiled the next day. I decided that the people who ate it must be some big wierds or junglees. I know now what the rhyme is about and also that matar kheer is a real dish prepared in India. "Never assume anything' is the lesson learnt. :) Coming to present tense from past, I picked up a packet of split green peas recently, when I was in a rush to check out. Earler, a Gujarati woman at an Indian store told me that they prefer whole toor dal to split ones because of the taste. I had that in mind and erred that these peas are the same one. When we got home, M saw the packet and asked why did I buy green chana dal. Not wanting to admit the mistake, I told him that I was going to prepare dal. As a South Indian, the first thing that pops into mind whenever I come across some new bean/dal is sambhar / pappu. I went along and made pappu/dal with it adding some methi and it's taste was unique. Though the split green peas look exactly like chanadal (except for the color), they are really not related to chanadal or toordal. A comforting dal preparation to go with hot steamed rice and pleasantly different for toor dal addicted palate. Ingredients required to serve 2: 1/2 cup green split peas 1 cup chopped methi leaves 1 tomato finely chopped 1 onion finely chopped 2 small green chillies, finely chopped 1/4 tsp turmeric powder Tamarind puree - 2 Tbsp (Soak a big marble sized tamarind in water or put the tamarind with a little water in the microwave for a couple of minutes and squeeze the puree) 1 tsp each - Salt & Chili powder For tadka - 2 tsp oil, 1/2 tsp each mustard seeds, cumin seeds, a pinch asafoetida How to cook: Wash the spilt green peas and discard the water. Place the split green peas, chopped tomato, methi leaves, chillies & turmeric powder with a cup of water in a pressure cooker and cook till you hear 4 -5 whistles. When the valve pressure is gone, remove the dal. Mean while heat the oil in a saute pan and add the tadka ingredients. When the mustard seeds start to pop, add the onion and fry till it turns transslucent. Add the cooked dal, salt, chili powder, tamarind puree to the sauteed onions and mix well. Simmer the dal for about ten minutes more and turn off the stove. Serve with rice / rotis. Post a Comment