Curry In Kadai ~ An Indian Cooking Blog

I know how boring it is to have same old Idly and Dosa for breakfast almost everyday. My moms Pappu Upma and Allam Pachadi aka Rice Ravva( rice couscous ) cooked with moong dal(lentils ) served with Ginger and chilli chutney comes to the rescue .This pappu upma is flavored with ginger, cashew nuts, and green chillies and is packed with lots of protein from the lentils. Mom usually serves this Ravva pappu upma along with sweet and spicy ginger chutney. Ginger has been used for ages for its medicinal benefits. Its aids in digestion and suppresses cold and cough a lot. Mom tries to use ginger in her cooking a lot. In curries, chutneys, and breakfasts like upma, pongal etc. Since this tiffin ( recipe ) is loaded with protein from Moong dal and flavored with fresh ginger, pregnant women can have as much as they want. I remember, mom made this for me whenever i ask for Upma( when i was pregnant ). And the best part its very easily digested.

• 1 cup Rice Ravva / Biyyam Ravva / Rice Couscous
• 1/4 cup Moong Dal / Pesara pappu / Split green gram
• 2 1/2 cups water
• 1 inch grated ginger root
• 4-6 green chillies
• 4 tbsp oil
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tbsp chana dal
• 10-15 cashew nuts
• 10 curry leaves

• In a heavy sauce pan, add oil, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, chana dal and cashew nuts.
• As the mustard seeds start to crackle, add curry leaves, ginger green chillies, water and moong dal
  
• Once the dal is cooked, add salt and stir in the rice ravva / rice sooji making sure no lumps are formed.
• Reduce the heat and close the lid.
  
• Once the water has been absorbed completely and the ravva cooked, remove from heat and finish with cilantro( optional )

• 4-6 green chillies
• a big lemon sized soaked tamarind
• grated gur / jaggery / bellam or sugar to taste
  
• 1 inch peeled ginger
• salt
  

• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 6 curry leaves

• In a blender add all the chutney ingredients and grind to a smooth paste
• For tempuring or tadka, in a kadai/pan heat oil, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, urad dal and once they start to crackle add curry leaves and add the popu/tempuring to the chutney
• You can store this chutney in the refrigerator for upto 3 days.

• My Legume Love Affair started by Susan
  
• Food for 7 stages of life by Radhika
• State Specials by Shanthi
  

Black Eyed Peas aka Alasandulu in Telugu are a very good source of Calcium, Protein, Fiber and Folate. Not to mention the Vitamin A found abundant in all lentils and beans.Since folic acid is very essential to pregnant women having a cup of cooked beans at least 3 times a week is a very delicious way to incorporate folate in their diet. Alasandalu / black eyed peas are one of the beans which doesn't require overnight soaking and pre planning. You can either directly pressure cook or soak for couple of hours and then cook. My mom usually makes different kinds of Chundal(Sundal, Usili ) i.e., seasoned beans as they are very good healthy alternative to any fried snacks like chips, pakora etc., These tempered black eyed peas / alasandula guggillu( SUNDAL ) are usually what my dad loves to eat in the evenings. This recipe is directly from moms kitchen!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Black eyed peas / Alasandalu / Bobbarlu
  
• 1 small onion
• 2-3 green chillies
• 1 lemon
  

For seasoning( Tadka / popu ):

• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp minapappu / urad dal
• 2 tbsp oil
• 5-10 curry leaves
  

Preparation:

• Soak black eyed peas/alasandalu for 1-2 hrs and then pressure cook with 2 cups of water( Until the beans are immersed in water )
• Pressure cook for 4 whistles or boil separately until they are cooked and tender( make sure they don't fall apart )
• Drain off the cooked beans ( Preserve the water , ill tell you a sumptuous way of using the liquid )
• In a saute pan heat oil, add cumin seeds, mustard seeds and urad dal. Once they start to splutter add chopped onions and green chillies along with salt.
• Once the onions are cooked to translucent add the cooked peas and mix together.
• Switch off the heat, add lemon juice and finish it off with cilantro.
  

This healthy protein and fiber rich low fat snack tastes good when its steaming hot. You can wrap this tempered black eyed peas in a chapathi or wheat tortilla along with fresh tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers for a complete sumptuous low fat healthy nutritious meal perfect anytime of the day!

Note:
Don't throw the leftover water from the drained cooked black eyed peas. Mom makes Rasam(Soup) with some tomatoes, tamarind(optional) and any rasam powder with tadka or above tempering. This soup/rasam taste so earthy .. Try it to believe it!!! I'm sure you will love it!!

I love garnishing my food even if its just some cilantro on the top as i believe we taste the food with our eyes first and then palette. The food should not only be delicious but should be like a feast to your eyes. Garnishing with simple ingredients like curry leaves, cilantro, a slice of lemon, green chillies or red chillies adds so much depth to your dish. The main point is to highlight the ingredient you used. Here i used curry leaves ans lemon slice to hint the viewer about the ingredients inside the dish.

This will be my entry for:

• Garnishing tips and techniques for Indian food
• A Healthy Bite hosted by Rachana
• Sunday Snacks - Grab n Go hosted by Pallavi
  
• MY LEGUME LOVE AFFAIR - EIGHTH HELPING hosted by Susan

I can proudly declare my mom makes the second best Dhaniyala Karvepaku karam aka Coriander seeds spice powder after my grandma( moms mom). Mom always makes sure a big packet of this aromatic spice blend to be first in my list of moms homemade goodies from India. Thanks Mom, you are the best!!

Adding curry leaves adds another layer of flavor and aroma to the already mystic divine spice powder.. The nuttiness and the crunch from chana dal and urad dal makes this spice powder compliment well with the soft Idlies. Here's how mom actually makes it .

• In a pan heat oil and chana dal, urad dal, coriander seeds, jeera and red chillies
  
• Once the aroma of the coriander seeds starts to fill up the room and pulses/dals ( chana dal and urad dal ) are turned into golden brown add tamarind, garlic cloves and curry leaves.
• Fry for 30 sec and remove from heat
• Once the spice mixture is cooled, run the roasted spices in a blender( It can be little coarse ) along with salt.