Spicy Dry Green Peas Curry

admin April 20, 2023April 20, 2023

This spicy Dry Green Peas Curry is made with sprouted dry green peas (a staple in Indian kitchens), coconut, tomatoes, and spices. There’s no added oil in this recipe, and it’s as delicious as it is healthy. A vegan, soy-free, nut-free, gluten-free recipe.

As the New Year rolls around, one of my hopes is to incorporate more varieties of grains and legumes in my diet.

As any Indian knows, there’s way more to the mighty legume than meets the eye on the average supermarket shelf here in the United States. Being Indian-born, I was fortunate to be introduced early on to a whole host of lentils and beans that make up the average Indian diet. Most of these are easily available at Indian grocery stores here in the United States, but caught up in the rush of a busy life, I often end up using a handful of the most ubiquitous types in my day-to-day cooking, like tuvar dal, moong dal, rajma (kidney beans), and chickpeas.

But the legume world has way more to offer. For instance, the beige chickpeas we are so used to are just one type of chickpea. There are brown chickpeas and green chickpeas that you can buy in their dry forms and cook, and actually both are far more flavorful than the beige variety. There are dry green peas and dry white peas and dry black peas. There is red mung and green mung and there are little brown matki or moth beans that make the greatest little sprouts. Oh, and let’s not leave out those renegade black-eyed peas.

Ingredients

1 cup dry green peas (hirva vatana). Soak the dry green peas overnight, then sprout them. See recipe notes for a link to a sprouting guide. You can also make this recipe with fresh or frozen green peas.
1 medium red onion (finely chopped)
5 cloves garlic (crushed into a paste)
1-inch piece of ginger (crushed into a paste)
2 medium tomatoes (pureed)
½ teaspoon turmeric
½ teaspoon cayenne
1 green chili pepper like jalapeno (optional if using cayenne)
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1 tablespoon coriander powder
1 teaspoon garam masala
2 teaspoon goda masala
1 cup coconut milk
2 tablespoon coriander leaves (finely chopped)

Instructions

Place the sprouted green peas in a saucepan, cover with at least an inch of water, and bring to a boil. Cover, lower heat to a simmer, and cook 30 minutes or until the peas are tender. Drain the peas but reserve the cooking liquid.
Heat one tablespoon of the coconut milk in a large saucepan. Add the onions, garlic, ginger, and green chili if using. The fat in the coconut milk will help the onions and herbs cook. Season with salt. Stir-fry for a couple of minutes or until the onion turns soft.
Add the garam masala, goda masala, cumin, coriander, turmeric and cayenne. Stir to mix well, then add the tomato puree. Cook over medium-high heat for about five minutes or until most of the liquid has evaporated and the mixture is a little darker.
Add the coconut milk and bring to a boil. Let the mixture cook for five minutes. Add water or the stock from cooking the beans if the mixture gets too dry.
Add the cooked green peas and mix well. Add more liquid if needed. Bring to a boil and continue cooking another five minutes for the flavors to merge. Check salt and garnish with coriander.
Serve hot with rice or any Indian flatbread.

Nutrition