Alasande Kalu Palak Soppina Huli | Spinach and Black eyed peas Sambar | Legumes Curry : Without coconut

When I posted the ragi mudde recipe, some of you asked for another classic huli/sambar recipe that goes very well with the mudde. That is the kaalin huli or soppu kaalin huli (legumes curry!). So, thought of posting the recipe ASAP.

Update: Do you remember that we decided to eat healthy? Here is an update on it. I did not reduce much.., may be because I was not into junk foods any way. But, my better half reduced 16 pounds just by eating healthy!!! He did not even exercise. He is very happy about it & wants to continue for couple of more months :)

Back to the recipe.

Preparation Time: 20 mins
Cooking Time: 40 mins
Serves: 4-6

Ingredients:
Black eyed peas: 3/4 cup
Mixed beans: 1 tbsp, optional (refer notes)
Spinach leaves: About 4 cups, finely chopped
Toor dal/Pigeon peas: a fistful
Sambar powder: 2 tsp, refer notes
Menthyada hittu/Mixed lentils powder: 1 tsp, refer notes
Thick Tamarind Extract: 2 tsp
Turmeric powder: 2 big pinches, divided use
Salt: As needed
Curry leaves: 2-3 nos, torn

For tempering:
Oil: 1 tsp
Mustard seeds: 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves: 2-3 nos, torn

Method:
Soak the mixed beans & black eyed beans in enough water overnight or for a minimum of 6 hours.

Drain & rinse the beans in running water. Add the toor dal, beans & turmeric powder to a pressure cooker. Add about 3 cups or more of water to the beans & pressure cook the beans for 4-5 whistles. If cooking in a stock pot, boil till the toor dal is over cooked & mushy, while the beans are cooked & soft.
Allow the pressure cooker to release the steam.
Meanwhile, add the finely chopped spinach & little water to a medium sized sauce pan.Add turmeric to the spinach & cook the spinach until it is soft. Spinach gets cooked very fast, say about 5 mins.

Add the salt, tamarind extract & boil again for couple of more minutes.
Add the sambar powder, lentils powder & mix well.

Drain the excess water from the cooked beans (if any). Do not add more water to cook the beans, add about 1 inch of water to the pressure cooker. That way you are retaining the nutrition & not discarding the boiled water.
Pour in the cooked beans + lentils to the spinach mixture. Throw in the torn curry leaves.
Boil it on a medium heat for 15 mins. Boiling in medium heat would allow the beans to absorb the salt, spice & sourness from the gravy.

Once the sambar has boiled enough, remove it from the heat & keep it covered.
Prepare the tempering. In a small pan, add the oil. When oil is hot, throw in the mustard seeds. When seeds splatter, turn off the heat & add the curry leaves. When leaves wilt, pour the tempering over the sambar prepared. Cover the sambar immediately. This will ensure the aroma of the tempering is held inside the sambar & enhances the taste of the sambar.

Notes:

• Add the mixed beans to this sambar is optional. I had this 15 bean soup mixture at home & hence used it a little. 
• You could use any store bought sambar powder to make this sambar. 
• The lentils powder or the menthyada hittu is used to make the sambar thicker. If you do not have this lentils powder, you could use 2 tsp of hurigadale pudi (putani powder or roasted channa dal powder) to make the sambar thick.
• Other greens like amaranth leaves, harive soppu, fenugreek leaves could be used to make this sambar. 

Palak Amti (Spinach & black eyed peas curry)

Tried this recipe when I had to finish off the last portion of my sprouted black eyed peas. I blamed myself for not  noticing her blog till now. I might have seen it here & there, but never noticed that she has such a huge collection of recipes. Impressed by her! I have made some minor changes in the recipe to suit our taste buds. I must admit that, this is a non-tiring & nutritious recipe. Thank you Nupur.

Ingredients:

Black eyed peas: 1 cup (Soaked in water for 3-4 hours)
Spinach: 2 cups or around 200gm (finely chopped)
Tamarind paste: 1 tbsp
Jaggery: 1 tsp
Salt: According to taste

For grinding:
Raw rice: 1 tsp
Grated coconut: 1/2 cup (fresh or frozen)
Green chillies: 4 nos

For tempering:
Oil: 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds: 1/2 tsp
Shallots/sambar onions: 4 nos (finely chopped) (Original recipe didnot have this)
Asafoetida: a pinch
Curry leaves: 5-6 nos

Method:

• Pressure cook the peas with a big pinch of salt for 2 whistles. Let the cooker cool for 5-10mins.
• Meantime, make a fine paste of the coconut, green chillies & rice. Keep aside.
• Add a cup of water to the chopped spinach & cook them on medium heat for 3-5mins (Spinach gets cooked fast). Add the cooked peas, tamarind paste, salt, jaggery & the ground paste to it. Boil on a medium heat for 5-7mins (Let the peas & spinach absorb the spices). 
• Finally prepare the tempering. Heat a small pan. Add oil to it. When oil is hot, add mustard seeds. When seeds splutter, add curry leaves & finely chopped onions.Saute till the onions become translucent. Finally add the asafoetida & turn off the heat. Pour the tempering over the curry prepared & mix well.
• Serve hot with plain or mildly flavored rice. We preferred it with plain rice.

Notes:

Original recipe had garlic, that I have avoided. If your family prefers garlic, you could use it too.

Alasande vade | Vegan Black eyed beans fritters | Lobia Pakora

How often do you all shop for vegetables, milk, bread etc? I say once a day!! I am crazy about stuffing my pantry with all the things (not) needed. I want my fridge spilling out vegetables & fruits & my cupboards filled with all flours & lentils. Same is the case with my wardrobe too.., Okay, that is a story for another day..

I always buy a big pack of black eyed beans & hardly use it. I add it with sambar, once a bluemoon make this pulao & this pasta. This is one bean that takes a backseat. It is only used during SOS. Now that we are shifting to a new home, I had to clear my pantry & hence soaked a large amount of this beans. I got beautiful sprouts too. But, didnot know what to cook. Hence, googled the recipes for black eyed beans & settled down on this vade from Shubha.

Vade was absolutely delicious, I wonder why did I not try it earlier! It is crunchy on outside & soft on the inside. It has a very distinct taste. I thought of taking step-by-step pictures & then posting it, but could not resist sharing it immediately. I tried making patties using sprouted black eyed beans & used it instead of cheese/paneer or veg patty for burger. Will post that recipe sometime.

Ingredients (For around 18 vadas/fritters)
Sprouted black eyed beans: 1 cup (Original recipe did not ask for sprouted beans)
Ginger: 1 inch
Onion: 1 medium sized (finely chopped)
Cumin seeds: 1 tsp
Rice flour: 1 tbsp (My addition to the original)
Salt: According to taste
Green chillies: 3 nos
Cilantro/Coriander leaves: 3 tbsp (finely chopped)
Oil: For deep frying

Method:

• Wash the sprouts & drain the water(No need to pat them dry).
• Very coarsely grind the sprouted beans, along with ginger and green chillies (just pulse it for 5-15secs). (Do not add water, the moisture in the beans is good enough)
• Scoop out the coarse paste. Add finely chopped onions, chopped coriander leaves, cumin seeds, rice flour, salt to the paste & mix them well (Paste will be something similar to the cutlet batter). 
• Make medium lemon sized balls. Pat each ball into 1cm thick patties.
• Heat oil in a broad kadai/pan. When oil is hot, reduce the heat. Drop the patties carefully in the oil & cook on a low heat(This is very important!!, else it will be cooked from inside) on both sides till the vadas turn golden brown. 
• Serve it hot/warm with a dip of your choice.

Notes:

1. Instead of sprouted beans, soaked or canned beans could be used to. Be cautious while adding salt as canned beans might contain salt.  
2. It is very important to deep fry the vada/fritters on low heat to ensure proper cooking of the patties.
3. Do not add water while making a coarse paste.

Black eyed peas 'N' pasta

Do you remember my project "shifting the house"? I had mentioned about black eyed peas starring at me in my cupboard. During that time, I was eagarly searching for black eyed peas recipes as I had almost a kilo of dried peas. During the active search, I found a recipe here. I adapted the recipe to make it suitable for Indian taste buds. Voila!!, it tasted awesome. One of the best pastas I prepared & relished until now. My hubby happened to carry that pasta to office & I got a huge fan following for black eyed peas 'N' pasta.

Secret, secret..., we both (who else other than me & my hubby) have stranger anxiety. We don't want to try anything other than penne(because of their funny shapes). So, all my pasta recipes use penne only. I am planning to try macaroni soon. I am not sure whether it will be accepted or not.

This is what I used:

Black eyed peas: 2 cups
Penne: 500gms
Tomato puree: 2 cups
Onion: 1 cup (sliced)
Parmesan Cheese: 3 tbsp (optional)
Pasta herbs: 1 tbsp
Garlic: 3 pods
Capsicum: 2 cups (sliced)
Paprika: 1 tsp
Pepper powder: 1 tbsp
Salt: According to taste

Sugar: 1 tbsp
Butter: 4 tbsp
Olive oil: 3 tbsp
Coriander leaves : 3 tbsp (finely chopped)

Method:

• Soak the black eyed peas for 5-6 hours.
• Add little salt & pressure cook or boil the black eyed beans until soft & yet firm (It would take around 3 whistles in the cooker). Allow it to cool & drain the water from the peas.
• Cook the pasta as per the package instructions. ( I add 3-4 litres of water(for 500gms penne), salt & few drops of olive oil & allow the water to boil.When water starts boiling, add penne & cook on medium-high heat for 10-15minutes, until soft & firm. Refer to the tip here to find out when pasta is properly cooked).
  
• Drain the water from penne & add few drops of olive oil. Olive oil helps in keeping the penne seperate & the pasta doesnot stick to each other.
• Heat olive oil, butter in a broad pan/wok. When oil is hot, add garlic, onion & saute till they turn golden brown. Add tomato puree, pasta herbs, sugar, paprika, salt(be very careful when adding salt as we have already salt while cooking penne & black eyed peas).& cook on a medium flame. The raw smell of tomato should disappear & the sauce must become thick.
• During midway, add capsicum & keep heating the sauce. When capsicum is half cooked, add cooked black eyed peas, cheese & reduce the heat. Cook for another minute or two. Add pepper powder.
• Toss the pasta with the sauce, garnish with coriander leaves & dig in.

Last but not the least, I have got quite a few awards from my friends. Sorry..I missed announcing them in last couple of posts. Thanks a lot Jyothi & Sushma. I have put the awards on the sidebar. I will talk about "The honest things" in my next post. Keep waiting !!

Update: This recipe goes to MLLA hosted by Sia & started by Susan.

Pudinewale Lobia Pulao (Rice & Black eyed peas in Mint Sauce)

Couple of weeks before, we had to move to a new locality & during the move I decided not to buy any grocery; as moving the grocery along with the other stuffs would be a labor intensive activity. Everyday, when I happened to open the kitchen cabinet, a bag full of black eyed peas used to stare at me. I avoided it for many days as the only thing I used to cook using black eyed peas was huLi(sambar or curry). Finally a day arrived when my kitchen had nothing other than black eyed bean.

Stubborn, adamant, anti-social are the right words(according to me; black eyed peas lovers, please dont get offended) for black eyed peas/lobia/alasande kalu. Put in soup, sambar, pasta or in pulao, it stands apart & doesnot absorb the spices easily. I have seen few fellow bloggers using black eyed peas in pulao. I was little skeptical about the usage of this particular legume/grain as I personally feel that black eyed peas stand apart in most of the dishes it is put in. It doesnot absorb the spices easily unless skillfully cooked.So, I thought of defeating the black eyed beans with some very strong flavored spice/vegetable. The first thing that striked me was " Mint(Pudina)" followed by "Dill (Sabsige Soppu) leaves", "Garlic" & list went on. As mint was handy, I went ahead & prepared the pulao. Mint to a most extent succeeded to defeat the black eyed peas & wore the crown for that day. Three cheers to mint, he he..

Ingredients:

Mint leaves/Pudina: 1 cup (tightly packed)

Black eyed peas: 1 cup

Basmati Rice: 2.5 cups

Onion: 2 nos (1 finely chopped & the other coarsely chopped)

Cinnamon: 2 inch stick

Cardamom: 2 nos

Poppy seeds/Khus khus/gasagase: 1/2 tsp

Grated coconut: 3 tbsp

Ginger: 1 inch

Green chilli: 3 nos

Salt: According to taste

Water: 5 cups

Yogurt/Curd: 1/4th cup

Oil: 2 tbsp

Mustard Seeds: 1/2 tsp

Cumin Seeds: 1/2 tsp

Red chilli powder: 1/2 tsp (optional)

Lemon Juice: 1 tbsp (optional)

Procedure:

• Soak the black eyed peas in water for 8-10 hours.
• Make a smooth paste of mint, cinnamon, cardamom, coconut, poppy seeds, green chilli, ginger, onion by adding sufficient water.
• Heat a broad pan & add oil to it. When oil is hot, add mustard & cumin seeds.
  
• When seeds crackle; add finely chopped onions & saute till onions turn golden brown.
  
• Add the masala paste to the pan & fry till the raw smell of masala disappears (around 2-3 mins).
  
• Add soaked black eyed peas, 1/2 cup of water & cook on a medium flame until the black eyed beans are almost cooked (it should still be firm & soft). It took a little more than 30 minutes for me to get the black eyed peas cooked.
• Meantime, wash the rice in running water & soak it for 15-20 mins.
• Add the remaining water, rice, salt, chilli powder to the same pan & cook it on a medium heat until rice is 90% cooked (Best indicator is : grains would be bigger & little soft. One needs to apply a little pressure between the fingers to press the rice). During this stage, add yogurt, gently mix & cook it covered on a low heat for another 7-10minutes.
• Open the lid only when you need to serve the pulao. Add lemon juice, gently mix & serve it hot/warm with a raitha of your choice.

Notes:

1. I would pressure cook the mint sauce with black eyed peas next time when I prepare this dish. I feel, this would reduce the cooking time of this pulao to a great extent.
2. I have not added garlic in this recipe as I try to avoid it whenever possible. Feel free to use according to your choice.
3. Adding yogurt at the final stage & cooking the pulao on a low heat gives the pulao a slight biryani touch & tastes great.