Thai-flavored Pea Soup

Split pea soup is a simple favorite, especially for this cold weather. My preferred way to cook split pea soup  is in a pressure cooker.

Ingredients
½ cup green split peas
1 Tbsp grated ginger (or galangal)
1 tsp lemongrass powder
1 cup water
1 cup vegetable stock
1 Tbsp green curry paste
1 14 oz. can light coconut milk
salt to taste

Vegetables: red and green bell peppers, chopped finely; spring onions chopped finely for garnish

Preparation

1. Add all the ingredients except coconut milk, in a pressure cooker and cook till done
2. Meanwhile, saute the vegetables, and prepare the garnish
3. When pressure cooker is ready to be opened, mash the cooked split peas if needed
4. Stir in the coconut milk and heat up the soup gently; add the sauteed vegetables
5. Serve warm, topped with spring onions and croutons if preferred

Mutter Tofu Curry

This is an adaptation of my favorite North Indian style curry called Mutter-Paneer which is basically Peas (Mutter) and Fried Paneer in a delicious gravy.

About once a month or so, I get a large batch of extra firm tofu, marinate, bake or pan-fry, and store it in the fridge/freezer for use over the next few weeks.

For a quick curry, it is nice to use ready-made pastes: I like Patak's Tikka Masala paste, Vindaloo Curry paste, Biriyani paste, and Rogan Josh paste. But, it is just as easy to create my own paste with whatever is handy.

Ingredients
6 cups frozen peas
1 can diced tomatoes
1 medium onion chopped finely
cilantro, spring onions for garnish
salt to taste
1-2 tsp brown sugar, adjust to taste

For the sauce/gravy:
dry toasting:
1 Tbsp white poppy seeds
1 star anise
2 cardamom pods
2 cloves
2 Tbsp fennel seeds
1-2 indian bay leaves
2 2" piece of chinese/indian cinnamon bark
Plus:
1-2 jalapenos or serrano
1" piece ginger, chopped
4-5 garlic cloves, chopped
4 tomatoes, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 Tbsp canola oil

Preparation

1. For Curry/Sauce/Gravy:Dry toast the sauce/gravy spices, then grind them to fine powder, set aside
2. Combine the rest of the sauce ingredients and grind to a fine paste
3. Heat oil in a pan, sauté the ground paste till rawness subsides, then add the chopped onions, peas, tomatoes, some salt, water and the powdered spices, simmer over medium-low heat
4. When peas are cooked through but not mushy, drop in the baked or pan-fried tofu and simmer to desired consistency, adjust flavors
5. Garnish with cilantro, chopped spring onions and serve warm with naan, bathura or even plain basmati rice

peas and cumin rice

Rice seems like such a perfect food and I love it. I grew up eating rice everyday, and, if I don't eat it at least once a week, I really miss it.

Fragrant, long, not-so-glutinous brown basmati rice is my favorite, followed by white basmati rice, then brown rice, followed by jasmine rice and then, last bust not the least, sweet-and-sticky rice.

Certain recipes work best with certain varieties of rice; although any other variety will work just as well, this recipe feels perfect with basmati rice.

Ingredients
4 cups cooked white or brown basmati rice
2 cups fresh peas, or frozen peas
1 Tbsp cumin seeds
1 medium yellow onion diced finely
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced finely
1 Tbsp fresh grated ginger
½ cup cilantro leaves, for garnish
1 Tbsp home-made flavored ghee, or butter, or canola oil
salt to taste

Preparation

1. heat ghee in a pan, add the cumin seeds till they plump up, get aromatic and are fried but not burnt
2. add the onion, garlic, ginger, and a pinch of salt, sauté till onions turn translucent
3. add the peas, stir, cover and cook till peas are just done but not mushy
4. add the rice, stir well, adjust salt to taste; off-heat garnish with cilantro
5. serve warm with raita and curries like ridge gourd curry, or egg curry, or soya chunks curry, or, baby eggplant curry
   

Sometimes, I throw in some cooked chick peas as my wee tot loves this dish - for that matter, anything with peas, chick peas, corn, green beans and rice, flavored with garlic and ginger, with some sautéed onions seems to appeal to her these days...

sukha aloo-mutter: potatoes and peas (dry)

This dish has many variations and can be used in quite a few ways: when made dry enough (no gravy), this dish can be used as filling for samosa; or, as a filling for sandwiches when using a sandwich-maker.

This is my favorite travel food- while on a road trip, or back in the days when I enjoyed overnight train rides.

Can be served with naan, or plain basmati rice with some rasam.

Ingredients
3 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
2 cups frozen peas, thawed
1 medium yellow onion, finely diced
2 Tbsp oil
a pinch each of mustard seeds and cumin seeds for tempering
2 Tbsp chopped cilantro for garnish
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp fresh grated ginger
3-4 cloves of garlic, crushed (optional)
1 Tbsp finely chopped green chilies (optional)
salt to taste

Preparation

1. cook the potatoes in the microwave with some water till they are almost done; drain the water, pat the potatoes dry and set aside
2. heat the oil in a pan, add the tempering, cover with a screen lid as mustard seeds will spatter
3. when mustard seeds are done popping, add the ginger, garlic and chilies, sautee for about 10-15 seconds
4. add the onions and sautee till it turns translucent
5. add the potatoes and peas, turmeric, salt, brown sugar, stir well, cover and cook till they are done
6. off heat, stir in the lemon juice and garnish with cilantro