Tuesday, January 08, 2008

Peas of Mind

Ask and ye shall receive. While this has been true of most things in my life (God, Fate, and whomsoever else it may concern, please note, I’m counting my blessings and not being an ungrateful wretch), I’ve felt the inspiration a little lacking when it came to a post. Well, I could have done a pending meme, but I don’t have a middle name and haven’t given myself one yet, so that will take some more time; I haven’t looked at the rosters of events and even otherwise probably won’t be able to fit in anything, into my schedule, diet or fridge.

I did, though, have a kilo of peas that I shelled patiently last night and some khoya (solidified milk) which I’d bought last week intending a discovery of khoya matar – but the romance of which delicacy fast disappeared this morning when it turned into another one of those quick-fix-like gravies – a sea of red and some peas to break the monotony, and the red discolouring in suspended patches where it’s been diluted by the khoya – but as I’d been asking and seeking quite a bit, I realised this is what I found and received.



A visit to Susan’s blog revealed a leguminous turn of heart, and voila, I had something for the blog – at least one reader was getting twitchy not seeing my blog updated, not to mention the blogger, so here’s to us both. A little later, I found out I’d been tagged for yet another meme, but that’s going to be a story for another day.

I got this recipe from my microwave’s recipe book, no names are being mentioned for various reasons.

Khoya, grated – 100 gm
Shelled peas – 250 gm
Oil – 2 tbsp
Tomato puree – 50 gm (I used a commercial variety)
Red chilli powder, cumin powder, garam masala – ½ tsp each
Onion, chopped – 1, medium (the book said 50 gm)
Green chillies, chopped – 1
Ginger – ½-inch piece
Salt – to taste
Water – a few tbsp

Grind the onion, green chillies and ginger together.

Heat the oil in a dish at 100% power for two minutes.

Add ground paste to oil and mix well.

Microwave at 100% power for five minutes.

Add the tomato puree, the spices and 3-4 tbsp water. Microwave on 100% power for three minutes.

Add salt, grated khoya and 6-7 tbsp of water. Mix gently so that the khoya is not mashed (I did, but it spread throughout the dish, though it didn’t integrate.)

Microwave on 100% power for two minutes. Serve hot.

Note: I pressure cooked the peas for two whistles ahead of the microwaving – I didn’t trust the book’s directions because of past experience. This is additional to what’s mentioned in the recipe.

It’s a really mellow, mild dish that I imagine would go best with a butter naan.

19 comments:

  1. Wow , lovely idea to cook peas with :) . I liked it sra. ! thanks for sharing...

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  2. Looks good sra! Nothing like fresh peas! And i hear u on the - not being motivated neough to post ot participate in blog events! Happens to the best of us sometimes ;-) Take it easy! Cheers!

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  3. No potatoes or paneer but khoya.... reading this has added 2 kilos to my weight! :) Ya, butter naan will be excellent with it...

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  4. WooHoo! I love the color sra. Lucky you bget fresh peas there. We either get frozen which is bland or dry peas which is okay but nothing fresh.
    After almost 3 weeks of not blogging, I was groaning to come back too but once you get in the groove, you wil be okay. You will see what I mean tomorrow!:P
    Dry Khoya, I have never tried. I saw how to make it in some blog, I think it's vegeyum, should try.
    Have a good night sra, see ya!:)

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  5. Girl, you shelled a kilo of peas? that is just wow! :)
    I don't know what Khoya is, so I am off to wiki to read up on it... I should really be working...sigh..

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  6. ah! ms.grindless gravy...you did succumb to the grind huh :D..looks great sra..now all i need is unlimited supply of jeera rice ;)

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  7. adding koya is very new to me sra looks yummy

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  8. wow! even i get stuck with peas in hand many times and get tired of matar paneer and peas pulao, the usual dishes. will def try this out, but what can i replace khoya with? any suggestions?

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  9. Peas are aplenty during winter. I make mutar with khoya quite a few times, especially for guest visiting.

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  10. Khoya...I just read up on it through the link you provided, Sra. Fascinating. The things I don't know. I love cheeses that don't rely on rennet.

    Thanks for your quick and colorful entry. Sometimes the best dishes are created on the fly. This is one of them.

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  11. Shelling peas and grating coconut..not my liking!!!
    I have a pack of frozen peas sitting in my freezer waiting desperately to be used :)) probably could do with this recipe..

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  12. I've never thought of cooking peas in tomato sauce, what a great idea. Thanks Sra. So can we say that you've gotten back your mojo?

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  13. Looks so damn good!!! Sure wud go gr8 with butter naan :)

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  14. Khoya paneer looks really good! Back home, shelling the peas used to eb such an activity and here we are spoiled by shelled, frozen peas. But no readily available khoya, so guess it balances out :). Btw, the title is really cute and the name of this dish reminds me of "khoya khoya chaand" song :).

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  15. hey...i couldnt agree with you more on the draught of inspiration for posts.;-)..but errr, khoya with peas is the first time i am hearing...not that i am quite literate in the matters of taste...:-)...feels good to be visiting your blog after sometime...

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  16. You know, I just don't make peas often often in the winter. Thanks for reminding me to have them with this delicious and satisfying recipe.

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  17. Khoya must have made the gravy very creamy. its 12 am and i had dinner hours ago. am hungry again. should stop looking at photos

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  18. My husband would say no...He likes his peas with nothing but butter, salt and pepper. But for me, they sound perfect. I love the combination of a bit of tomato with peas bot for flavor and color!

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  19. Pooja, thank you, you must have heard of it, surely?
    Latha, yep, am off home for Sankranthi, hope to come back rejuvenated.
    Jyothsna, just to test it, I ate it with brown bread, nice.
    Asha, so true. See ya, am off home for the festival!
    Sig, it's kova in our South India! I understand how difficult it is to work when there are blogs all around :)
    Rajitha, oh, I do succumb to the grind sometimes!
    Sagari, thank you.
    Nags, no idea, this was a first-time for me. Grated paneer, maybe, but different texture altogether.
    Shella, pl post your recipe.
    Susan, sweet khoya is a famous sweet snack here.
    Rachel, somehow I like shelling peas.
    Cynthia, mojo - now, I never thought of myself in those terms. Tomato gravy is a common gravy for peas - it's one of those quick fixes.
    Ramya, thank you.
    Musical, even I thought of that song! I even thought of including it in the write-up but wasn't sure of my Hindi idioms and metaphors.
    Santhi, nice to see you here. I thought it was a common dish and I was the newbie!
    Susan, they ARE one of winter's bounties, aren't they?
    Vimmi, welcome. It made it mild, and yes, a bit creamy.
    Kate, thanks. You know what, I left a couple of comments in your blog but it seemed to gobble them up.

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