Peas Be With You

The stars in this dish are round.


They are legumes, but not the main item in this dish. However, I believe they elevate a plain, somewhat smelly vegetable from being an ordinary stir-fry to a special one. I make this frequently, but I always enjoy it. I, therefore, submit it to the Seventh Edition of My Legume Love Affair.


In doing so, I am joining the ranks of bloggers who knowingly/unknowingly don't follow the rules of an event to a T.

I think I can even hear an (amused? but) exasperated sigh issuing from the host, and the super host. Just look at this photo, don't you think it's worth adding to the round-up?

But I'm kidding - most of the legumes are underneath, they don't show. You'll just have to take my word for it.

Cauliflower florets: 2-2.5 cups (small head of cauliflower)
Peas: 1-2 cups frozen/ fresh (boiled)
Tomatoes: 2, chopped
Oil: 1-2 tsp
Turmeric: 1/2 tsp
Cumin/jeera: 1/2 - 1 tsp
Red chilli powder: 1/2-1 tsp
Salt, to taste
Water: Keep it handy
Coriander leaves: Chopped, for garnish

Heat oil in a pan. Temper with the cumin. You can even add curry leaf here, if you like.

Add the tomatoes, fry them a bit.

Add the salt, turmeric and the red chilli powder. Fry well, cover. Add some water if you like.

When the tomatoes get nice and mushy, add the florets and mix well. Sprinkle some more water, cover and cook on low/medium flame till cooked. I like the florets to still have a little bite in them. After all, this dish is mostly texture.

Once the florets are ready, add the peas, mix well to make sure they are also coated with the spices. Wait a while, and remove from heat.

Garnish with the coriander, or just mix it up.

Also, as we've mentioned its glorious colour, this goes off to Sunshinemom's FIC-Yellow too.

With this humble submission, I humbly take your leave until the next post.

My Legume Love Affair Peas Cauliflower Event

Cuminy Cruciferae

It’s difficult to concentrate on a post when the TV is on full blast and the viewer claims he cannot but hear it at that volume. It’s even more difficult to ignore your blog when there’s an event going on but you just can’t summon the time or energy to look for a relevant dish or devise a new one.

I’ve slipped into this uncomfortable habit of being chief cheerleader when a new blog event is announced and not entering! So me tells me: Shall I take any dish and say it contains whichever ingredient is being celebrated? Switch the proportions when you write down the recipe, who’ll know? Then me tells me: “It’s dishonest, it’s dishonest” in an inner voice that grows and throbs louder and louder. Sigh! The next best option is to cook whatever you’re cooking that day, add an extra dose of the ingredient called for, eat it, test for taste and make an entry of it! Which is what I’ve done. As you can expect, a dish that was born out of such soul-searching can only be simple and straightforward, so here it is! It’s an as you like it dish as there aren’t too many ingredients and only cumin is allowed to dominate.

One small head of cauliflower, separated into florets
One small head of broccoli, separated into florets
Tomatoes – 2, chopped
Cumin powder – 1-1/2 – 2 tsp
Oil – 2 tsp
Mustard seeds – ½ tsp
Urad dal/hulled, split black gram – ½ tsp
Turmeric: ½ -1 tsp
Salt – to taste

Heat the oil in a pan, swirl to coat base.

Pop mustard, then add the urad dal.

Once the dal browns, add the broccoli and cauliflower and sauté on high flame for a minute or two.

Lower flame, add turmeric, mix, cover and let cook till the florets are softer. You can sprinkle a little water to hasten the process.

Now add the chopped tomato, cumin powder and salt, mix. Cover and cook till the tomato is cooked/skins start separating from the pulp.

Mix, remove from fire.

This is my entry for Sunita’s Think Spice event.

Think Spice Cauliflower Broccoli Cumin