Curried Green Peas In Coconut Cream

Green pea is a vegetable which  has a whole lot  nutrient values  of vitamins and proteins.  I’m glad I introduced it to my food finicky children a couple of years ago. From that time on , I knew  when they   tasted the very first morsel  of my curried pea , that they were going to be hooked  to it forever. Ever since there has been no looking back. Although I cook  green pea as an accompaniment to the main dish, rice, they prefer to eat it  as a meal itself. As a result I cook extra and let them indulge into the peas, peacefully and  very heartily.  Green peas can be eaten boiled or cooked with  a variety of other vegetables .We all love the pea,which is cooked  to  perfection with carrots and cashew nuts. This is a popular side in many of our occasions ,like festivals ,wedding dinners and even family get -togethers. Come please ! Join me if you may,  as I cross over to my ‘cooking session’ for the specialty of the day: Green Peas with Carrots, Cashews and Coconut Cream.

By the way It’s just a coincidence ,I ‘m cooking with a lot of C’s ( carrots, cashews and coconut cream) A colourful curry indeed!

 Ingredients

250 grams green peas (boiled)

250 grams cashew nuts ( par boiled)

2  carrots ( par boiled and diced)

1 medium sized onion finely chopped

1 green chilly chopped ( optional)


3 cloves of garlic chopped


Half a tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp curry powder ( you can adjust accordingly)

One tablespoon of oil

A few curry leaves ( optional)

Salt to taste

1 cup water (250 ml)

3 generous tablespoons of coconut milk powder

Method

 Heat the oil in a pan . put in the mustard seeds .

When  it starts to splutter, turn in the chopped onion and the green chilly. Cook till onions become translucent and then stir in the garlic and the curry leaves . (cook for less than a minute)

Mix in the turmeric and the curry powder. Add the cup of water into the pan and bring it to a boil.

Now add the boiled peas,carrots and the cashew nuts into the pan  and continue cooking for about 5minutes.Mix in the coconut milk powder , give it a quick stir, so that no lumps form.

Lastly add salt to taste .Cover the pan and simmer till the liquid reduces a little .

This could be eaten as an accompaniment  with either

Steamed rice, onion pickle  and a meat dish of your choice.

Or with  biryani rice and other side dishes.  

Bon Apetit!

Moringa Magic

It was an email sent to me that impelled me to  delve into more information on this miracle tree and in so doing,(thanks to the internet ) I was awe- strucked  getting to know invaluable facts about it’s the rich  resources.  The  Moringa  tree  is extraordinary. It  is  is extensively  cultivated and harvested throughout the year in most of the African and South Asian countries.What is so extraordinary about this tree is, that  every part of  it is  enriched with nutrients and medicinal values: the leaves are full of antioxidants, the oil in the seeds can be used for cooking purposes and making cosmetics .According to a moringa cultivator, whose moringa  cultivation is documented by the discovery channel on You Tube, the  roots could  be used as tea and the juice extracted from the scrapped trunk could be applied on bruises and cuts. 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

All of  us  in the family love the vegetable ‘drum sticks ‘ , the moringa pod . I grew up being familiar  with the  moringa tree, which stood in the front yard of  my parents' home, ( this was  another reason why I became curious to know more about it). My late mother cooked delicious food using the leaves and the pod .During the month of fasting , she used to make rice porridge, with moringa leaves added to it. We enjoyed  it’s unusual flavour. Even the people from the neighbourhood used to  come over to our garden to pluck moringa leaves. In later years, due to unavoidable circumstances, the tree  had to be cut down. It’s a pity we never knew the significance of the tree then..Perhaps had we known, the tree would be still  in sight,  in front of the ancestral home.


Here is a recipe for  a delicious delicacy using the moringa pod ( drumsticks)

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