Black peas amti

Black peas or kala vatana as it is called in Marathi is a flavourful lentil. I used to cook it earlier. I had not got it for almost ten years, maybe. So , I got some black peas & made this black peas amti .I used Mazedaar Maharashtra spice powder from Madhavi Spices. Goda Masala is named Mazedaar Maharashtra by Madhavi Spices.

I followed this kala vatana chi amti recipe though I tweaked it to suit my cooking.

Ingredients : 1/4 cup black peas, 1-2 tbsp fresh coconut grated, 1 medium onion, a few curry leaves, 1 tsp grated ginger, 1 green chilli , 1 medium tomato, 1 tsp goda masala ( Mazedaar Mahasrashtra of Madhavi Spices ) , 1/2 tsp mustard seeds,1 /4 tsp powdered hing, 1/4 tsp haldi, 1 tsp or more of powdered or grated jaggery( optional ),1 tbsp oil, salt to taste.

Method : Soak the black peas overnight.Next day, discard the water & pressure cook the black peas by adding sufficient  water & some salt to the black peas.

Pressure cook the black peas up  to two whistles & then on low flame for 20-30 minutes. Put off gas.

Make a paste of green chilli, curry leaves, ginger & onion in mixer. Keep aside.

Chop a tomato & make  tomato paste in mixer. Keep aside.

In a kadhai take 2 tsps oil.Put mustard seeds.When they pop up, add hing. Mix nicely. Add the green chilli, curry leaves, ginger-onion paste to the kadhai. Saute nicely till raw smell of onion disappears.Add haldi. Mix nicely. Add tomato paste. Mix nicely. Add salt to atste. Mix nicely. Keep cooking till, raw smell of tomatoes goes away. Add pressure cooked vatanas to the kadhai. Mix nicely. Add fresh grated coconut. Mix nicely. Add 1 tsp Mazedaar Maharashtra aka goda masala of Madhavi Spices to the kadhai. Mix nicely.Add jaggery at this stage to kadhai & mix  nicely. If the amti is too dry, add water to it. Depends on how , you want your amti, very watery or thick. Let it come to a boil.Simmer for 4-5 minutes.Put off gas.

Serve black peas amti with roti or rice. It goes well with both rice as also chapati.

Those who don't want to add onion, please skip the step of adding onion to mixer. Make a paste of ginger, curry leaves & green chilli. Add tomato paste as it is narrated in this recipe.Some people use tamarind paste or kokum as the souring agent instead of tomato. And follow other steps as stated.

Drumsticks amti

Maharashtrians make a very delicious drumsticks dal called Shevgyanchya shenganchi amti.

Drumsticks are extremely healthy .

A souring fruit called kokum which grows in coastal Maharashtra in Konkan region is used in this dal .Kokum is said to be very effective in treating acidity. In Maharashtra as also in Mumbai, there are vendors selling Kokum sherbet or kokum juice. It is dried with salt.It gets dark in colour almost black when one gets it in markets.

Goda masala is the spice powder used in this dal preparation. I have used Mazedaar Maharshtra masala or goda masala from Madhavi Spices.

After reading more about the nutritional benefits of drumsticks, I try to make this dal once every week. Alternatively, use drumsticks as one of the many veggies in Avial , from Kerala Cuisine.

Ingredients : 1/4 cup toor dal , 2 drumsticks washed &  chopped into 2 inch pieces each, 1-2 green chillies roughly chopped, few curry leaves ,1-2 kokum pieces,  1 tbsp oil, 1/4 tsp mustard seeds,1/4 tsp hing, 1/2 tsp haldi, 1 tsp Mazedaar Maharashtra Masala  , 1 tsp gur or jaggery, salt to taste.

Method : .Add chopped green chillies, hing & 1/4 tsp haldi to dal & then pressure cook the dal. Keep aside.

In a kadhai, add oil.Heat it up.Add mustard seeds. When they crackle, add curry leaves.Then add chopped drumsticks.Fry for some seconds. Add water just enough to drown thr drumstick pieces. Add haldi to the kadhai. Add salt to taste. Let the drumsticks cook in the water.After 8-10 minutes, , the seeds of drumsticks can be seen in the boiling water. This means drumsticks are cooked.Add koum pieces to the kadhai.Mix nicely all contents with a ladle. Let the water continue to boil.Add jaggery .Mix again. After about 10 minutes, add goda masala to kadhai. Mix all contents in kadhai again.

Mash the pressure cooked toor dal with ladle. And add the toor dal to the kdahai. Mix nicely.Let the contents of the kadhai come to aboil.Let it simmer for 2-3 ,minutes.Put off gas.Cover the kadhai. After 5-10 minutes, serve drumsticks amti with rice.Of course, it is so tasty that it can be eaten with rotis as well.