Peas Masala

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Last weekend was loaded with parties and Sunday morning was the only time I had to cook....and the rest of the weekend was spent attending birthday parties and get together. So I planned to make something simple and easy for Sunday lunch....and also we had our Tamil Get Together (Potluck) that evening and we were in for a sumptuous meal. I kept it simple to enjoy the food prepared by my friends that evening. Hence decided to make peas masala and roti.

I have made peas masala on different occasions but this time it came out very well. I have tried different versions of it but this was the best. I have always used frozen peas in previous occasions but this time I used dried peas soaked in water over night. I stopped buying frozen stuff after so many recalls associated with the frozen stuff. I found that using dried peas made it even better and gave more volume to it.

Ingredients:

1 Cup Dried Peas Soaked Overnight
1/2 Medium Sized Onion chopped + 1/2 Cup onion finely chopped
4 Tomatoes chopped
1 Inch Ginger Finely Chopped
1 Green Chilly Finely Chopped
1 Tsp Red Chilly Powder
1 Tsp Coriander Powder
1 Tsp Jeera Powder
3/4th Tsp Garam masala powder
1 Tsp Jeera
Oil
3 Tsp's Butter (unsalted)
Salt to taste

I tried this using the dried peas you may follow the same using the frozen peas too. Pressure cook the peas up to four whistles. It must be well cooked but not get too mashed up that one cannot see the peas in it.
Take little oil in a pan. When the oil gets heated add the onions. Saute the onions till they start turning pink. Add little salt that will help in cooking the onions easily. Now add the tomatoes and let it cook well.
Once they are done, take it out of the pan and allow it to cool. Grind it into a smooth paste.

Take the butter and melt it. Add the Jeera and let it splutter. Add the green chillies, ginger and onion. When the onions turns slightly pink add the puree and cook it for sometime. Add the red chilly powder, coriander powder, jeera powder and garam masala powder. Now add the boiled peas. Boil it untill the peas get blended well in the gravy. Garnish it with cilantro. You can serve it with rotis or even plain rice too. Enjoy!