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Split peas ISKON style, really...



It's a shame that the only thing a man can do for eight hours a day is work. He can't eat for eight hours; he can't drink for eight hours; he can't make love for eight hours. The only thing a man can do for eight hours is work- Faulkner



Here is the recipe for the challenge, the 8th in my book. For the longest time I thought green split peas are the same as pigeon peas, so I bought some dried split peas. Now let me tell I am not a great fan of the split pea soup, I should have known then that they are not the same, because I love pigeon peas! The year end cleaning session led to this recipe using split peas. 


Ingredients
1 1/2 cups green split peas
1 tsp minced fresh ginger
2 green chili, chopped
1 tsp turmeric
2 tsp ground coriander
about 3/4 of a 16 oz bag of frozen spinach
1 cup coconut milk
Oil for cooking
1¼ tsp kalonji seeds
asafetida powder
1 tsp fresh lime juice
Water and vegetable broth for cooking the dal
Salt and pepper to taste


Method
Wash and drain the split peas and soak them in hot water for 30 minutes.
Bring to the boil the ginger, chili, water/broth, turmeric powder, coriander powder, and split peas and pressure cook all these ingredients.
Add the chopped spinach to the dal. When the spinach is soft and the dal is smooth, add the salt, pepper and coconut milk and return to a simmer.
Seasoning: heat the oil in a small pan. Fry the kalonji seeds in the hot oil for 1 minute. add the asafetida and fry momentarily. Add the spices to the soup, mix well, and allow the spices to soak for a few minutes. Add the fresh lemon or lime juice. Serve hot.

Judgement- While I loved the seasonings, the dal itself not so much- as I said, I do not like split peas and I am glad I have only 1/2 cup of it left!


Merry X-mas everyone, sorry for the belated 
wishes!
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Comments

  1. notyet100December 26, 2009 at 9:28 PM

    this looks delicious,..

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ms.ChitchatDecember 26, 2009 at 11:13 PM

    Wishes to you too. Lovely comforting dish. Easy recipe too.

    Chitchat

    ReplyDelete
  3. Sheetal KiranDecember 27, 2009 at 12:22 AM

    I like the simplicity of this dal .. would be perfect with any other greens other than spinach too, I think!

    ReplyDelete
  4. SiriDecember 27, 2009 at 10:22 AM

    a soulful dal, I must say.. it is such a coincidence that I picked up a bag of green split peas yesterday in Target and thought they were are notmal 'pigeon peas'..:)) and put it back as I didn't know what to do with them.. next time I will try this recipe for sure.

    Hope you had a fund-filled Christmas,

    Siri

    ReplyDelete

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