Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Masaledaar Lobia (Spicy Red Cow Peas)
If there is anything I dislike more than cooking....
Oops....did I just say "dislike cooking"? Now, that is quite a sacrilege for a food blogger, isn't it?
Well, truth be told, there are days when making the "roz ka khana" does bore me to no end! Yes, there are days when I do dislike cooking.
But, if there is anything that I dislike more than cooking, it is planning and deciding what to make. Believe me, there are days when I am at an absolute loss over what to make. I go over what I have in the fridge and in the pantry and still draw an absolute blank over what to make. Of course, the husband is very helpful on days like these. "Make anything," he says. "Just make something tasty." Yeah, right!!
So when great food - food that I absolutely love - appears almost magically on my plate without me having to plan the menu and cook it , where do you think I would be?
In a restaurant? Good guess and quite close, but no.
Great food without even having to ask for it - that is possible in only one place in the world: my mom's kitchen.
Now, I can go on and on about what a fabulous cook my mom is. But I won't. Because it is something that every person knows - that nothing quite measures up to mom's cooking.
However, there is this one thing I will say about my mom's cooking: that she sometimes follows very different ways of cooking.
Take this particular lobia curry, for instance. Counter-intuitive. That is what I call her way of making lobia. After all, isn't it common practice to sauté/fry the onions FIRST?
No need, says the mater. She puts the onions right at the end in this particular lobia curry. And it tastes absolutely awesome. In fact, it is the only way I eat lobia.
Ingredients:
Lal lobia or red cow peas* : 1/2 cup, soaked at least 6-8 hrs
Whole garam masala: Cloves: 4 nos, Black Cardamom: 1 large, Bay leaf: 1
Turmeric powder: 1/4 tsp
Red chilli powder: 1/2 tsp
Tomato: 1 large, chopped
Ginger and garlic paste: 1 tsp each
Green chilli: 2, chopped
Onions: 1 large, grated
Garam masala powder: 1/2 tsp
Coriander leaves, chopped: 2 tbsps
Oil
Salt
Method:
Pressure cook the lobia with the whole garam masala, turmeric powder, red chilli powder and some salt. Discard the black cardamom and the bay leaf after the lobia is cooked.
Heat oil, add the garlic paste followed by the ginger paste. Then, add the tomatoes and cook till they get soft and mushy.
Add the cooked lobia and the chopped green chillies. Add some water, half the coriander leaves and the grated onions. Bring to a boil and then let it simmer for at least 15 minutes on a medium high flame. Top up the water as needed and stir occasionally. Finally, add the garam masala powder, a dash of sugar and the remaining coriander leaves.
Serve hot with rotis/rice with some yoghurt on the side. I must say it again, tastes awesome!
* I have used red lobia, but you could use black eyed peas or even rajma and follow the same method. It works.
I too make these in similar way, perfect with rotis or phulkas!
ReplyDeleteIt is wonderful to know a new method of adding grated onion to the dish with lobia. If it's from your mom, it must be good, I will try. I love canned Crowder peas, so might try with those.Looks good. I know cooking everyday becomes a chore sometimes but had to feed the family, what can you do except ordering Pizza which becomes a bore too after sometimes! :D
ReplyDeleteThe lobia looks so delicious, what you say about the everyday planning is so true.
ReplyDeleteLobia looks yummy and truly delicious...
ReplyDeleteThis is delicious...want to give a try. Thanks for visiting my blog and for your lovely comment..am joining your blog today..there are lot more to try from yours..
ReplyDeleteQuite true, sometimes you feel like you are making the same things again and again..
ReplyDeletePeas look yum! good for rotis.
Aqua, either my comment disappeared or it is waiting approval. In case it disappeared, it said this, "I have never read, eaten or heard of grated onions being added in the end but if your mom does it and you say it tastes good, I am gonna try making it at least once." :)
ReplyDeletehmmm..I made black eyed peas today..wat a coincidence dear...still have not tried red cowpeas...I add onion before adding lobia..
ReplyDeleteLobia needs all the help it can get, unlike rajma it can get taste quite bland on its own. So the grated onions are a great idea to spike the taste!
ReplyDeleteThere are times when i also don't want to cook, we all have those days. Lobia curry looks so so yumm.
ReplyDeleteMouthwatering lobia curry..yummy with roti.:)
ReplyDeleteMasaledar Lobia looks yummy and irresistible. LOved ur write up as well. Again this is indeed a new way of making LObia , adding grated onion at the end. Since ur mom makes it this way..I will give it a try..as you have said-nothihng can measure up to mom's cooking..Thanks for visiting my space and ur kind words. It is a pleasure to be here and I must say I'm really impressed and I see you do have so many interesting things for me..especially abt the FOndant Decoration. I have been waiting to try to decorate a cake using Marshmallow fondant. I will one of these days and was so happy to see a post on that here...Will be following you.
ReplyDeleteNice click...This looks yummy.
ReplyDeleteThank God my dislike in cooking won't stick for long! I never made this dish, looks quiet tasty!
ReplyDeleteHi
ReplyDeleteThanks a ton for visiting my blog and leaving such a wonderful comment...lobia looks lovely and very colourful..we call it "Tuver" and really goes well with rice and gujarati Kadhi...ohmmmm yum yum..
cheers and do visit i am following you
oh i forgot to mention that i never added a onion, so i'll try your way
ReplyDeleteLobia looks delicious and healthy:)
ReplyDeletewow! it looks yummy!
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting my blog and for your lovely comments dear....
ReplyDeleteLobia looks absolutely delicious da..
You got a cute space with delectable recipes, glad to follow you:)
Delicious looking!!
ReplyDeleteThe dish looks inviting and with the ingredients one can say its gonna be very aromatic!!!
ReplyDeletethese look absolutely delicious and a very tempting click too!
ReplyDeletewouah i did not know these red cow peas ! beautiful photos !! cheers Pierre
ReplyDeleteMasale lobia luks yummm...very fulfilling:)
ReplyDeleteOoh this curry looks fantastic ! I would love to try this :-)
ReplyDeleteLOL.. I was laughing all the way reading your write-up.. esp when your DH said "Just make anything tasty"... This is the same response I get from DH too, and it only adds to the misery of planning.. Well written dear!
ReplyDeleteAs for this curry, it is quite new to me.. Shall give it a try soon :)
When I read ur story abt "roz ka Khana" & Confusion abt what to make, it was like me talking... Masaledar Lobia looks great 'n spicy... nice click too.. Thanks for visiting my site and ur wonderful comments
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for this recipe! I made this tonight and it is awesome. We don't use onions or garlic in our home, and the recipe was still awesome without these two ingredients. I will try another one of your recipes soon!
ReplyDeleteThank you Priya for trying the recipe and leaving a comment. I am delighted that you liked it, in fact now that you say, even I'll try it without onions and garlic!
ReplyDelete