kala vatana amti or black peas curry for ganesh chaturthi festival

kala vatana amti or black peas curry - on the occasion of ganesh chaturthi today i made a few dishes for naivedyam and this kala vatana amti is one of them. in marathi language its called as kalya vatanyche amti. usually on the first day i make either a simple varan or kala vatana sambar, modak or sheera and a side salad. if time permits than i do make rice pooris or the regular wheat pooris too. this time i made a side carrot-cucumber salad, pomegranate raita, rava kesari and this black peas curry with steamed rice. this curry is made with black peas. these are different from black chickpeas or black gram. these are dried peas and they need to be soaked before hand for 8-9 hours before cooking them.  below is a pic of these soaked black peas. they remain separate even when cooked and do not get mushy. best is to use a pressure cooker for cooking them. this time i did not make the kala vatana sambar. wanted to try something new. hence adapted the recipe from a cookbook. here basically three spices – cloves, pepper and coriander seeds are roasted with fresh coconut. the final curry has the aroma of the cloves. the roasted spice-coconut mixture is then ground to a fine paste. this recipe is a no onion garlic recipe and hence is ideal for festive occasions like ganesh chaturthi. this kala vatana amti tastes best with rice pooris, bhakris, ambolis (a dosa variety) and steamed rice. they even taste great with pav (indian bread buns). if you are looking for more ganesh chaturthi recipes then do check ukadiche modak, fried modak, puran poli, besan ladoo and coconut ladoo. kala vatana amti – black peas curry Total time 8 hours 45 mins Author: dassana Recipe type: main Cuisine: maharashtrian Serves: 3-4 ¾ cup dry black peas/kala vatana 1 medium tomato, chopped ¼ tsp turmeric powder ½ tsp red chili powder ¾ to 1 tsp garam masala powder or goda masala or malvani masala 2 tbsp oil 1 tsp mustard seeds salt as required 2 tsp oil 4-5 cloves 10-12 whole black pepper 1 tbsp coriander seeds 1 heaped cup of fresh grated coconut rinse and soak the black peas overnight in enough water. pressure cook the peas till they are completely cooked. reserve two cups of the peas stock. heat oil in a frying pan. fry the cloves, black pepper and coriander till they splutter and become aromatic. add the grated coconut and saute till the coconut gets browned. take care not to burn the coconut. keep on stirring while sauting the coconut to ensure even browning. let this mixture cool. add this mixture along with ½ tbsp of the cooked black peas in a grinder. add ½ or ¾ cup water and grind to a smooth paste. in the same pressure cooker or in another pan, mix the peas, the coconut paste, the reserved stock, red chili powder, turmeric powder, garam masala powder, salt and keep to simmer on a medium to high flame. when the curry comes to a boil, then lower the flame and simmer for 12-15 minutes. if the curry looks dry then you can add some water while simmering. now heat oil in a small frying pan. add the mustard seed and when they almost finish up making the popping sound, immediately pour the tempering in the curry. switch off the fire and cover the curry pan or pot with a lid. while serving garnish with coriander leaves. serve the kala chana amti with steamed rice, rice pooris or rice bhakris as a naivdeya or bhog to lord ganesha. 3.2.2124 via Veg Recipes of India http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/VegRecipesOfIndia/~3/RRyhyKDER5Q/

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