Monday, July 20, 2015

‘FEIJOADA’ - GOAN BLACK- EYED PEAS IN COCONUT STEW

GOA – The immediate image I get of this lovely state is the beautiful churches, its clean sandy beaches, and the yummy food !!
I am lucky to call this beautiful place ‘HOME’ !  J

There are many dishes that are signature to the land of Goa, Feijoada is just one of the many !

The name ’Feijoada ‘originates from feijão, Portuguese for "beans".

‘FEIJOADA’ - GOAN BLACK- EYED PEAS IN COCONUT STEW 



Feijoada is a stew of beans cooked with meat, which is a typical Portuguese dish.  Goa, being a former Portuguese colony, gets a lot of its culinary influence from Portuguese cuisine.  This is also Brazil’s national dish, (the Portuguese took it there too).
But the Goans added to this version the signature ingredients of their own cuisine, like coconut, tamarind, and warm, fragrant spices. The result was a delicious stew that’s an absolute delight, creamy and full of flavor!!

Normally this stew is made with meat, but I have made a vegetarian version of it today (especially on the behest of my vegetarian friends).  I will be uploading the non-vegetarian version of Feijoada soon !

Let’s cook! J J

This dish serves 4 people.

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups Black Eyed Peas (also known as Chowli or lobia)
1 medium onion (finely chopped)
1 medium tomato (finely chopped)
4-5 green chillies (chopped)
2 tbsp peanuts (shingdana)   (roughly broken up)
4-5 cloves of garlic (finely chopped)
½ inch piece of ginger (grated)
150 ml coconut milk
100 ml tomato puree (equivalent to 2 large tomatoes)
150 ml water
2 twigs curry leaves
1 tsp tamarind pulp
3 tbsp clarified butter (ghee)
Salt to taste

SPICES:                     
1 tsp roasted cumin seeds
1.5 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp red chilli powder
1.5 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp Garam masala
1 tsp dhansak masala (can substitute with garam masala)

METHOD:
  • Soak the Black-Eyed Peas for at least 2 hours prior to cooking. 
Soaked Black-Eyed Peas
  • If you are using a Pressure Cooker, cook the Black-Eyed Peas for 7-8 minutes.  If you are using a heavy-bottomed pan, cook it till it softens, which is ideally around 20-25 minutes.  Keep aside. 
Cooked Black-Eyed Peas
  • Prep all the ingredients.  
Ingredients
  • In a pan, heat the ghee/oil and add the cumin seeds. When it sputters, add the curry leaves and sauté for 30 secs.
  • Next, add the onions, chilies, ginger, garlic and the peanuts and sauté on low flame till the onions have softened and the oil separates.


**NOTE:  Adding the peanuts is purely optional. I like this stew having a nice nutty flavor, hence I added this. **

  • Add the tomatoes and let this mixture cook on low flame till the tomatoes become soft.

  • Now add all the ground spices and sauté for a couple of minutes.

  • Add the tomato puree and the tamarind pulp and cook for another 2-3 minutes.  

**NOTE: I used tomato puree, as I realized that I was out of tomatoes at the nth moment. **

  • Add the cooked black-eyed peas, salt and water. Mix and bring to a boil.
  • Let this stew simmer for approx. 7-10 minutes on low flame.  
  • Stir in the coconut milk and stir well and take the stew off the heat. Do not let the curry boil vigorously after adding the coconut milk or it will split.

**TIP : You can also use desiccated coconut if you don’t have coconut milk handy. **
  • Garnish with freshly chopped coriander. 
I served the Black-Eyed Peas stew with Roti (Indian Flat Bread). You can also serve it with steamed rice or bread.