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.
- 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.
- 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.
