Peas please

Green peas are a favourite vegetable and surprisingly versatile in both western and Indian recipes.

THE GOODNESS OF GREEN
Green peas have always been a staple in our Indian diet. Matar paneer and aloo matar to bite-sized tikkis have been standard fare in every home as well as restaurant. Modern chefs like Ajay Chopra, co-host and judge Master Chef Season 1, believes in constantly reinventing his cuisine and green peas take on a new avatar under his skillet.

At The Indus Club — a new-age private member’s club in Mumbai, where chef Chopra runs a fine-dining restaurant, his food philosophy is not limited to just generic dishes. “I have also created dishes which are not limited to textbooks. My personal food philosophy is to create flavours using a varied amount of produce. I like to play with flavours, textures and plates to recreate unusual dishes from usual flavours,” he says.  Amongst them is a very basic green pea preparation — a green peas shikampuri that is served with pineapple chutney.

HOW TO SELECT AND STORE GREEN PEAS
First of all, green peas should not be too small or too big in size. The medium-sized green peas are tender and sweet in nature. Secondly, the peas should be bright green in colour. Any pale or muddy colour is an inferior quality of the pea.
The best way to store green peas is to de-skin, blanch and freeze them for future use. This will retain colour as well as the flavour of the peas.
 
DOS AND DON’TS WHEN COOKING WITH GREEN PEAS
Always blanch green peas and dip in iced water immediately to retain the green colour. Always cover green peas in an airtight container or plastic bag.
Always store green peas in the freezer. Never store green peas with their skin, as there are chances of worms in whole green peas.

NUTRITIONAL BENEFITS OF GREEN PEAS
“Green peas are a great addition to your menu because in addition to their concentration of vitamins and minerals, they also provide carotenoid — the unique phytonutrients in green peas also provides key antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits. The daily consumption of green peas along with other legumes lowers risk of stomach cancer,” says Dr Manoj Kutteri, wellness director, Atmantan Wellness Centre, Mulshi, Pune. Those on a diet please note — green peas are an extremely low-fat food. Peas are also helpful as an anti-aging ingredient for skin and are high fibre and full of protein making sugar digestion slower and helpful in regulating blood sugar. 

Shikampuri Kebab

Ingredients:
15 ml oil
5 gm cumin seeds
2 gm cinnamon 
2 gm cloves 
1 gm bay leaf 
20 gm onions 
30 gm chana dal
5 gm ginger
3 gm green chillies
150 gm green peas
5 gm salt
5 gm coriander powder
10 gm mint leaves
10 gm coriander 
20 gm potato
5 gm garam masala
5 gm roasted chana powder
5 gm cumin powder
10 gm hung yoghurt
10 gm chopped onions 
30 ml ghee

Method:
Take some ghee in a pan, add cumin seeds, add ginger, whole garam masala, onions, green chillies and the soaked chana dal and sauté till the dal becomes golden brown
Add salt, chopped coriander, mint leaves, coriander powder, cumin powder. Next, add the green peas. Cook this mixture till the entire mixture evaporates. Cool the mixture and remove the whole garam masala from the mix and blend it to make a fine paste which is almost like dough.
Add boiled potatoes, garam masala and roasted chana powder.
Make a stuffing with chopped onion, ginger, green chilli and hung yogurt.
Stuff the green pea mix galletes with the hung curd mixture and shallow fry the patties and serve with pineapple chutney.
Your dish is ready to be served.

Pithaud Cake With Masala Green Peas And Kadhi

Ingredients:
For Pithuad cake:
20 gm gram flour
15 ml ghee
5 gm breadcrumbs
2 gm turmeric 
5 gm salt
10 gm curd 
Kadhai powder (roast cumin seeds 10 gm, coriander seeds 50 gm and whole red chillies 20 gm and grind coarsely) 

For masala peas:
50 gm fresh green peas
10 gm chopped onion 
5 ml ghee
15 gm chopped tomatoes
1 gm cumin seeds 
5 gm chopped ginger 
2 green chillies 
5 gm coriander powder 
3 gm red chilli powder 
2 gm turmeric powder 
5 gm salt 
10 gm fresh coriander leaves 
5 ml lemon juice

For the kadhi:
10 gm gram flour 
2 gm salt 
2 gm ginger-garlic paste    
50 gm curd 
200 ml water 

For the garnish:
6 julienne orange zest 
2 basil leaves 
2 coriander sprigs
6 dill leaves 

 

Method:
For green masala, heat ghee in a pan. Add cumin seeds and let it crackle. 
Add chopped onions, ginger and green chillies and sauté well.
Next, add tomatoes, green peas and red chilli, coriander and turmeric powder. Cook until the green peas are done. 
Add salt and finish with lemon juice and chopped coriander leaves.
For the pithaud cake, whisk curd and gram flour together. 
Add turmeric and kadhai powder, salt and mix well. It should have a batter-like consistency.
In a kadhai, heat ghee, add the above mix and cook on a slow fire. 
When it becomes a little thick and leaves the sides of the kadhai, remove from fire.
Take a 1-inch deep grease tray, add this curd mix and let it cool.
Cut into round shapes with a mould and grill for 2-3 minutes from both sides.
For the kadhai, combined all the ingredients of the kadhai and leave it on fire to reduce it.
When thick, turn off the gas and cool it. 
Arrange the pithaud cake with the green peas masala on top and kadhai. Garnish with orange zest, basil leaves, coriander and dill leaves. Serve.

RECIPES COURTESY AJAY CHOPRA – EXECUTIVE CHEF, THE INDUS 
CLUB BKC, MUMBAI