Alasande huli/ Curried Black Eyed Peas

It is already holiday season here and of course we had copious snow this sunday. All this in early December.. I guess it is global warming.The first snow is always lovely, has something happy and bright about it. There were snowmen of various shapes and sizes this morning when I stepped out, the snow itself is white and clean..It gets dirty after a while. Today was extremely frigid, in the morning at the train station it was -7 C and as Murphy's law would have it the train was late by 12-15 minutes and I wore the wrong shoes.. My toes though covered with 1/4 " thick woolen socks and my favorite Reebok sneakers, started hurting. Well all for the love of the first snow. Here is a shot of our apartment.



Snow also meant craving for something warm and comforting. I was thinking the whole morning, till I came up with this curry. For lunch we had hot Alasande huli with steaming rice, so hot that almost scalded my finger. But then my stomach and my soul warm up wonderfully. This again belongs to the genre of Huli. Huli can be prepared using vegetables, pulses or greens. Here I have used Alasande. I am not sure if it the same as what we get back home in India, for, the ones available here labeled 'Moth dal' resembles what we call 'Madike Kalu' back home. Nevertheless the favor is similar and tastes great. It has been my favorite curry ever since I remember. Both my mom and my grandmother dish our wonderful versions of this curry. Mine is identical to their's in terms of ingredients; in terms of measurements god knows how far I am!!



Serves 4 ||  Calories per serving (Kcl) | total 180 | Protein 7.8 |  fat 5.7 || Fiber 1.6 gm |


Moth Dal  1/2 cup
Onion 1 small
Tomato 1 small
Coconut 3 tbsp
Coriander a handful
Huli Pudi/ Sambar Powder 2 heaping tsp (adjust according to taste)
Tamarind extract 1 tsp
Ghee 1 tbsp
Mustard 1/2 tsp
Hing a generous dash
Curry leaves 7-8
Salt to taste
Jaggery crushed 1 tsp (optional)

Method:

• Pick and clean the Moth dal. Keep a keen eye on these tiny fellows, it is indeed hard to make out stones and mud from them. Wash several times in water. Combine washed dal and about 2 cups of water in a pressure cooker and cook for a at least 2-3 whistles (Mine does it in 2) Set it aside.
• Meantime. Roast the onion on a skillet without using oil or any other medium, till it is slightly charred. Combine coconut, roasted onions, tomatoes, coriander, Sambar powder and tamarind extract in a blender. Blend till it is very smooth.
  
• Pour the paste into a thick bottomed pot and cook till the Masala is cooked and smell fragrant. About 20-30 minutes.
  
• Mix in the cooked dal and bring it to a gentle boil.
• Prepare the Oggarane/ Tadka. Heat Ghee in a small pan. Just when the ghee is to start smoking, drop the mustard seeds, Hing and curry leaves. Soon after they stop spluttering pour it onto the curry adjust salt and Jaggery. Turn off the heat and serve it with steaming hot rice.
  
  P.S: I do not use Jaggery in this curry myself because the dal itself is sort of sweetish. But then it is optional!