Methi black peas curry: A delicious dish from the divine land of Shirdi

Chennai

We landed in Shirdi to find that my baggage hadn’t come and I realised this was my first test in accepting tough situations. The baggage was loaded with goodies for our hosts in Shirdi, who had made all the arrangements for the darshan and a tour of local eateries. 

We decided to carry on and asked the airline to retain the baggage in Chennai as it apparently had the forbidden power bank in it.

We focused on the darshans first and then travelled to the Maharashtrian town of Shani Singanapur, about 70 km southeast of Shirdi, famous for the shrine dedicated to the planet Saturn. The roads were rough and it was midnight when we reached and almost early morning when we returned to Shirdi.

Shirdi, made popular across the world by saint Sai Baba, thrives on tourism for its progress. Eateries surround the temple area, for the soul can be fed and the soles can also get a break while sipping on masala chai, sugarcane juice and other specialties. 

Annadanam (free offering of food) is a well-known word in Shirdi. Most restaurants make sure they offer food cooked with love, for that was the tradition set by Baba. 

He loved cooking amte, varan and usal. He is said to have visited the market by himself to buy the ingredients needed and then cooked the meal in a big handi on wood fire. He is known to have often used his hands to stir the dish instead of a ladle, and never got burnt. 

Feeding the villagers gave him immense joy and this tradition has been adopted by many of Baba’s followers, whose grandchildren and great grandchildren run many eateries now.

One such is Swami Baba, who had a small idli shop right at the entrance of Dwarakamai, where Baba is said to have lived for 60 years. As his samadhi and the temple were being built, everyone around had to clear the area. 

Swami’s eatery called Madras Sai Café cooks and serves delicious dishes from all parts of the country. They offer bhog to Baba each day. The ritual takes place at noon, when a silver thali with silver bowls filled with Baba’s favourite dishes, are offered to Baba at the temple. 

We got to taste some of it and also the delicious methi kala vatana usal, a delicacy made here and not available commonly anywhere else. The dish is made at the restaurant as part of its annadanam offering.

I find that dishes that start with the letter ‘U’ in Marathi food are small in number, but absolutely delicious! There’s ukad, which means boiled, through which a variety of dishes are prepared, like ukadlelya batatyachi bhaji (potato curry) and ukadiche modak (rice dough pockets filled with coconut-jaggery mixture) made during festive occasions like Ganesh Chaturthi. 

Other favourite ingredient with ‘U’ is uus or sugarcane, a crop that brings prosperity to this region of the country. Usacha ras or sugarcane juice is available everywhere here and is so delicious and refreshing. The winner and the absolute monarch of these subset of foods, I find, is usal, a spicy curry of sprouted beans/lentils. 

This dish unfolds a myriad of flavours — all nourishing, healthy and light. Out of all the different kinds of usal available, I loved the methi kala vatana usal, fenugreek leaves cooked in black peas curry.

The curry is a special dish, which is said to have been prepared first in the kitchens of great warrior Shivaji, who loved traditional cuisines. It later became a specialty of the Konkan region and got richer through the addition of coconut. 

The dish goes well with chapati, bhakri (mixed flour chapatis), puri, Malvani vade (rice flour puris), amboli (thicker version of dosa) or simply with plain rice.

Methi Kala Vatana Usa

Preparation time: 20 min

Black peas soaking time: 8 hours

Cooking time: 20 min

Serves: 4 pax

Calories: 330 per small bowl serving

Ingredients:

Black peas (kala vatana): 1 medium bowl soaked overnight

Red onion: 2 chopped

Fresh fenugreek leaves: 1 bowl

Tomatoes: 2 finely chopped

Freshly grated coconut: 2 cups

Cashew nuts: 1 small cup soaked in milk

Ginger: 1 tsp grated

Coconut pieces: ½ cup (optional)

Black peppercorns: 8

Cloves: 7

Fenne seeds: 1 tsp

Poppy seeds: 1 tsp soaked in milk

Cinnamon: 2 sticks

Black cardamom: 2

Nutmeg: 2 small pieces

Malvani garam masala/regular garam masala: 1 tsp

Kashmiri red chilli powder: 1 tsp

Tamarind paste: 1 tsp

Jaggery: 1 tsp

Mustard seeds: 1 tsp

Cumin seeds: 1 tsp

Coriander leaves: Finely chopped

Sesame oil/groundnut oil: 1 1/2tbsp

Milk: ½ cup to soak cashews

Groundnuts: 1 tbsp roasted and powdered

Method: 

Steps to make gravy masala

• Heat the oil in a pan on low flame and add chopped onions, and ginger. Sauté for 2-3 minutes until the onions become reddish brown.
• Add grated coconut in it, sauté on medium flame while continuously stirring till the onion and coconut become reddish.
• Then add chopped tomatoes and mix all the ingredients and sauté for 5 minutes. Set the cooked ingredients aside. 
• Heat one tbsp oil in the pan and sauté the whole spices like black pepper, cloves, fennel seeds, poppy seeds, cinnamon, black cardamom and nutmeg for about 3-4 minutes on medium to low flame. Keep stirring to avoid burning. 
• Now finely grind all ingredients — sautéed whole spices and the set aside mixture of coconut, onion and tomatoes. Make a fine paste and keep aside.

Making the usal

• First wash the black peas 2-3 times under running water and soak the grams in water for about 8-10 hours. 
• After the 8-10 hours, wash the soaked black peas in water. 
• Take the soaked grams in a deep pot and add water as required till all of them are immersed in water. Also add small pieces of coconut, half tsp salt and a half tsp oil in it. Cook the peas in a pressure cooker for 20-25 minutes on high flame. Set aside once done. 
• Heat 1 tsp oil in a deep pan and splutter some mustard seeds, cumin and once they pop, add in the tamarind paste, chopped methi leaves, cooked black peas and garam masala. 
• Add ¼ glass of water and stir well. Cook everything well for about 5 minutes on medium flame. 
• Now add the ground cashew and groundnut powder in it and add the finely ground masala paste, chilli powder, turmeric and saute. Stir the mixture well. Add in the jaggery and cook without the lid for 6-7 minutes on low flame. 
• Let all the masalas bind well together and the grams and methi leaves soak in the spices. Turn off the flame. 
• Garnish the methi leaves black peas curry with chopped coriander. Serve hot with puri, chapatti, amboli, Malvani vada, bhakri or rice.

Kitchen Tips

• Soak the black peas for a minimum of 8-9 hours. While soaking, add in ½ tsp of salt
• Always cook the black peas in a pressure cooker and wait for 3-4 whistles for them to cook faster 

 — Chef Ramaa Shanker is the author of ‘Festive Offerings to the Gods:  Divine Soul Recipes’

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