This week we have a twin treat for you. We  are right now in a season of Green Peas and the person who reads this will be inspired to buy them on the way back home when Vendor’s are shouting at your neighbourhood marketplace. So we decided to contribute these Green Peas recipes. Hope you have a PEAS-ful time ahead!

Vattanya Golle

Ingredients

Fresh Shelled Green Peas                                                               500 gms
Potatoes (scrape the skin and dice into cubes)                     2
Green Chillies (chop into 2 pieces and slit vertically)       5 or 6
Grated Coconut (wet)                                                                      1/2 small coconut
Black Pepper Corns                                                                          20 to 22
Asafoetida                                                                                           1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder                                                                             1/4 tsp
Coconut/Vegetable Oil                                                                  2 tbsp
Salt to taste.

Method
1.      Take in a pan, oil and mustard seeds. When the seeds crackle, add green chilly pieces. Fry for a second or two .Then add turmeric powder, asafoetida, green peas and diced potatoes. Also add 1/2-cup water and stir the mixture. Cover the pan with a lid and let the vegetable cook on a slow fire . Add salt after the vegetable cook properly.
2.      Masala (wet): Grind together grated coconut and black pepper corns along with little water.
3.      Add the masala to the cooked vegetables. Make sure that the water from the vegetables has reduced before adding the masala. Stir  this mixture for 5 to 7 min. The dish is ready to be served.

VATTANYA AMBAT (Serves 4 Persons)

Ingredients
Shelled Fresh Green Peas  (Jeevo)                                      250 gms
Yam (diced into cubes)                                                           150 gms

Grated Coconut (wet)                                                              1/2 coconut
Dry red chillies (Byadgi) (roasted in little oil)               7 or 8
(Option Madras Chillies 3 to 4)

Onion (big) (Finely Chopped)                                                1
Coconut oil / Vegetable oil for seasoning                        1 to 2 Table spoon

Tamarind                                                                                        ½ lemon size
Salt to taste.

Method
1.      Put the peas and diced yam in the pressure-cooker. Do not add any water directly to the vegetables. Steam the vegetables.
2.      Masala (wet): Grind together grated coconut, dry red chillies and tamarind along with little water to a fine paste.
3.      Add the masala to the steamed green peas and yam cubes along with salt. Cook this mixture for 5 to 8 min.
4.      Seasoning: Take oil in a pan. Add finely chopped  onions and fry the onions on a slow fire . When the onion turns brown, pour this seasoning over the gravy and  cover the pan with a lid in order to retain aroma. The dish is ready to be served.
5.  Option for Seasoning : Season it with  Mustard seeds and curry leaves . It  is   called as Vatanya Ghassi.

6. Option : In place of green peas you can use Jeev Toory .

Note: For the seasoning, always fry the onions on a slow fire. This will consume some time but will ensure that all the pieces are fried uniformly. This will also enhance the taste of the dish.

Sanjana’s Nutrition Tips:

Vattanya Golle:

Total calories= 1112 Kcals. For one person out of 4 servings of 125 gram each, Calories are 278 calories. I say do not take more than 50 grams which will give us 111 calories with 4-5 grams protein. This can work as an ideal snack for people who want to lose weight as this is a fiber rich snack or an accompaniment(minus the coconut) and also has protein equivalent to an eggof weight 40 grams which gives 5 grams of protein.

About the fiber content of peas, it is a good snack for diabetics and people who have cholesterol problems as the fiber reduces sugar levels and cholesterol levels. It is low in carbohydrates compared to other pulses and legumes so ideal for diabetics.

Vattane Ambat:

Total calories= 746.5 Kcal. For one person, 187 calories. This is a verygood combination of peas and yam. Peas as we know is rich in fiber and protein while yam although contains carbohydrates equivalent to potatoes, it is a good source of compounds which can increase the oestrogen levels in a woman. This is a good dish for menopausal women who have decreased levels of oestrogen which is a female hormone. When these levels come down, a woman starts getting wrinkles, weight gain and many other symptoms seen in women in the middle age. Good levels of oestrogen prevent women from heart attacks  hence women till the age of 50’s have very low incidences of heart attacks.

So yam is a very important part of a diet of a woman in the menopausal phase. Questions to the experts may be posted through the comments for this post.

Sanjana’s site, Nutrihealth.in,  with informative content on Nutrition and health is highly recommended.