Sev Usal ~ A blast from the past

Twitter’s caught my fancy these days so that’s my favourite place to kill time. Plus since last month or so I have been out socializing more than I did in my entire life. Which means I have tried out pretty much every dessert at Corner House. Weight loss can go take a flying f***. To top that, a close friend from school days has been visiting, so a great time has been had shopping together and having fun over endless cups of chai. Going with the nostalgic mood, I went and cooked Sev Usal the way it was made at home and we’ll get to that shortly.

Oh and I have also been dangerously overdosing on reruns of Project Runway Canada (anything yummier than Evan Biddell I haven’t seen), Iss jungle se mujhe bachao (need something to curse at) and Rakhi ka swayamwar (can’t decide who’s making me wanna pull my hair out – Rakhi or the dulhas) on youtube. Can anyone please tell me some good fun shows to watch on youtube?

To make Sev Usal, you’ll need

- 1.5 cups of dried green peas, soaked for 6-8 hours and pressure cooked
- 2 medium potatoes, pressure cooked, peeled and cubed
- 1 large onion, cubed
- 1 large tomato, cubed
- 1 inch piece of ginger, grated
- 5 pods of garlic, peeled and crushed
- A few sprigs of coriander leaves, finely chopped
- 1/2 tsp haldi (turmeric) powder
- 2 tsp mirchi (chilly) powder or to taste
- 2 tsp garam masala (I used MDH kitchen king) or to taste
- 5 to 6 lavang (cloves)
- 2 inch piece of dalchini (cinnamon)
- 2 pieces of tamalpatra (bay leaves)
- 2 tbsp oil
- Sev for garnishing

Method of preparation
Heat oil in a large thick bottomed pan/kadhai. Once hot add the whole garam masala (cloves, cinnamon, bay leaves), chopped onions, ginger, garlic, a pinch of salt & saute till the edges start to get some colour. Add the cooked green peas along with the liquid, chopped potatoes & tomatoes. Add the turmeric powder, chilly powder, garam masala & salt. Bring the usal to a boil & let it cook till the tomatoes become soft. The consistency should be ragda-like, so add water if required to get the desired consistency.

Serve it piping hot in a cereal bowl or a pasta dish and top it off with with lots of sev, a little bit of chopped onion(optional), chopped coriander, lemon juice, chutneys of your choice (garlic chutney, tamarind chutney, green chutney go very well)

We also sometimes eat toasted bread with sev usal and that makes it more fulfilling if you’ve been starving.

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