Tuver Totha – Pigeon Pea Beans Curry
Gujarati winter dish made with pigeon pea beans, lots of fresh green garlic and bunch of spices!
This dish is very famous in Mehsana, a city in Gujarat state. I never had made this in my household growing up and did not even know it existed until I was in my teens. I have a very good friend who I met in collage. She introduced me to this dish as it is a staple dish in Patel families! It is specially made during winter near Makar Sankranti/Uttarayan time. It is a seasonal dish due to having lots of fresh green garlic which is available during cold weather in India!
This nutrients loaded dish is very high in protein, gluten-free, vegan and plant-based! You can eat it as curry with any bread, roti, rice and you can also eat it by itself with some yummy toppings like raw onions, tomatoes, cilantro, green garlic, sev (crispy thin chickpea noodles), pomegranate seeds etc. It is definitely my family favorite!
Happy and Healthy Eating!
Pigeon Pea Beans
Totha – Pigeon Pea Beans Curry
Ingredients
- 1 cup Uncooked Dry Pigeon Pea Beans soak it over night or at-least 8-10 hours which will double ein quantity
- 1 cup Finely Chopped Onions
- 1 cup Finely Chopped Tomatoes
- 1 cup Finely Chopped Fresh Green Garlic frozen green garlic would work too if cannot find fresh
- ¼ cup Peanut Oil use more if you want authentic taste!
- 2 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Chopped Green Chilis (spicy chilis)
- 1 tsp Grated Ginger
- 1 tsp Minced Garlic
- 1 tsp Cumin Seeds
- 2 tsp Red Chili Powder
- 1 tsp Turmeric Powder
- 1 tsp Garam Masala
- 1 tsp Cumin Powder
- 1 tsp Coriander Powder
- ½ cup Chopped Cilantro
- 2 Whole Dry Red Chilis
Instructions
- Wash and soak 1 cups of whole dry pigeon pea beans in warm water over night or at-least 8-10 hours.
- If using instant pot for boiling, cook with 4 cups of water, 1 tbsp of oil and 1 tsp of salt on high pressure for 25 minutes and let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes. Release rest of the pressure manually. The beans should not get mushy or it should not be too hard either.
- If using Indian style pressure cooker, cook with 4 cups of water, 1 tbsp of oil and 1 tsp of salt. Do 5 whistles on high heat and 5 whistles on medium heat. Let the pressure release naturally. The beans should not get mushy or it should not be too hard either.
- Heat ¼ cup of oil in a deep wide pan. Add cumin seeds and 2 whole dry red chilis to the oil and let it cook for a minute or 2 until the seed colors turns little brown.
- Once cumin seeds are cooked enough, sauté chopped ginger garlic green chilis until the raw smell of garlic goes away, making sure it does not burn.
- Add chopped onions 1 tsp of salt to the pan. Saute onions until they are translucent.
- Add chopped green garlic to the pan and saute on medium heat for 3-4 minutes.
- Add chopped tomatoes to the pan and saute until they start to loose water.
- Add red chili powder, turmeric powder, cumin powder, coriander powder and turmeric powder. Mix well and cook for another couple of minutes.
- Add boiled pigeon pea beans with the water it was boiled in. Mix well and bring it to boil. Crush some beans with back of the spoon and mix again to make the gravy a little thicker if the gravy seems to watery. Add more water if it gets too dry and bring to boil again. It should be like ragda (stew) consistency.
- Taste the salt and fix it as needed. Add chopped cilantro and mix well.
- Serve it hot with garnishing like fresh green garlic, fresh chopped cilnatro, sev (crispy thin chickpea noodles), pomegranate and wedge of lime! It can be eaten as chaat or like curry with any type of bread or flatbread and also rice!
