Perum payaru theeyal / Black-eyed pea curry

Theeyal is a popular spicy Kerala dish which can be made in different forms. Here is the recipe of theeyal made of perum payaru (black eyed peas). Theeyal can also be made of pearl onions (Ulli theeyal), chick peas/ chana (Kadala theeyal). The steps are the same to make all forms of theeyal. You need to replace blakc eyed peas with chick peas or pearl onions to get Kadala theeyal and Ulli theeyal respectively. This dish involves a lot of ingredients and many steps and hence can be a bit tedious to prepare, but all the effort put in will be worth it.

Preparation and cooking time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

• Perum payaru / Black eyed peas / Lobhiya - 1 cup
• Grated coconut - 1 cup
• Pearl onions - 6-7
• Garlic cloves - 2
• Red  chilies - 4
• Coriander seeds / Methi seeds / Malli - 3 spoons
• Pepper seeds - 1/2 spoon
• Curry leaves
• Tamarind
• Salt
• Edible oil

Preparation:

• Soak perum payaru/ black-eyed peas overnight in water. The pulses would have become soft and sized by morning.

• In a pressure cooker, cook the peas in water and take 3 whistles. Let it remain closed till the steam goes off completely. This could take 10-15 mins.
• Take a deep cooking pan, heat it and pour a spoon of edible oil.
• Transfer coriander seeds, pearl onions, pepper seeds, garlic cloves, grated coconut, curry leaves and saute well in high flame.
• Once the mixture becomes dark brown switch off the flame. Let the mixture cool down. This can take 5 mins.

• To a  mixer grinder, transfer this sauteed mixture, tamarind and salt.
• Grind it with water to make a very fine paste.
• In the cooking pan, transfer the cooked peas (from pressure cooker) and cook in high flame.

• Now transfer the finely ground paste and mix well.
• Add more salt if required.

• Close the pan with a lid and let it cook in high flame for 5-10 mins depending on how much water is there. Switch off when the curry becomes thick. 
• Transfer to a serving bowl.
• For seasoning, take a small frying pan, heat edible oil and toss mustard seeds and curry leaves.
• Add the seasoning to the curry.

Yes this dish will definitely test your patience. But again its worth all the wait. Theeyal is taken with rice in Kerala but it will also blend well with dosa or roti. When taken with rice, the best partner would be Vellarikka kichadi (cucumber kichadi). Kichadi has a very light taste which will compliment the spicy theeyal. 

For Vellarikka kichadi (cucumber kichadi), visit -> 

http://she-simple-healthy-elegant.blogspot.in/2013/12/cucumber-kichadi-vellarikka-kichadi.html

Rice, theeyal and kichadi will make a great weekend lunch. So try it today! I must admit that this combo is one of my favorite meal.