Subzi Dalcha (Split Pea and Vegetable Stew)

I made some last-minute changes to my meal plan this week, which meant that I was flailing around while in the midst of preparing dinner looking for a vegetable side that I could add to the meal.

Mr. Iyer came to my rescue yet again with the perfect curry for the occasion. I've been looking for ways to use up both potatoes and cabbage and this curry uses both. Plus it adds in some carrot and green beans for good measure. All of which I actually had on hand yesterday. And it's a recipe that I haven't had a chance to try before. It doesn't get much more prefect than that!

Photo goes here.

Subzi Dalcha

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

• 1/2 c. yellow split peas (chana dal)
• 4 c. water
• ~225g potatoes, diced
• 2 c. shredded cabbage
• 1 c. fresh or frozen green beans, cut into 2-3cm pieces
• 1-2 carrots, peeled and cut into 1cm thick rounds
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
• 2 Tbsp. ghee
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds
• 1/4 tsp. ground asafetida
• 6-8 fresh green Thai, serrano, or finger chilies, sliced
• 6 cloves garlic, sliced
• 2 Tbsp. toasted chickpea flour¹
• 1/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro
• 4 slices fresh ginger² (each ~6x2.5cm and 3mm thick), julienned

Directions

1. Thoroughly rinse the split peas.
2. Place the peas in a pot with the water and bring to a boil.
3. Skim off any foam that forms and then add the potatoes, cabbage, beans, and carrots and cook for ~5 minutes.
4. Stir in the salt and turmeric, reduce heat to medium, cover, and simmer until the vegetables are fork-tender (~15 minutes).
5. Meanwhile, heat the ghee over medium-high heat.
6. Add the cumin and sizzle for 20-30 seconds.
7. Add the asafetida, chilies, and garlic and cook for another 1-2 minutes. Set aside until vegetables are done.
8. Once the vegetables are tender, add the chili-garlic mixture to the pot.
9. Add the chickpea flour, cilantro, and ginger.
10. Cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened (~5 minutes).

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¹ I couldn't find my toasted chickpea flour and I didn't have time to toast more in the middle of dinner prep, so I just used untoasted chickpea flour. This seems to have worked out fine. Iyer also notes that a slurry made of 1 Tbsp. of cornstarch mixed with 2 Tbsp. of cold water will also work if you don't have any chickpea flour on hand. ^Back
2 I was all out of fresh ginger so I just tossed in 1 Tbsp. of ginger paste. It probably could've done with a little more, but that's all I had left in the jar. ^Back