Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Black Eye Peas with brinjal in tomato coconut sauce

I started to wonder what it was about this particular woman VP candidate that gets my goat. It surely is not just the betchas and gotchas that she sprinkles liberally in her speeches. It not her extreme right wing credentials either. What gets to me most is her dummification(as in dumb down) of the American electorate. Besides her utter lack of grasp of the challenges facing the country today she seems to suggest that the American people like her because of that. Though the dummification started 8years ago with the current occupant of the White House, she is seems to be a master at focusing on just that. She seems to propagate the myth that she is popular because she sounds dumb and portraying Americans to be dumb. Far worse is the tendency to cater to the baser instinct of human nature magnifying differences and ideologies all in the name of getting votes. Why do some of the countries run by right wing idealogues have problems? precisely because of what she is whipping up.

Growing up in India when you are old enough to understand politics and politicians you develop a healthy dose of cynicism for the political process and for politicians even worse contempt. So I was kind of surprised at how much respect Americans give their President and the office he holds. The lady is anathema to all of that.

The one that really gets to me is the utter disrespect for education and especially science education. Like the success and prosperity American enjoys today came without hard work and education and it is ok to be contemptful of anyone who who had the gal to get a good education. She might have required 6 different universites to get her undergrad from and she might not even care if her kids gets educated or not but for the majority of Americans it is by far the surest ticket to the American dream. Whats more is the hypocrisy of it all, do anything and say anything, everything else be damned.

Now that I have vented and cleared up my mind, we can move on to the recipe on hand in a better frame of mind.

Black Eyed Peas comes in very handy if you have run out of vegetables and forgot to soak those other beans overnight. Paired with Brinjal or any other vegetable like bottle gourd, zucchini it is a curry that comes in handy in a pinch.


Photobucket




Serves: 4
Ingredients
1. 1 Cup Black Eyed Peas soaked for an hour
2. 2 Medium sized brinjals chopped
3. 1/2 onion chopped
4. seasonings: mustard, curry leaves and cumin

To Blend
1. 2 tbsp grated coconut
2. small onions or shallots about 10
3. 2 tomatoes
4. 1/2 tbsp coriander seeds
5. 1/2 tsp cumin
6. Few pepper corns

Roast the above coriander, cumin, red chilies, pepper corn first in a bit of oil, set aside. Next saute the onions and tomatoes and coconut. cool and blend to a paste

Method
1. In a pan heat a tsp of oil, add the seasonings and saute the onion.
2. Add the brinjal and saute till the skin starts to turn color.
3. Now add the soaked black eyed peas and mix well.
4. Add the ground mixture with 2 cups of water and let it simmer in medium heat till the peas are cooked and desired consistency is reached.
5. Add salt when the peas are almost cooked.
Serve with rice or rotis.

14 comments:

  1. This is a nice recipe,I make this curry too.Good pic.

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  2. WOw love this..wat a mouthwatering dish!!! simply superb...

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  3. Oh that looks fabulous - bookmarked to try.

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  4. A very comforting dish. If I hadn't just soaked chickpeas for tomorrow's dinner, I would probably make this. Noted for a day when I want a quick, nourishing meal.

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  5. I've been having flashbacks of Dan Quayle (VP under Bush senior) with this female!! I wish you and your family a very happy Deepavali! :)

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  6. I agree..This comes in handy when there are no veggies..ooks nice.Perfect with rotis.

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  7. He he he. Enjoyed listening to you vent and rant, you should have come up with something spicy to complement your write up! :)

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  8. Happy Deepavali to you & your family, ISG! Vent away honey. Blogging is therapeutic, I say! :)

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  9. Hi, This recipe looks so delicious!

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  10. Jeez, don't even get me started on sarah P. All I can say is I am with Tina Fey who said that she would leave earth if McCain Palin win.

    On the other hand, who knew that black eyed bean and brinjal go together? You of course and thanks for sharing ISG!

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  11. hi there..
    was browsing thru ur blog. i like ur style and ur recipes too look enticing. I am a total foodie, and by the looks of it im going to be hooked on to ur blog.
    just one query, can i replace the black-eyed peas with whole green gram???? as the black eyed peas arent that accessible for me here in bangalore. or else if u know of a place where i can get it please tell me.
    thanks...
    sangeetha

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  12. i had always thought Bush was the dumbest but Palin beats him in that dept hads down ;) she has made the presidential voting a big joke.
    brinjal+chavli+coconut=deadly combination :) i am so in...

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  13. RC, good for Tina Fey, a friend in the bus I used to take to work who said she is off to Netherlands (that is where she is from) if this duo wins - a flight of people who can't stand it.

    Sia you are so right, who knew GOP had the ability to grab somebody worse that would make even W look good!

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  14. Sangeetha, Welcome!
    Whole Green gram why not, just make sure the green gram is cooked just right and not mushy. You can try Cow Peas (called thattapayir in Tamil) or Red chori. I am not familiar with Bangalore and am not sure that I have seen those back home.

    Maybe someone who know where we can get Black Eyed Peas in Bangalore will let us know.

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