Banarsi Chura Matar: a flavourful green peas dish

Women belong in the kitchen, right? So on this International Women's Day I'm sharing a simple, healthy and plant-based recipe with you from India.

The children are now taking their exams at our school. And with so much tension and concentration you need good nutrition! That’s why a large pan of 'chura matar' was made: a flavourful green peas dish. Simple, tasty, healthy, plant based. What else would a woman want anno 2022?

© Duniya Foundation: preparing chura matar at school.

Chura matar can be enjoyed as a delicious and healthy snack as is done in many homes in Uttar Pradesh during the cold winters. When I stayed in India for a long time, I often ate it as breakfast and today, on our French hill, I prepared chura matar for dinner, and combined it with a spiced mango-tomato salad. I made extra for tomorrow’s breakfast. I didn’t have fresh coriander which is definitely the best, so I added fresh parsley instead. In Varanasi, they often use ‘poha’, a rice that has been partially boiled in the husk so that it can be consumed with very little cooking. I used brown rice which needs some cooking time, of course.

WHAT YOU NEED

90 grams poha (flattened) or brown rice
80 grams fresh green peas (matar), or frozen if not at hand
1 tbs oil
1 tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
2 green chilies (hari mirch), finely chopped
1 tsp ginger (adrak), finely chopped
½ tsp black pepper powder (kali mirch)
½ tsp garam gasala
optional: 1 pinch of asafoetida (hing)
hand full chopped coriander leaves (dhania patta)
1 tsp lemon juice
optional: 12 cashews (kaju)
optional: hand full soaked rasins

WHAT YOU DO

Heat the oil in a frying pan.
Add cashews (chopped) and fry till golden. Add some rasins if you like a little sweet touch to the dish.
Remove them from pan in a separate bowl.
Add cumin seeds to the same oil and let them crackle.
Add chopped green chilies and the finely chopped ginger.
Stir fry for half a minute.
Add the green peas and mix it well with the remaining ingredients.
Next add a little cup water to cook the green peas.
Season with salt as per taste.
Cover the pan and cook on a medium-low flame till the peas are cooked (bot too soft though!).
When the peas are cooked and there is still a little moisture in the pan, add black pepper, garam masala powder and the asafoetida.
Mix very well and add the poha (or pre-cooked brown rice).
Cook and stir for a minute.
Add lemon juice and mix.
Switch off the heat and mix the chopped coriander.
Serve chura matar hot topped with the fried cashews (and raisins).