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?

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).