Sprouted Peas Dal Recipe | Kid Friendly Dal Recipes

Learn how to make Sprouted Peas Dal ~ Sprouted green and yellow peas cooked in sweet and sour split pigeon peas lentil gravy

It was a dull day yesterday. What looked a promising week full of sunshine and high temperature; it was dull, grey, cheerless and just blah! I didn’t sleep on previous night and the light headache that I woke up to gave me company through out the day and became a really-big-headache kind of headache by the time we reached home! And the fact that I missed 2 successive days of my exercise regime to get in shape and beat hubby at bike race just added more guilt and bruises to my pride.

Sprouted Peas Dal ~ Wholesome and comforting bowl of goodness!

So there I was sitting in a living room, looking out at the most depressing grey sky with not even a single ray of sunshine and feeling the blanket of self-pity wrapping me tightly and choking me. I sat there looking out hating the place, hating the weather, hating the grey sky, hating the humidity, hating the mess around me, hating all my friends who were having a wonderful time, hating hubby and Lil Dumpling’s squealing and chattering and hating myself for feeling this way!

Sprouted Peas Dal ~ Cooking with “Peas with tails”

Just when I was about to burst into tears for no obvious reason, Lil Dumpling comes running to me and sits on my lap. For once he is not pulling my hand or dragging me to his play room. For once he doesn’t want to fiddle with my earrings or bracelet or hair. For once he doesn’t want to colour, scribble or cut every paper in sight. For once he doesn’t want to stick colour pencil up my nose or pulls my cheeks. He simply takes my hands and wraps them around his tiny little body and rests his head on my chest. We sit there like that for a while, in peace with our surroundings and in peace with one another. And then I find my shoulders relaxing and my mind clearing as I find peace with myself! 

The grey cloud slowly shifts and the single ray of golden sunshine kisses the earth. My world becomes a peaceful abode once again as my own little anti-depressant continues to hold me tight and kiss me tenderly on my cheeks! Life is good! No, life is much better than just good!

My faith in humanity returns…

Sprouted Peas Dal ~ Earthy, hearty and comforting!

I decided to treat my little anti-depressant with his favourite food for dinner. I made this Sprouted Peas Dal as Lil Dumpling loves beans or legumes with tails! :) Yes, he calls sprouted peas a ‘peas with tails’! Whenever I soak dried peas for any curry or pulao, I make sure that I keep some aside so that Lil Dumpling gets to watch the fascinating and magical journey of peas growing their own tails. ;) Thank goodness that he is yet to ask me why he can’t grow his own tail even after sitting in a bath tub for hours and splashing water everywhere?!;)

Sprouted Peas Curry served with rice

So yes, I used these peas with tails with dal as I got this brilliant idea of combining these two in a single dish instead of separate dal and vegetable side dish in this hot summer time. With the help of my trusty 7 year old pressure cooker, my best friend in kitchen, I prepared this dal for diner under 30 mins. This Sprouted Peas Dal has mainly sweet and sour flavour with a light touch of spice in it. I have limited the use of spices to bare minimum to keep that earthy taste of dried peas and split pigeon peas. The fresh herbs added give it a very refreshing taste and makes this Sprouted Peas Dal a delight to taste buds. In short it is simply delicious to eat on its own as a hearty and comforting bowl of soup or with any Indian flat breads (Whole Wheat Naan or Butter Naan or with any stuffed parathas) or plain/flavoured Basmati rice.

Sprouted Peas Dal

Lil Dumpling showed his appreciation by almost licking his bowl of Sprouted Peas Dal clean with a slice of whole grain bread. And he made my heart skip a beat by asking for second helping by generously using the word ‘please’ and flashing those adorable dimples! :) Here is the recipe for Sprouted Peas Dal from a very happy mommy! :D

Ingredients for Sprouted Peas Curry

Sprouted Yellow and Green Peas

Toor/Tuvar Dal or split Pigeon Peas

Sprouted Peas Dal

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Sprouted Peas Dal (Sprouted green and yellow peas cooked in sweet and sour split pigeon peas lentil gravy)
Prep Time: 5-10 mins
Cooking Time: 25-30 mins
Recipe Level: Easy/Beginner to Intermediate
Spice Level: Low to Medium
Serves: 5-6 people
Shelf Life: Best served fresh but can be refrigerated for up to 3 days and frozen for a fortnight
Serving Suggestion: With any Indian flat breads (Whole Wheat Naan or Butter Naan or with any stuffed parathas) or plain/flavoured Basmati rice.

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Ingredients:
1 heaped cup of mixed Sprouted Green and Yellow Peas (Read notes)
¾ cup Toor Dal/Split Pigeon Peas
1 medium Onion, finely chopped
2 medium Tomato, roughly chopped
2 large cloves of Garlic, chopped
1-2 Green Chillies, slit
1 inch Ginger, peeled and roughly crushed
½ - ¾ tsp Tamarind Paste (Adjust as per taste)
1 tbsp Jaggery or Brown Sugar (Adjust as per taste)
¼ cup Coriander Leaves, finely chopped
Salt to taste

Spices Used:
1 tbsp Dhania/Coriander Powder
½ tsp Haldi/Turmeric Powder
½ tsp Garam Masala

For Tadka/Tempering:
1 tsp Mustard Seeds
1 tsp Jeera/Cumin Seeds
1 tsp Methi/Fenugreek Seeds
A pinch of Hing/Asafoetida
1 tbsp Oil

Sprouted Peas Dal

Method:

1. You can either use cooked toor dal or cook the toor dal in advance with a pinch of turmeric powder and a teaspoon of water in pressure cooker to save time. I decided to cook it together with sprouted peas. Wash toor dal 3-4 times until the water runs clean. Drain all the water and keep it aside until needed.
2. Heat oil in a pressure cooker and add mustard seeds to it. When mustard seeds start to pop and sizzle, add fenugreek seeds, cumin seeds, and hing and fry them till methi and cumin seeds change colour to deep brown, about half a minute. Be careful not to burn the methi and cumin seeds as they will make the dal taste bitter.
3. Add chopped onions and garlic and fry them until the edges turn golden brown, about 2 minutes, on medium flame.
4. Mix in chopped tomatoes, green chilli and ginger and let them cook until tomatoes turn pulpy and release their juice, about 3 minutes.
5. Add coriander powder and turmeric powder and give it a good stir for a minute.
6. Add around 3½ - 4 cups of water and increase the heat to high. Mix in tamarind paste, jaggery and half of coriander leaves and bring the whole mix to boil.
7. Add toor dal and sprouted peas and mix them well. Close the lid of the pressure cooker and place its weight on.
8. Reduce the flame to medium and let it cook for 15-20 minutes or 3-4 whistles before switching off the flame.
9. Let the pressure from the pressure cooker be released completely before opening the lid. With the help of a potato masher or back of the ladle, roughly mash little bit of dal to thicken the gravy. You can add around a cup of water if you find the dal too thick for your liking to get the required consistency.
10. Switch on the flame and add remaining coriander leaves, garam masala and salt to taste. Let it simmer for 5-10 minutes for all the flavours to blend well.
11. Serve this delicious Sprouted Peas Dal with any Indian flat breads (Whole Wheat Naan or Butter Naan or with any stuffed parathas) or plain/flavoured Basmati rice. It tastes even better on next day.

Sprouted Peas Dal ~ Sprouted green and yellow peas cooked in sweet and sour split pigeon peas lentil gravy

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Sia’s Notes:

• Replace sprouted green peas with any other sprouted beans of your choice. I have used the combination of dried yellow and green peas as I had both but feel free to use either one of them. To sprout the dried peas, wash and soak them in 3 cups of water for at least 6 hours or preferably overnight. Next day drain all the water and place the hydrated peas on a thin cheese cloth or muslin cloth placed on a colander. Bundle the cloth like a money bag and keep the colander in a cool place for the peas to sprout. It takes 2 days here in my neck of wood for the peas to sprout well. Don’t forget to sprinkle little water now and then to keep the towel moist which will assist in the sprouting process by keeping the peas from going dry.
• You can either use cooked toor dal or cook the toor dal in advance with a pinch of turmeric powder and a teaspoon of water in pressure cooker to save time. In case you decide to use cooked dal, it will take around 12 minutes to cook this Sprouted Peas Dal in a pressure cooker. Just add the cooked toor dal with sprouted peas and proceed to cook following the steps given above in the recipe section.
• This Sprouted Peas Dal is simply delicious to eat on its own as a hearty and comforting bowl of soup or with any Indian flat breads (Whole Wheat Naan or Butter Naan or with any stuffed parathas) or plain/flavoured Basmati rice.