Kaayum Payarum

I am posting the second recipe for this week with mampayar or vanpayar as the main ingredient. This is known as red cow peas or rose moong dal. Vanpayar is a known legume and a favourite of every keralite.  It’s normally eaten with hot Kanji and every ‘traditional’ Malayalee will not trade this dish for anything else. This is like chicken Soup to their Soul.

Cowpeas seeds provide a rich source of proteins and calories, as well as minerals and vitamins. This complements the mainly cereal diet in countries that grow cowpeas as a major food crop. A seed can consist of 25% protein and has very low fat content. Cowpea starch is digested more slowly than the starch from cereals, which is more beneficial to human health. The grain is one of the richest source of folic acid, an important vitamin that helps prevent neural tube defects in unborn babies. The cowpea has often been referred to as "poor man's meat" due to the high levels of protein found in the seeds and leaves

Kaayum payarum is a very common dish among the christian malayalees. This is often served along with kanji on Good Friday. We like to have this with rice and thakkali curry or any curd based curry.

Ingredients:

Raw banana - 1, washed, cleaned and diced

Red cow peas - 3/4 cup, soaked

Salt - as per taste

To grind

Grated coconut - 1 cup

Green Chilly - 3

Cumin - 1 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Small onion - 3

For sauting

Curry leaves - 1 spring

Coconut oil - 1 tbsp

Mustard - 1 tsp

Method:

• Boil the diced raw banana with a pinch of turmeric and salt. Once cooked, drain water and keep aside.
• Cook the red cow peas in a separate vessel with some salt. If you haven't soaked it, then pressure cook it.
• Grind the items under "To Grind" in the small jar of the mixie to get a coarse paste.
• Heat a kadai and add coconut oil. Once hot, add the mustard. Once mustard splutters, add the curry leaves and the ground coconut mixture. 
• Saute well till the raw smell goes. Now add the cooked cow peas and raw banana. Mix well. 
• Saute till the mixture is somewhat dry. Add more salt if needed. 

Serve it with hot kanji or steamed rice.!!

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