Black eye peas, Chawli in Marathi or Lobia in Hindi is a small bean which is used in cooking almost in every part of the country. This is made differently in various parts, but the way I make it, is very similar to how I make Rajma.
Chawli Masala
Ingredients:
- 1 cup dried black-eyed peas, soaked in water overnight
- 2 onions, chopped
- 2 tomatoes, chopped
- 5-6 cloves of garlic
- 1-inch piece ginger
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tbsp oil
- Salt to taste
- 1-2 tsp red chilli powder
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- 2 tsp garam masala masala
- Coriander leaves to garnish
Method:
- Wash the black-eyed peas thoroughly and cook it in a pressure cooker for 4-5 whistles till it becomes soft. You can also cook it without pressure, in a pan, but it will take quite long.
- Chop the onions and tomatoes and peel the garlic and ginger and chop them into pieces.
- Heat oil in a pan and when warm put in the cumin seeds. When it starts popping, add the garlic, ginger and stir for a few minutes. Then add the onions and stir and cook till they turn translucent.
- Add the tomatoes next and a tsp of salt to help the tomatoes start watering. Let the tomatoes cook till they are mushy and well cooked.
- Switch off the gas and let it cool completely. When cool, blend it till it becomes a smooth puree.
- In the same pan, pour this puree and let it boil. When it comes to a rolling boil, add the cooked black-eyed beans, chilli powder, cumin powder, coriander powder and garam masala powder. Check for salt and add more if needed.
- Let this cook well and once the whole mixture is nice and thick, switch off the gas and garnish with coriander leaves
- Enjoy piping hot Chawli with Cumin (Jeera) rice, Rotis or Nan.
Indian vegetables are a staple in my house, especially when we have done shopping in the Little India district. And Snake Gourd somehow makes it home every time this happens. Normally I make a stir-fry with this vegetable and honestly, even I was bored with that every single time. I decided to search and see if anything else can be made and found people had experimented with dal with this vegetable. So I also decided to make a dal and did a very simple dal with hardly any seasoning. The result was a delicious dal which would go very well with both rice as well as rotis and flatbreads.
This is a common vegetable in India and because it’s long and slim (like a snake, it is called Snake Gourd). The vegetable has many health benefits too, including its ability to improve the strength of the immune system, reduce fevers, detoxify the body, improve the digestive processes of the body, increase hydration in the body, treat diabetes, boost the strength and quality of the hair, and aid in weight loss. More information on this vegetable on 
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This is something my mum used to make all the time growing up and I always assumed it was typical tambram food. Maybe not and this is something she learned. But I think many communities across India have a similar recipe. My mum’s recipe does not have raisins, which is something I usually add – I saw something similar at a dinner at S’ aunt’s place aeons ago and started using it since then.
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Last week, while making dosa, a rice-based pancake, we wanted to have a chutney, but were tired of having the usual coconut and tomato chutneys which I usually make. So I decided to experiment and see if I could tweak something we usually make and come up with something else. I decided to tweak my 
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Memories and Such 