Pe Pyot (Boiled Peas)

Pe Pyot is commonly served as a breakfast item. If you're from Burma, you might not know how to make Pe Pyot from dry yellow peas but once you have the boiled Pe Pyot, you'll definitely know how to serve it. Back home, we usually do not prepare it from scratch. There are street vendors that sell these boiled Pe Pyots early in the morning. Every area has its own vendor selling freshly boiled and warm Pe Pyot. They only make a basket full each day so you have to go quite early or it will be all gone.

There are different ways to serve Pe Pyot and I love it all. Most popular ways of serving this is by adding to fried rice or cooking with fried onions and serve with Naan or Paratha. It is not difficult to make it but does require time for pre-soaking and sprouting. Since it is a long process, it is a good idea to make a large batch and freeze individual serving sizes in Ziploc bags. I got this recipe from my Aunt few years back. This recipe is only for preparing Pe Pyot from dried yellow peas. I'll post more recipes on how to serve them when I get a chance. For now, I've frozen mine for later use.

Most of the Indian grocery stores carry Yellow Peas and it is known as ‘Vanata’ in Gujarati.

Cooked Yellow Peas

Dry Yellow Peas

Sprouted Yellow Peas

Pe Pyot

Makes: Approximately 10 cups
Soaking Time: 8 hours
Sprouting Time: 36 hours or more
Cooking Time: 45 minutes to 1 hour

Ingredients:
4 cups Yellow Pea (Vatana)
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
2 teaspoons Salt
2 teaspoons Sugar
2 tablespoons Oil

Directions:

1. Soak peas in a large pot with plenty of water (at least 5 to 6 inches of on top) for at least 8 hours to overnight. They will expend for more than double of its size. (I got a little over 10 cups after soaking)
2. Drain water in a large colander, keep colander on a plate and cover the peas with wet towel. Leave it this way for about 36 hours or until it starts to sprout. (Wet the towel 2 to 3 times in between or whenever the towel dries out.)
3. Transfer to a large pot; add all ingredients along with 3 cups of water. Stir or toss to combine and bring it to a boil over high heat.
4. Reduce heat to as low as possible, cover the pot and let it cook for 45 minutes to an hour until it is cooked through and all water has been evaporated. Toss or stir once or twice in between to check water level and doneness of the peas. If water dries out before peas are cooked through, sprinkle some warm water and continue cooking until soft.

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Paneer

Paneer is an Indian cheese which can be used for making different types of curries and dishes. Making Paneer at home is not that difficult and by making it at home, you can even flavor it with herbs and spices if you would like.

Paneer
Makes: 10 ounces
Cooking Time: 15 minutes
Preparation and Pressing Time: 1 hour and 15 minutes

Ingredients:
8 cups whole or 2% milk
3 tablespoon vinegar or lemon juice

Directions:

1. In a heavy bottom pot over medium high heat, boil milk stirring frequently to prevent scorching at the bottom of the pot.
2. Once it comes to a boil, reduce heat to low and add vinegar or lime slowly, stirring gently. Within few seconds, the milk solids will start to separate from whey.  Once the whey is clear, turn of the heat, remove from stove keep aside for 2 to 3 minutes.
3. Drain the whey using a strainer lined with cheesecloth or muslin cloth.
4. Run this under cold tab water to wash out the sourness. Gather all sides of the cloth to form a little bundle and squeeze excess water out.
5. Shape the bundle into round, rectangle or square shape, smooth out the cloth (wrapping with as less crease as possible) and put it on a plate or tray.
6. Paneer will need to be pressed with something heavy for about an hour. This can be done by placing a pot filled with water on top of the wrapped cheese and leave it for an hour or place another plate on top of the wrapped bundle and place some cans to weigh it down.
7. After pressing it for about an hour, paneer is ready to be cut into desired shape and use.

Note:

• Before adding vinegar or lime into milk, the milk can be flavored with salt and dried spices and herbs such as cumin seeds, dried mint and cilantro, if desired.
• If you have a strainer with a flat bottom, invert this and place the paneer bundle on top of it and press with some weight as mentioned above. This method will let the water drain out but you can still make it without this.

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Garam Masala Powder

Garam Masala powder is a mixture of different spices ground into powder.  It is used a lot in Indian and South Asian cuisines. Everyone have their own version of spices and ratios they use, to make this recipe. It is not a difficult process and it stores pretty well. You can adjust the intensity and flavor of spices to your preference by making it at home.

My mom used to mix the whole spices, put them in a tray in one layer and keep them under direct sunlight for few hours before grinding them into powder. However, you can just roast spices lightly on stovetop before grinding them. Below is the version that my sister makes. Once you start making your own garam masala at home, I don’t think you’ll ever go back to a store bought version. 

I’ve listed some of the ingredients as optional in case some of us don’t use spices in daily cooking and don’t want to invest in them. I’ve found that Indian grocery stores have better value on whole spices.

Garam Masala Powder

Click on above image to enlarge

Makes:  Approximately 2 1/2 cups
Preparation Time:  30 minutes
Cooking Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:
1/2 cup cumin seeds
1 cup coriander seeds
2 tablespoons whole cardamom
1 tablespoon clove
5 - 3” stick (0.65 ounce/18 grams) cinnamon – break into smaller pieces
1/2 cup loosely packed (0.15 ounce/4 grams) bay leave
2 1/2 tablespoons black peppercorn
1 1/2 tablespoon star anise

Optional:
1 1/2 tablespoon mace
1/4 cup fennel seeds
1 tablespoon seeds from black cardamom – discard pod
1 tablespoon black onion seeds (also known as black cumin, Kalonji, Nigella sativa seed)
1 whole nutmeg – break into chunks

Directions:

1. Combine all spices except nutmeg in a large skillet.
2. Dry roast on very low heat for about 10 minutes or until fragrant while stirring to make sure that the spices don’t burn.
3. Remove from heat, transfer to a plate and let it cool.
4. Using a spice grinder or coffee grinder, grind them into a fine powder.
5. Sieve through a fine mash and keep the garam masala in an airtight container.

Note:

• This version is little mild but if you prefer a hotter Masala, add more black pepper. Some people also add dried red chilies in their garam masala.
• If you have powerful grinder, you don’t need to discard the pods of black cardamom, just grind them all together.

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Ghee

I learnt making ghee from my mother-in-law, who is a great vegetarian cook. Making homemade ghee is not difficult or complicated but does require a bit of time. Ghee has slightly nutty flavor and is used a lot in Indian cooking. Ghee can be kept unrefrigerated for few months, refrigerated for over 6 months or over a year when frozen.

The cooking time table below is from the book of Great Vegetarian Dishes by Kurma dasa.

Ghee

Ingredients:
1 to 3 pounds of unsalted butter – cut into large chunks

Directions:

1. In a large heavy bottom pot over medium heat, melt butter stirring to make sure it melts slowly and doesn’t brown. Continue to stir and bring it to a boil.
2. When the surface of the butter is covered with a white foam, reduce heat to as low as possible.
3. Simmer uncovered and undisturbed for required amount of time as stated below until the milk solids have settled to the bottom and a thin crust appears on top. The finished ghee will be golden in color and clear.
4. Turn off the heat and skim off the top layer with a fine sieve in a bowl and keep aside.
5. Carefully ladle the ghee into an airtight jar without disturbing the solids on the bottom and pour through a fine sieve to the jar. Allow it to cool completely and keep it airtight.
6. Combine the bottom milk solids with the reserved top crust and use within few days. Keep this refrigerated. This can be used in cooked vegetables, soups and grains.

Butter Quantity	Cooking Time
1 lb	1 ¼ hours
2 lbs	1 ¾ hours
3 lbs	2 hours

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