Poee/Poli bread with spicy black eyed peas curry

What you need

( Recipe adapted from Soma, which in turn adaptation from Madhur Jaffrey's Flavors of India )

White whole wheat flour: 3 cup

Active dry Yeast: 1.5 teaspoon

Ajwain/carom seeds: 1 teaspoon

Granulated sugar: 1 teaspoon

Salt: 1 teaspoon

Olive oil: 2 tablespoon +1 teaspoon

Kalonji/Nigella seeds: ½ teaspoon (for sprinkling on the top of bread)

Water: 1.5 cups

How I made

In a small bowl combine ½ cup of luke warm water, sugar and yeast and let stand about 10 to 15 minutes or until foamy.

In a bowl of kitchen aid stand mixer add whole white wheat flour, ajwain and salt and mix well. To this add yeast, 2 tablespoon of oil and rest of water using paddle attachment mix the mixture for about 5 minutes. Change the paddle attachment to dough hooks and knead until it forms soft, fairly sticky dough. Brush 1 teaspoon of the remaining oil in a large bowl. Transfer dough to oiled bowl, turning once. Cover and let rise until doubled in size (about 1 hour and 45 minutes).

Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Degas and slight knead and divide dough into 6 equal pieces about 126 g each make them in round balls. In a greased baking sheet press each ball into slightly flattened disc which somewhat oval in shape of 1 inches in diameter. Mist/ brush the top of flattened disc with oil and sprinkle Kalonji/Nigella seeds cover and let rest for 30 minutes or until nearly doubled. By the end of second rising, preheat oven to 425 degree F. With a very sharp knife, make a diagonal slashes on top of each loaf about 1/4 inches deep.

Place a shallow baking pan with about 1/2 inch of boiling water on the bottom rack of the preheated oven. Place baking sheet on the middle rack in the oven. Working quickly heavily mists the inside of the oven, including the bread, with water from a clean spray bottle. Bake for 12 minutes or until the internal temperature of the bread is 190 degree F or should able to hear a hollow sound while tapping the bottom of bread. Immediately remove loaves from baking sheet. Cool on a wire rack.

Enjoy with spicy black-eyed peas curry.

For Spicy black-eyed peas curry

(Adapted from 5 Spices, 50 Dishes by Ruta Kahate)

What you need

Black-eyed peas/ Purple hull peas: 2 cups( I used frozen)

Olive oil: 2 tablespoon

Small red onion, minced: 1 cup

Garlic clove: 2no

Ginger: 1 inch piece

Turmeric powder: ¼ teaspoon

Coriander powder: ½ teaspoon

Cumin powder: ¾ teaspoon

Chili powder/Cayenne : ½ teaspoon

Green chili: ½ ( I used Serrano pepper)

Tomato minced tomato: 1 no

Salt: ½ teaspoon or to taste

Canned coconut milk: ¼ cup

Water: 2 cups+1.5 cups

Minced cilantro leaves: 2 tablespoon

Lemon juice: 1 teaspoon

How I made

Pressure cooks the black-eyed peas with 1.5 cup water for 3 whistles it took about 12 minutes and set aside.

In a large saucepan, heat the oil over medium-low heat and saute the onion and green chilies until it turns dark brown, about 8 minutes. Add ginger-garlic paste and fry for 2 minutes, to this add coriander powder, turmeric, chili powder, and cumin powder, and stir for 2 minutes. Add the tomato and stir over low heat until it disintegrates.

Add the cooked peas and mix well. Pour in rest of water, add the salt and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down to low, cover, and simmer until the peas are cooked through, about 10 minutes. (It is essential to simmer the canned peas too so that the flavors blend better). Stir in the coconut milk and simmer for another 5 minutes, again allowing the flavors to come together. Finally add the cilantro and lemon juice, simmer for 1 minute more, and remove from the heat. Serve immediately.