Yellow Peas Instant Pot Curry Chili | Pattani Kozhumbu
Yellow/White Peas Kozhumbu is a South Indian style vegan curry chili made in the Instant Pot. This kurma recipe goes well with everything and can be made in 30 minutes!
Soak dried peas in water, overnight. Drain the water and use.
To make the white paste
Grind coconut, fennel seeds, and Daliya/Split Roasted Chickpeas (pottu kadalai) along with water.
To make the red paste
Grind tomatoes, ginger, garlic, cloves, curry leaves, cinnamon, and cardamon to a very smooth paste. Ensure that there are no sharp bits of the whole spices left behind.
Keep both these pastes aside for now.
Instant Pot Method
Turn on the Instant pot on saute mode. Add vegan ghee to the pan and fry chopped onions, green chilies, and 1 tablespoon of cilantro. Saute till the onions turn translucent.
Then add the tomato paste along with salt. Mix and cook for a minute.
Add the coconut paste. Mix and cook for another 30 seconds.
Next add the spice blends - chilly powder, turmeric powder, and coriander powder, and cumin powder. Cook for another minute.
Then add the soaked vatana/Pattani to the Instant pot.
Add water or vegetable stock along with salt to the pot. Mix to ensure nothing is sticking to the bottom of the pot.
Put the lid and cook in manual mode or bean chili mode for 25 minutes. Release pressure naturally.
Add garam masala and then garnish with chopped cilantro. Mix the curry well.
Stovetop Method
Heat oil in a pan and once it's hot enough add chopped onions and green chilies. Saute till the onions turn translucent.
Then add chopped cilantro along with salt, and tomato paste. Mix and cook for 2-3 minutes.
Add the coconut paste followed by chilly powder, turmeric powder, and coriander-cumin powder. Cook for another 2-3 minutes.
Then add the cooked vatana/Pattani to the pan. Mix and continue to cook for 5 minutes.
Add garam masala and then garnish with chopped cilantro. Take it off the flame and serve.
Serve this Pattani Kuzhambu as a side for rice/Jeera Rice or any Indian bread like naan, roti, or chapati. You can also enjoy it as a thick savory porridge soup along with some toasted bread.
Notes
You can also add some other veggies like potatoes, carrots, or squash in this vegan Indian curry. Also add some greens like spinach, kale, beet leaves, etc for fiber.Yellow Peas are quick to lose their shape when being cooked because they have less chlorophyll in them. So be mindful of that and don't overcook it. Add little tamarind water while cooking the peas to get a tangy flavor. Puree a portion of the cooked beans and add them back to the pot to give it a thick, creamy feel.If you don't have yellow peas or vatana, feel free to use any beans variety like chickpeas, kidney beans, black-eyed peas, green peas, etc in this kurma recipe.This Instant pot vegan chili can very well be made in advance. It stays in the fridge for 4-5 days. You can also freeze it.Another way is to pre-cook the dried peas in advance and freeze it. That way, you can make this curry chili whenever you want and in a jiffy!