Usal Pav / Sev Usal

This is a street food dish. Like a brother to the other pav dish, misal pav. Also a lazy persons pav bhaji substitute. It has the soft peas with crunchy farsan (a mix of ganthiya, sev, peanuts, chana daal) {or just thick sev if you are making sev usal} with the bite of onions! It's yumm make some today...

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups dry peas

2 large onions, finely diced

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

3 tomatoes, diced

3-4 cloves 

1 stick cinnamon 

1 tablespoon chili powder

2 tablespoons cumin coriander powder (dhania jeera powder)

1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder

2 green chilies

2 tablespoons oil

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1/4 teaspoon mustard seeds

Pinch asafoetida 

To serve:

2 cups sev or mix farsan (I like the Bombay mix)

1 onion finely diced

Wash the peas thoroughly and soak them overnight or atleast for 8 hours. Make sure to take a large vessel and add atleast double the amount of water to the quantity of peas. 

You can pressure cook it directly in a cooker or sauté it in a vessel and put it in the pressure cooker. Heat oil in a deep pot. Add the asafoetida, cumin and mustard seeds when oil is hot. Then add the cinnamon, cloves, green chilies, onion and garlic and sauté for 3-4 minutes till the onion becomes translucent. Next add the tomatoes and sauté for about 2 minutes on medium flame. Add the salt, chili powder, cumin coriander powder and turmeric. Sauté to mix. Add the peas along with 3 cups of water and set in the pressure cooker. Cook for 3 whistles and let it cool naturally. Check for salt and seasoning and adjust as needed. Usal is ready! 

To serve, ladle some of the usal in a bowl. Sprinkle onions and farsan on top. Serve hot along with pav.