Healthy Street Food: Sev Usar Chaat (Green Pea Soup Snack)

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My husband and I have been married for three-and-a-half years.  As he and his family are Gujarati, I have learned about and eaten many new Gujarati foods over the past few years.  My husband is a big fan of various types of chaat, a loose term for a snack generally prepared with some type of fried dough, potatoes, tomatoes, onions, and various sauces.  In India, you will often find chaat being sold in markets and train stations.  Because my husband enjoys chaat, we often eat it when we visit my in-laws.  One of my favorite dishes that my mother-in-law makes is sev usar--a type of Gujarati chaat.  If you are a fan of ragada patties (another chaat dish), then you will like sev usar too!

I think the first time I had sev usar was during one of my very first trips to my in-laws' home, before my husband and I were even married.  It quickly became one of my favorites because (1) I love soup and anything resembling a soup, (2) I love healthy and light dishes.  Sev usar is an awesome dish to make when you are in the mood for chaat, but you want to be healthy!

Sev usar is essentially a thick soup made of dried green peas (vatana peas), and is topped with tamarind (imli) chutney, onions, tomatoes, and sev (small crunchy noodles made of chickpea flour).  

First, soak the dried peas in water for 6 hours up to overnight.  Once the peas have soaked, add the peas and soaking water to the slow cooker and add a pinch of baking soda.  

Cook the peas in the slow cooker for 6 to 8 hours on low, until the peas are soft and have begun floating to the top of the water and the color has changed from a bright green to more of an olive green.

Once the peas are cooked, drain the peas from the water and set aside.  

Chop an onion, and set aside half of it; you will use half to make the tadka and half as a topping for the sev usar.  You may want to go ahead and chop the tomatoes as well; these will also be used as as a topping.

Next you will make the tadka (also known as fodni or vaghaar) in a pot on the stove.  Choose a pot that is large enough to fit the cooked peas.

To make the tadka, heat the cooking oil in a pot.  Once the oil has been heated, add onions, jeera (cumin) seeds, a cinnamon stick, and ginger.  If you don't mind running into small pieces of ginger while you eat, you can chop the ginger in tiny pieces; if you don't want to end up chewing on a piece of ginger, you can grate it instead.

Next, add the ground spices to the tadka:  garam masala, turmeric, and lal mirch (red chili powder).

Stir the onions and spices together for a few minutes until the mixture is fragrant.  

Next, add the peas to the pot and stir so that the tadka is combined with the peas.  Depending on how thick the peas are, you may want to add water to the peas.  Add water 1/2 a cup at a time until it is the right consistency.  You do not want it to be too thick, but you also do not want it to be too watery (look at the first photo below, before I added water, and compare it to the second photo below, once I added water.  You want the sev usar to have the consistency in the second photo).

Once you have the sev usar at the correct consistency, add salt and stir.  You can then add more salt and/or lal mirch to suit your tastes.

Serve the sev usar hot in a bowl and top with chopped onions, chopped tomatoes, tamarind (imli) chutney, and/or sev.  If you want to be really healthy, you can eliminate the sev altogether!

Hope you enjoy sev usar as much as my husband and I do!  It is an easy weekend lunch, weeknight meal, or just something healthy to hit the spot when you have that craving for chaat!

Ingredients (serves 4):

• 2 1/2 cups dry green (vatana) peas
• 2-3 tbsps. cooking oil
• 1 cup chopped onion 
• 1 tsp jeera (cumin) seeds
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 tbsp fresh ginger, chopped into small pieces or grated
• 3 tsp garam masala
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1/2 tsp lal mirch (red chili powder) (add more to taste at the end)
• 1 1/2 - 2 cups water (add 1/2 a cup at a time until you get the desired consistency)
• 2 tsp salt (add more to taste if needed)
• 1 cup chopped tomatoes
• 1/2 cup sev
• tamarind (imli) chutney
  

Recipe:

1. Soak dry green peas 6 hours to overnight.
2. Add soaked peas and soaking water to a slow cooker.  Add a pinch of baking soda, and cook the peas 6 to 8 hours on low.
3. Once the peas are cooked, drain the water and set aside.
4. Chop the onions and tomatoes.  Set aside half the chopped onions with the tomatoes; these will be used as toppings.
5. Heat cooking oil in a pot.  Once hot, add half the chopped onions, the cumin seeds, the cinnamon stick, and the ginger.  
6. Next, add the garam masala, turmeric, and lal mirch.
7. Once the onions and spices are combined, add the peas and stir.
8. Add water, 1/2 a cup at a time, until desired consistency is achieved.
9. Add salt and stir.  Add more salt and/or lal mirch, if necessary, to suit your tastes.
10. Serve sev usar hot in a bowl and top with tamarind (imli) chutney, tomatoes, onions, and sev.

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