West Indian
Pithla (Spiced Besan Curry)
Pithla (Spiced Besan Curry) is West Indian home cooking, eaten at lunch and dinner. On the plate it is the dish at the centre and the cooked vegetable. Below is what usually sits beside it, what it does and does not contain, and what else to cook once you have made it.
Ingredients
- 1 cup besan
- 3 cups water
- 3 tbsp oil
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 4 garlic cloves
- 3 green chilies
- 1 chopped onion
- 8 curry leaves
- 2 tbsp chopped cilantro
- 1 tsp salt
How to cook it
- Whisk the besan with the water until completely smooth and lump-free, and set aside.
- Heat the oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds and cumin seeds, letting them sizzle.
- Add the garlic and green chilies and fry until fragrant, then add the onion and cook until soft and translucent.
- Add the curry leaves and turmeric, then pour in the besan mixture, stirring constantly so it doesn't form lumps.
- Cook over medium-low heat, stirring often, until the mixture thickens into a soft, spoonable curry and loses its raw besan smell, about 10 minutes.
- Season with salt, finish with cilantro, and serve hot with bhakri, the classic everyday pairing.
Serve it with
A West Indian dinner is a plate rather than a single dish. These are the courses that normally sit beside Pithla (Spiced Besan Curry), read from the same composition Dinejot builds a real meal from.
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What it is eaten with
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The sharp little thing
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Something cool and fresh
Safe at your table
Dinejot tracks ten allergens and tags every one of them by hand. Pithla (Spiced Besan Curry) carries none of them. That is a checked answer rather than an ingredient list nobody read.
| Allergen | In this dish | Cook this instead |
|---|---|---|
| Peanuts | No | |
| Tree nuts | No | |
| Dairy | No | |
| Gluten | No | |
| Shellfish | No | |
| Eggs | No | |
| Soy | No | |
| Fish | No | |
| Sesame | No | |
| Coconut | No |
These tags are set by a person rather than inferred from an ingredient list, and they describe the recipe as written here. Read the labels on whatever you actually buy.
What it brings to the plate
Bands, not numbers. Dinejot does not weigh anybody's food, so it says light, moderate or hearty and stops there. This dish was read and set by hand.
- Calorie band
- Moderate
- Protein
- Medium
- Protein quality
- Partial
- Food groups it covers
- Pulses and Vegetables
- How this was set
- Hand audited
When to cook it
Pithla (Spiced Besan Curry) takes about 25 minutes from a cold stove to the table, and the cooking itself is easy going. It is eaten at lunch and dinner. Nothing in the calendar rules it out, so it is a year round dish.
Watch someone make it
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More to cook
Cooked from the same things
Other dishes built on besan, garlic, and onion.
From the same kitchens
More cooking from West India.
Does the same job on the plate
Swap any of these in when you want a meal the same shape.
Cook this with your whole family
Dinejot plans breakfast, lunch and dinner as whole plates, built around the cooking you call home and filtered for the allergies at your table.
Meal suggestions support your goals. They are not medical advice. Please ask your doctor about your family's health needs.