West Indian
Pithla (Spiced Besan Curry)
Print or share this recipe
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
The quantities follow this count.
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.
Watch how to cook Pithla (Spiced Besan Curry)
Someone making it start to finish, so you can see what the steps look like.
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.
-
What it is eaten with
-
The sharp little thing
-
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 |
|---|---|
| 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
Estimated, per serving
- Calories
- 180 kcal
- Protein
- 7 g
- Carbs
- 16 g
- Fat
- 10 g
- Fiber
- 3 g
- Sugar
- 2 g
- Sodium
- 580 mg
- Saturated fat
- 1 g
Estimated values. Actual nutrition varies with ingredients, brands, and how you cook.
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.
Cooked this? Show everyone.
Comments
Sign in to leave a note for the next cook.
No comments yet. Be the first to share your thoughts.
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.