Gujarat Sev Usal Street Peas Sev Ahmedabad

Ingredients

• 1.5 cups dried white peas (vatana) — soaked overnight
• 3 tbsp oil, 1 tsp mustard seeds, 10 curry leaves
• 1 onion — finely chopped, 1 tsp ginger paste, 1 tsp garlic paste
• 2 tomatoes — finely chopped
• 1.5 tsp red chilli powder, 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1/2 tsp turmeric, 1/2 tsp garam masala, salt
• 1 tsp tamarind paste
• Toppings:
• 2 cups thin sev, 1 onion — finely chopped, fresh coriander, lemon juice, chaat masala

Method

1. Pressure cook soaked peas: Drain and pressure cook white peas with 3 cups water for 5 to 6 whistles until completely tender. Reserve cooking water.
2. Heat oil: Heat 3 tbsp oil. Add mustard seeds — pop. Add curry leaves.
3. Cook onion: Add onion. Cook 8 minutes until golden.
4. Add ginger and garlic: Cook 2 minutes.
5. Add tomatoes: Cook 5 minutes until soft.
6. Add spice powders: Turn low. Add red chilli powder, coriander powder, turmeric. Stir 2 minutes.
7. Add cooked peas: Add the cooked white peas with some cooking water. Stir.
8. Add tamarind and salt: Add tamarind paste and salt. Simmer 8 to 10 minutes until gravy is medium-thick. Add garam masala.
9. Adjust consistency: The usal should be flowing but not watery — a proper gravy consistency.
10. Assemble and serve: Ladle hot usal into bowls or plates. Top with a large mound of thin sev. Add finely chopped onion, fresh coriander, a squeeze of lemon and a pinch of chaat masala. Serve immediately — eat before the sev softens.
11. Note: Sev Usal is the street chaat of Ahmedabad — found at every evening chaat stall across the city from Manek Chowk to Law Garden to Satellite. The contrast of the hot, spiced usal with the cool, crispy sev and raw onion toppings is the fundamental Gujarati chaat experience. The Ahmedabad version uses more tamarind than the Surat version and less coconut than the Valsad version — each city within Gujarat has a distinct sev usal preference.