Acchan payar thoran

Black eyed peas (acchan-payyar) thoran, cooked with small onion/cheriulli/shallots. The sauted cheriulli is the essence of the flavor!
Made on a sunday to use up the acchan-payyar I had since a very long time, make something different, and try a mallu dish. Thoran normally has pumpking along with the peas, but I couldn't find pumpkin or squash in the grocery store; so made a dry form of it, better eaten as an evening snack by itself, than with rice.

What you need:
Black eyed peas (should be soaked overnight beforehand)

Small onion/cheriulli/shallots
Garlic
Red chillies
Turmeric powder (haldi)
Grated coconut
Mustard seeds

The blackeyed peas take quite a while to cook, so soak them overnight/for ~6 hours before cooking.
Heat oil, splutter mustard seeds, add haldi, saute the garlic, small onion and red chillies till the onions turn translucent. To this add the coconut and saute till they are slightly golden. Add the peas to this, and stir until coconut is a little brown-ed and peas are cooked.

Baingan-Aalu in Peanut curry

Baingin and aalu curry in Peanut sauce. Recipe courtesy chechi.

What you need:
Peanuts
Brinjal/Eggplant/Baingan
Potatoes/Aalu

Garlic
Red chillies
Kadipatta/Curry leaves (can do without)
Turmeric powder
Chilli powder
Dhaniya/Corriander powder
Jaggery
Salt

Use baingan and potatoes in equal measure, cut them into cubes of about 1/2 inch.
Roast peanuts, remove their skin and grind to a fine powder. This should be dry so don't add water while grinding.

Heat oil, splutter mustard seeds, add kadipatta, red chillies, diced garlic.
Add to this the cut potatoes and brinjal and saute for a bit.
Now add turmeric powder, red chilli powder, and dhaniya powder, salt and a little jaggery. Mix well.
When the masalas have mixed well with the potatoes and baingan, add the peanut powder to this. Mix, add water and allow to cook covered.