Poee/Poli Bread With Spicy Black-Eyed Peas Curry: From The Land of Goa

Goa is a land of beautiful beaches and ferries in the south western part of India. I visited Goa first time as a part of my Master of Science study tour to National Oceanography Institute, Dona Paula, Goa. It was a fun trip. It was the first time I saw and traveled on a ferry taking people, cars and trucks across the river. I also visited Shri Mangueshi temple a famous Lord Shiva temples located at Mangeshim which is located from 22 km from capital of Goa, Panaji. I still remember that I had bought a decorative peacock from street vendor. We were also eager to visit a place in Goa where a famous romantic tragedy movie of 1981 Ek Duuje Ke Liye was being shot. During the 80’s, lots of Indian movies were tragedies where in both hero and the heroine would end up dying. When I did finally see the movie Ek Duuje Ke Liye I was crying at the end of it, and I could not even stop crying after coming home, and I got a good scolding from my dad. Now if I watch that movie again, I will be laughing not crying looking at hairdos and dress sense.

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Goa was under Portuguese rule for a long time and their influence is seen in cuisine and articheture. When I visited at that time, I was not fascinated about cuisine, only sightseeing and having fun. Now I wish my approach was slightly different. Since Goa is surrounded by Arabian Sea, sea food is common and part of culture. Main staples will be rice and fish curry. It is also famous for Pork dishes such as Vindaloo, Xacuti and Sorpotel, which is cooked by Goan Catholics. Furthermore they also use coconut and coconut oil in their dishes which is similar to my home state, Kerala. Goan cuisine includes addition of vinegar, spices and chili powder resulting in a unique taste to curries. If you want read more about Goa from here. 

On my trip to Goa, I also bought a coconut feni (which is famous alcoholic beverage of Goa) for my dad and for that I got scolding from mom (my dad is a teetotaler) and ended up giving to my professor who is lover of occasional drinks. 

I am enthusiastic to discover the flavors of each state in India; I want to try locally famous dishes. So I decide to give a try to Poee/Poli a local butterfly shaped bread from Goa. I heard about this bread from flavors of India, a TV culinary travelogue episode. To go with this dish, I needed a spicy curry, so I tried spicy Goan black eyed pea curry from the book of  5 Spices, 50 Dishes by Ruta Kahate. I made bread with White Whole Wheat Flour compared to traditional ones with all purpose flour to satisfy my healthy consciousness. I used the recipe of Soma which is the modification of Flavors of India of Madhur Jaffery to make the bread, however modified the recipe by adding 2 tablespoon of olive oil, a teaspoon of sugar, salt and reduced the amount of flour by ½ a cup. I was able to get 6 breads which was enough for our dinner and next day’s breakfast. In spicy black eyed peas curry I added some green chilies and skipped the teaspoon of sugar to make it spicier. Next my adventure is to try the famous vegetable stew of Goa known as Khatkhate. Try this wonderful combo of poee and spicy black eyed peas curry, you can’t stop wanting more. Here the recipe. 

One year ago: Fried Green Beans Portuguese Style/ Peixinhos da Horta

Print recipe from here

What you need

( Recipe adapted  from Soma, which in turn adaptation from  Madhur Jaffrey's Flavors of India )

White whole wheat flour: 3 cup
Active dry Yeast: 1.5 teaspoon
Ajwain/carom seeds: 1 teaspoon
Granulated sugar: 1 teaspoon
Salt: 1 teaspoon
Olive oil: 2 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon
Kalonji/Nigella seeds: ½ teaspoon (for sprinkling on the top of bread)
Water: 1.5 cups







How I made

In a small bowl combine ½ cup of luke warm water, sugar and yeast and let stand about 10 to 15 minutes or until foamy.

In a bowl of kitchen aid stand mixer add whole white wheat flour, ajwain and salt and mix well. To this add yeast,  2 tablespoon of oil and rest of water using paddle attachment mix the mixture for about 5 minutes. Change the paddle attachment to dough hooks and knead until it forms soft, fairly sticky dough. Brush 1  teaspoon of the remaining oil in a large bowl. Transfer dough to oiled bowl, turning once. Cover and let rise until doubled in size (about 1 hour and 45 minutes).

Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Degas and slight knead and divide dough into 6 equal pieces (about 126 g each) make them in round balls. In a greased baking sheet press each ball into slightly flattened disc which somewhat oval in shape of 1 inches in diameter. Mist/ brush the top of flattened disc with oil and sprinkle Kalonji/Nigella seeds cover and let rest for 30 minutes or until nearly doubled. By the end of second rising, preheat oven to 425 degree F. With a very sharp knife, make a diagonal slashes on top of each loaf about 1/4 inches deep. 

Place a shallow baking pan with about 1/2 inch of boiling water on the bottom rack of the preheated oven. Place baking sheet on the middle rack in the oven. Working quickly heavily mists the inside of the oven, including the bread, with water from a clean spray bottle. Bake for 12 minutes or until the internal temperature of the bread is 190 degree F or should able to hear a hollow sound while tapping the bottom of bread. Immediately remove loaves from baking sheet. Cool on a wire rack.

Enjoy with spicy black-eyed peas curry.

Preparation time: 2 hours 45 minutes
Yield: 6 no
Verdict: Yummy
Will you make it again: yes I will

For Spicy black-eyed peas curry

(Adapted from 5 Spices, 50 Dishes by Ruta Kahate)


What you need

Black-eyed peas/Purple hull peas: 2 cups( I used frozen)
Olive oil: 2 tablespoon
Small red onion, minced: 1 cup
Garlic clove: 2no
Ginger: 1 inch piece
Turmeric powder: ¼ teaspoon
Coriander powder: ½ teaspoon
Cumin powder: ¾ teaspoon
Chili powder/Cayenne : ½ teaspoon
Green chili: ½ ( I used Serrano pepper)
Tomato minced tomato: 1 no
Salt: ½ teaspoon or to taste
Canned coconut milk: ¼ cup
Water: 2 cups+1.5 cups
Minced cilantro leaves: 2 tablespoon
Lemon juice: 1 teaspoon

How I made

Pressure cooks the black-eyed peas with 1.5 cup water for 3 whistles it took about 12 minutes and set aside.

In a large saucepan, heat the oil over medium-low heat and saute the onion and green chilies until it turns dark brown, about 8 minutes. Add ginger-garlic paste and fry for 2 minutes, to this add coriander powder, turmeric, chili powder, and cumin powder, and stir for 2 minutes. Add the tomato and stir over low heat until it disintegrates.

Add the cooked peas and mix well. Pour in rest of water and  salt and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down to low, cover, and simmer until the peas are cooked through, about 10 minutes. (It is essential to simmer t,so that the flavors blend better). Stir in the coconut milk and simmer for another 5 minutes, again allowing the flavors to come together. Finally add the cilantro and lemon juice, simmer for 1 minute more, and remove from the heat. Serve immediately.

 Finally the combo will look like

Preparation time: 40 minutes
Serving: 4 serving
Verdict: Yummy
Will you make it again: Yes I will


The Poee/Poli bread  is going to following events in blog sphere
 Susan's  Yeast spotting
Cooking with seeds: Ajwain/ Bishops seeds hosted by Kavita originally started by Priya.
wholesome whole grain event hosted by Sanjeeta

Spicy black eyed peas curry is going to 
MLLA:31 hosted by Simona originally started by Susan


This delicious wonderful combo is going to 
Flavors of Goa hosted by Denise  originally started by Nayna

Bookmarked recipes volume 23  hosted by Priya and Aipi
Hearth and soul hop volume 29 hosted by amoderate life