Sugar Snap Peas Sauté

Sugar snap peas are a cross between garden peas and snow peas. They do not require shelling, which means, the whole pod is edible. I buy them regularly when they are in season, during the months of June and July. They are a delicious, crunchy addition to any stir-fry, salad or omelette. They can be bit pricey during off-seasons, but when they are cheap, I have blanched snap peas almost everyday. With only 45 calories per cup, there is no reason to stay away from them.

Why they are called sugar snap peas? I have no idea. Probably because they are sweet and pop when snapped. When buying sugar snap peas, select pods that are bright green, flat and tender. They have strings that must be removed before cooking. Pinch one end of the pod and pull the string toward the other end.

Sugar Snap Peas

Clockwise from left: Sugar snap peas, strings removed and cut

After having endless salads and stir-fries, I decided its time to introduce spices to these tender peas. Since they are delicate, the spices used in this curry are also minimal. Going with my instinct, I paired these peas with cumin and nothing else. The marriage between this western vegetable and Indian spices was, indeed, gratifying. Now, every time I buy snap peas, I cannot help, but prepare this curry.

A word of caution, do not cook these peas for a long time. When overcooked, they become mushy and the flavour is destroyed. Prepare this as you would do a stir-fry, but Indian style.

Ingredients

Sugar snap peas – 2 cups, sliced on an angle
Onion – 1, sliced
Tomato – 2, chopped
Garlic – 2 cloves, finely chopped
Cumin seeds – 1 tsp
Cumin powder – 1½ tsp
Red chilli powder – 1 tsp
Salt
Oil – 1 tbsp

Method

Heat oil in a wok. Splutter cumin seeds and sauté onion and garlic, until onions turn soft. Add chopped tomatoes and sauté till they are cooked. To this, add sugar snap peas, cumin powder, chilli powder and salt and cook for 3 minutes, stirring in between. Serve warm with roti.

Sugar Snap Peas Saute

Since its got cumin written all over it, this goes to Sunita’s Think Spice – Think Cumin. Thank you Sunita for being a gracious host and accepting my late entry.

43 comments:

Raaga said...

Looks yummy Suganya.

Anonymous said...

Snow peas look lovely Suganya, I too have made something using both cumin seeds and powder.
colourful and great entry.

Srivalli said...

Suganya...that looks yummy...

Viji said...

A nice entry Suganya. Lovely plate. Viji

Rajitha said...

i love sugar snap peas too.. they add a burst of green to every dish

FH said...

Great entry! I get sugar snaps here but little expensive. Looks yum:)

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

Sugar snap peas are my new favourite vegetable. I usually just steam them, but I need to branch out!!!!

Laavanya said...

Lovely curry Suganya.

Coffee said...

That first pic is fabulous Suganya! :) Can make this with Snow peas as well right?!

Arts said...

Looks so inviting :)
Unfortunately dont get these peas here :(
Nice recipe though!

Bharathy said...

Sugar snap peas!!What a lovely veggie,I learned from you today!!...which can be used with its juicy outer skin too..Love the side dish,Sugi!!:)

Kumudha said...

The dish look great. I have to try this dish.

Latha Narasimhan said...

Oh those peas look lovely1 I wish we could grt them in bangalore. Nice curry suganya!

bee said...

beautiful dish. somehow, i don't like these peas cooked. that's probably because when we bring them home, we eat them all up raw and there's nothing left to cook.

indosungod said...

Suganya, lovely dish, Sugar Snap is a recent discovery for me, I am used to walking past it without a second glance, these day I don't walk past it without picking up a few.

Ashwini said...

So nice to see snap peas in an Indian style dish...lovely photos too

musical said...

Great one, Suganya. Looks so colorful and pretty. i love the sugar snap peas and snack on them ;).

TBC said...

Nice entry for the event. I was actually looking at your rotis - they look so perfect.

Padma said...

Great entry Suganya, that dish looks lovely

Tee said...

Good entry Suganya! Never cooked sugar snap peas...will try it if I find a good deal on them.

TheCooker said...

Such a good looking meal.
I tried and loved your mushroom masala. Thanks!

Saju said...

That looks delicious, I never thought of cutting sugarsnap peas, I usually stir fry them whole. Your looks so nice diamond shaped. Pic with chapati looks sensational.

Suganya said...

Thank you to each one of you for leaving yr trail here.

Coffee, I haven't tried using snow peas in this curry. But it should work well too. Personally I favor snap peas to snow peas :)

Anonymous said...

I love sugar snap peas Suganya -- must try this delicious looking dish! Photos are lovely as always :)

Roopa (KitchenAromas) said...

That looks amazing! Here is my experiment with sugar snap peas:
http://kitchenaromas.wordpress.com/2007/06/25/unbelievable-crunch-sugar-snap-peas-and-baby-corn-stir-fry/

Cynthia said...

As always, your pics do great justice to your food. Those sugar snap peas would be nice sauteed with a pat of butter and some crushed garlic.

Pooja V said...

Your pics are gorgeous and posts are excelelnt too. They are making me want to visit this blog regularly.

sunita said...

I love sugar snap peas...your's look gorgeous...thanks for sending it over.

Anonymous said...

I eat sugar-snap/snow peas raw, as a snack. They're yum! Your saute looks gorgeous, but the chapaties in the photo just JUMP out at the viewer. You take absolutely the most beautiful photos! :)

amna said...

sigh.. i am just in love with ur pictures and the magic u do with them.. everything looks tasty and yummy

What is Curry? said...

Now I know an Indian recipe with sugar snap peas

Anonymous said...

That looks yummy. :)

Anonymous said...

Must try sugar snap peas next.It looks really yummy...

Namratha said...

I love sugar snap peas too, I have used them mostly in Thai Stir frys, this looks very good, will give it a try.

Sig said...

Oh love these sugar peas.... but I'm too lazy to remove those strings :)... Your recipe sounds nice Suganya!

Anonymous said...

looking beautiful.ur pics r perfect.nice

archana said...

Peas look so fresh and green :)Dish looks YuM :)

Kribha said...

Nice curry with sugar snap peas. Never tried it before. will it for sure.

Manasi said...

Lovely!! Ur pics can make any vegetable look very tempting!!!
Theres an award for u on my blog, pl take a look!

Susan said...

They are called "snap" because the pod walls are so thick (as opposed to the thin, bendable walls of snow peas)that they "snap." I like your recipe, Suganya. I find snaps too sweet, but spicing them up sure tempts my taste buds.

WokandSpoon said...

Another great dish! This looks really healthy too - hehe - good for my diet ;-)

marriedtoadesi.com said...

I wish I could get my rotis to look that perfect!

DJ said...

thank u so much..gonna use this for my coursework nw all thank 2 u..couldn't find an indian recipe for sugar snap peas..(:

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