Goan breakfast - Pao Tonak

This is a favourite breakfast in Goa and the first time I had this was when I was visiting my Dad's friend's family there. The lady of the house is an excellent cook and this was a very interesting breakfast.
I am not a breakfast person - I cant have something really heavy for breakfast, but on a lazy weekend, this is a great breakfast and keeps you stuffed for a few hours !

The 'tonak' is basically made with dried peas and potatoes and a strong aromatic masala.
I found this pretty packet of assorted legumes and thought it would go well in this tonak masala, so used this in place of the dried peas.



The pao there in Goa is a crusty one, which I dont get here, so I used the softer, bready pav to go with the tonak...



The masala is quite strong and very aromatic, but if it doesnt suit your taste buds, you can use garam masala instead, though I'd suggest you give this fresh masala a try..

What you need -

1 cup peas / any other legumes
1 potato (I didnt use this)
2 onions
1 cup grated coconut
1 tsp tamarind
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
salt to taste

For the masala

2 tsp coriander seeds
4 red chillies
1 tsp fennel seeds
2 cloves
1 inch strip cinnamon
4 pepper corns

What you do with it -

Soak the peas / legumes overnight
Roast and powder all the ingredients under 'Masala'
Peel potatoes and cut to bite-size pieces
Boil the potaoes with the legumes
Chop onions fine
Fry the onions, add grated coconut and tamarind
Grind this to a coarse paste
Add the dry masala, sugar, salt and turmeric powder
Add the potato and legumes and cook a little more
Adjust salt and add more water if required.
Serve hot with pao, bread or chapatis