Goan White Vatana Tonak
A Goan Hindu home favourite: dried white peas simmered in a dark, roasted-coconut tonak masala with a hint of tamarind, eaten with Goan pav.
- Region
- Goa
- Status
- Traditional
- Diet label
- Strictly vegetarian, egg-free
- Time
- Soak 8 h · Prep 20 min · Cook 40 min
- Serves
- 3
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Good for
- Weekend dinner, festive breakfast (Goan tradition)
- Tags
- Good source · High fibre · Soy-free · Whey-free · No added sugar · Meal-prep friendly
- Allergens
- Gluten (pav), milk (curd); poppy seeds and coconut
Nutrition (estimated)
- Calories
- 460 kcal
- Protein
- 21 g
- Carbs
- 59 g
- Fat
- 14 g
- Fibre
- 16 g
Headline values are for the full plate.
| kcal | Protein | Carbs | Fat | Sat fat | Fibre | Total sugars | Protein per 100 kcal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tonak only (about 280 g) | 295 | 14 g | 37 g | 10 g | 4 g | 14 g | 5 g | 5.0 g |
| Dinner plate: tonak, 1 whole-wheat pav, 100 g curd | 460 | 21 g | 59 g | 14 g | 6 g | 16 g | 12 g | 4.5 g |
Good source. Pav uses a typical whole-wheat pav label — verify. Values checked against IFCT 2017 on 14 Oct 2026.
Ingredients
- 180 g dried white peas (safed vatana)
- 100 g onion, sliced · 80 g tomato · 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste · 5 g tamarind · ¼ tsp turmeric · 5 g salt
- Tonak masala: 30 g grated coconut · 1 tbsp coriander seeds · 1 tsp cumin · 1 tsp poppy seeds · 4 Kashmiri chillies · 4 cloves · 1 small cinnamon stick · ½ tsp black pepper
- 10 g groundnut oil
- Plate: 3 whole-wheat pav · 300 g curd
Method
- Soak the peas 8 hours. Pressure-cook with turmeric and 600 ml water for 3–4 whistles until soft but whole.
- Dry-roast the coconut until deep brown; dry-roast the whole spices for 2 minutes. Grind with 100 ml water to a smooth paste.
- Heat oil; cook onion 8 minutes until browned. Add ginger-garlic paste and tomato; cook 4 minutes.
- Add the tonak paste; cook on low 5 minutes until fragrant and the oil separates.
- Add peas with their liquid, tamarind and salt. Simmer 10 minutes until thick.
- Serve with pav and curd.
Protein optimisation
- Dried peas supply 12.5 g per serving; pav 4 g and curd 3.5 g on the plate.
- Boost: add 100 g paneer cubes in the last 5 minutes (+6 g protein, +85 kcal per serving).
Variations, serving and storage
- Regional: Goan ross omelette-style plate — serve with a thin egg omelette for an egg-inclusive version (+6 g protein per egg).
- Substitution: black-eyed beans or kabuli chana.
- Storage: 3 days refrigerated; freezes 2 months; flavour improves on day 2.
- Food safety: reheat until boiling.
- Meal prep: excellent.
Nutrition values are estimates calculated from the Indian Food Composition Tables 2017 (ICMR-NIN) and typical product labels. They have not been laboratory-analysed and will vary with your ingredients, brands and cooking. Recipes are for healthy adults and are general information only, not a substitute for advice from a doctor or qualified dietitian. If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, cooking for children, have food allergies, or live with kidney disease, diabetes or any other medical condition, please take professional advice about your diet. From the collection Protein-Rich India by Dr. Shantanu Deshpande · drshantanudeshpande.com