Black Eyed Peas Curry
This vegetarian recipe was given to me by food-loving neighbors from India.
Though we call them black eyed peas, they are actually beans, and, like all legumes, they are one of the healthiest things you can eat. They are full of fiber and all kinds of vitamins that your body needs. This recipe is vegetarian, naturally gluten free, and flavored with a variety of typical Indian spices. The recipe was given to me by my Grandma’s neighbors, who were from India originally and loved to cook, and I still have the handwritten card. For this one, you may need to purchase a few spices that you may not keep regularly in your kitchen. Don’t worry, I’ll give you more recipes in the future where you can use them! For this recipe, you’ll need a sharp knife, a large pot for boiling water, a strainer, and a saucepan.
Ingredients (see note 1):
2 cups dried black eyed beans
½ teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon red chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon coriander powder
1 inch fresh ginger
6 cloves minced garlic
4 cloves
4 black peppercorns
1 onion, finely chopped (about ½ cup)
2 ripe tomatoes, diced, or 2 tablespoons tomato paste
¼ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
Oil (sunflower, grapeseed, or avocado oil work well)
Salt
Instructions:
Boil beans in plenty of water with ½ salt added for 5 minutes, then turn off heat and let sit for 1 hour (see note 2)
Heat oil in a large saucepan
Add turmeric, cumin, chili, and coriander powder and stir for about a minute, until you can smell the fragrance of the spices (see note 3)
Add ginger, garlic, cloves, and peppercorn and stir for a few seconds more (note 4)
Add the chopped onions and fry until they start to turn slightly brown
Add diced tomatoes or tomato paste and stir into the onion mixture; if using fresh tomato, cook long enough for them to get soft
Drain the beans and add them to the saucepan with enough water to cover
Simmer the beans on medium to medium-low heat until beans are tender (about 20 minutes) (see note 4)
Add salt to taste
Serve over rice with chopped cilantro as a garnish
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Notes:
For all of the spices, if you have a form (whole vs. powdered or powdered vs. fresh, for example), feel free to substitute. Personally, I didn’t have coriander powder, but I did have whole coriander seeds, so crushed those a bit. You could also substitute powdered cumin for cumin seeds, ground black pepper for whole peppercorns, or powdered ginger for fresh—just be careful not to overdo it with powdered spices, as a small amount can add a lot of flavor.
Most bean recipes follow this approach of boiling dried beans and letting them sit for an hour before using. However, I prefer soaking dried beans overnight in plenty of water with about a half teaspoon of baking soda mixed in. If you soak your beans overnight, you can skip step one and just drain the beans and give them a quick rinse before adding them to your recipe. I have found that soaking beans overnight makes them much easier to digest—no more gas!
When stirring dry spices in hot oil, the fragrance will be released pretty quickly, so the next few steps can move pretty quickly. I wouldn’t overcook the spices to avoid burning them.
When I do this recipe, I end up combining this step with the previous one. I don’t think putting all of these spices in at the same time makes any difference to the final flavor versus separating some spices from the others.
As always, don’t rely on time estimates—scoop out a bean and bite into it to test if it is done to your liking.
Cat update:
These recipes look wonderful! Loving the cat updates too :)
I love Miss Seraphina!