Black Eyed Pea Curry

By Grazor

This is a typical North Indian bean curry and tastes so much better than it sounds. These versatile beans are full of good protein and are much meatier in flavour than the more humble lentils.

Like kidney beans, black-eyed peas are often sold dried, needing to be soaked overnight and boiled before using, but the canned ones work well too and I often find myself turning to them in times of spontaneity.

This is one of my favourite bean curries and it works equally well with rice as it does with Indian bread. It’s also great part-puréed into a hearty soup with a swirl of yoghurt and some fresh wholegrain bread on the side.

Ingredients

• 4 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 tsp cumin seeds
• 2 green chillies, left whole or slit
• 1 small–medium onion, peeled and chopped
• 17 g fresh ginger, peeled
• 5 cloves of garlic, peeled
• 1 ⁄2 tsp turmeric
• 1 ⁄4–1⁄2 tsp red chilli powder
• 1 tbsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp garam masala
• Salt, to taste
• 3 large tomatoes, puréed
• 2 x 410g tins of black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed
• Handful of fresh coriander leaves and stalks, chopped

Preparation

Step 1

Heat the oil in a medium-sized non-stick saucepan. Add the bay leaves and fry for 20 seconds, then add the cumin seeds and fry until they sizzle. Add the green chillies and onion and cook until well browned.

Meanwhile, using a blender, make a paste of the ginger and garlic with a splash of water. Stir into the pan and cook for about 1–2 minutes or until you can smell the cooked garlic. Add the powdered spices and salt and stir for another 30 seconds or so before pouring in the tomatoes.
Cook over a medium heat until the oil leaves the masala, around 12–15 minutes. Add the drained beans and mix well in the masala. Cook for a couple of minutes before pouring in 250ml water. Bring to the boil and simmer for 8–10 minutes. Take 2 tablespoons of the beans out of the gravy, mash well and stir back in. Stir in the fresh coriander and serve