Cumin, cardamom, cinnamon, and other aromatic spices make this vegan Black-eyed Pea Masala flavorful and delicious.
Welcome to 2010! It’s a new decade as well as a new year, and perhaps because of that, more people than usual are making resolutions to eat healthier.
I tend to take some liberties around the holidays; I’m sure you’ve noticed that some of my most popular holiday desserts (like the cheesecakes) don’t live up to this blog’s title and are not oil-free. I like to indulge myself for a couple of weeks and then settle down to “regular” food.
So if you’re looking for healthy recipes to start the new year–or to start you on a vegan diet–you’ll find everything you need here: delicious recipes that contain no oil or animal products and many that contain little or no sugar, flour, or gluten. Many of my recipes have labels for certain ways of eating, such as Eat to Live or Weight Watchers points.
This year’s first recipe was inspired by a Christmas gift from my husband, Monisha Bharadwaj’s India’s Vegetarian Cooking: A Regional Guide.
It’s a gorgeous book which, though often lacking in cooking times, contains a wealth of information about the different regions and cuisines of India as well as recipes that are mostly vegan and, often, lower in fat than traditional Indian recipes. I’ve been curling up with it like a novel at night, so it was natural that I turned to it for inspiration when I needed a black-eyed pea recipe to usher in the new year.
It’s a Southern US tradition to eat black-eyed peas and greens on New Year’s Day to ensure a lucky and prosperous year, and while I don’t really believe the superstition, I go with it partially out of sentimentality but mostly because I like black-eyed peas. For the past few years, I’ve been trying to reach beyond the Southern-style black-eyed pea dishes that I grew up with and look to other cultures where the Cyclopean peas are at least as popular as they are here. Last year it was Moin Moin from Nigeria and this year it’s Black Eyed Pea Masala from northern India.
This adaptation of Bharadwaj’s Bhuna Lobhia is my family’s new favorite black-eyed pea recipe. As it was keeping warm on the stove, my daughter keep creeping up to the pot to “sample” it, long after the seasoning had been checked and it didn’t need to be sampled anymore. And I have to admit, I was doing the same thing. It’s irresistibly good.
To complete my New Year’s obligations, I served this with (Green) Cabbage and Peas with Cumin and Mustard Seeds. We all feel lucky already.
Black-eyed Pea Masala
Ingredients
- 2 cups dried black-eyed peas
- 1 large onion diced
- 2 teaspoons cumin seeds
- 1/8 teaspoon asafetida
- 1 tablespoon ginger-root minced (or ginger paste)
- 1 tablespoon garlic minced
- 1/4-1/2 teaspoon cayenne or other red pepper (or to taste)
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 2 15-ounce cans diced tomato
- 2 teaspoons garam masala see Notes
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
- chopped parsley or cilantro to garnish
Instructions
- Pick over the dried peas, removing any debris, and rinse. Cover with water and allow to soak for 8 hours or quick-soak by bringing to a boil, cooking for 1 minute, and remove from heat. Allow quick-soaked peas to stand for at least 1 hour. Drain peas just before cooking.
- Heat a large non-stick pot or pressure cooker. Spray the bottom with cooking spray (omit if pot is non-stick) and add the onions. Cook, stirring, until onions soften. Add the cumin seed and cook for 1 minute. Add the asafetida, ginger, and garlic and stir for about 30 seconds.
- Add the drained peas and all remaining ingredients. Add 2 cups of water and bring to a low boil.
- If pressure cooking, seal the cooker, bring to high pressure, and cook for 7 minutes; remove from heat and allow pressure to come down naturally. Check seasoning and add more salt and garam masala if necessary. Simmer uncovered for a few minutes to allow flavors to blend, and mash a few peas against the side of the pot to thicken the sauce. If all peas are not completely tender, cover but do not seal the cooker and simmer until peas are tender.
- If cooking in a regular pot, cover and simmer until the black-eyed peas are tender (depending on the age of your peas, 30-60 minutes). Check seasoning and add more salt and garam masala if necessary.
- Sprinkle with parsley or cilantro and serve with rice or bread.
Notes
1 small cinnamon stick
1 tsp. cumin seeds
1/4 tsp. cloves
1 tsp. black peppercorns Toast lightly in a dry skillet over medium heat until fragrant (be careful not to burn). Remove from heat, cool, and grind in a coffee grinder or spice mill. Use immediately or seal tightly and use soon. Makes about 1 tablespoon. **** This dish is zero points on Weight Watchers Freestyle program.
Nutritional info is approximate.
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Anonymous
Hi Susan! LOVE your blog. I was wondering – if I were to make this recipe with canned black-eyed peas, would there be any difference in the amount of beans to use or the cooking directions? I'm a new cooker, so I need details! 🙂
SusanV
To use canned beans, skip the soaking (obviously!) and add 2-3 cans of drained black-eyed peas when the peas are called for but DO NOT add 2 cups of water. Add just a little, maybe 1/2 cup, to wet things down. Don't pressure cook. Cook on the stove on very low until the flavors have a chance to blend. I'd give it at least 25 minutes, adding water if necessary to keep things moise.
Leslie
I made this for dinner the other night and it was wonderful. It was the first time I'd eaten black-eyed peas but certainly won't be the last. It was also the first time I'd cooked a meal in my pressure cooker. I've done a lot of beans in it but never thrown all the ingredients in together. I have no idea why not because it's so much easier that way. Thanks for giving me new things to try and enjoy!
Allison, The Busy (Happy!) Vegan
I made this for dinner last week (see http://busyhappyvegan.blogspot.com/2010/01/fruit-is-natures-candy-isnt-it.html for the rest of the meal) and it was delicious!! I didn't read the whole recipe in advance, so I ended up cooking the beans before the rest of the meal. But it worked out fine – I just added a bit of water to the tomatoes and other ingredients in a big pot, let it all simmer for a while so the flavours would blend, and tossed the beans in near the end. My family loved it, and I did too. Thanks so much for all your posts! Your blog is one of my favourites!
Becca24MS
I made this twice in a row, and it was delicious! Even better as left overs. The 2nd time I made it, I added a huge bunch of spinach to it. Delish!
Anonymous
Just made the black eyed pea masala for dinner tonight. Used the PC and it was done in a snap. Wow–yummmm, what more needs to be said. I did add some chopped spinach at the end to round out my meal. Thanks for another great recipe. You continue to inspire me. Thanks
Anonymous
Fantabulous. This is soooo good! I love all your posts. Thank you for making my family's life delicious!
Rawket Food
Made this for dinner and soaked 2 cups of black eyed peas but then only put 2 cups soaked in…not the 4 that it makes. I wound up with more of a soup….and it is soooo good still! I love it!
moonwatcher
Hi Susan,
I made a half batch of this tonight and it is delicious!
Thanks so much!
xo
moonwatcher
Rachel
I finally got around to making this. Delicious!
For those who like food spicy, I should note that the recipe as written wasn't spicy enough for my tastes – I doubled just about everything except the cumin and added a diced chili pepper (no idea what kind…something small and green from the Indian market). Came out perfect!
Gabrielle
one word- Delicious.
Luis
Great recipe! Thanks!
Elizabeth
I make this recipe and the cabbage with peas recipe all the time. They are so delicious. Commenting now to let you know that my 20 month old picky daughter – who hasn’t yet eaten what I would call a meal – gobbled up 1/2 c of this and asked for more! Amazing!
The Accidental Foodie
This is going to be our New Year’s recipe! It looks great. Have you ever cooked it in a tajine?
SusanV
Sorry, I haven’t but I would love to hear how it comes out if you try it.
Thea
What can I substitute for asafetida?
SusanV
Just leave it out or use a little garlic powder if you have it.
Ashley
I made this for a New Year’s Party. It was fabulous! The party was small, so I ended up taking home some leftovers. You won’t find me complaining – I’ve been eating this stuff at lunch at work. Still fabulous!
(I couldn’t find the asafetida, so I added a shake or two of garlic powder and onion powder instead. Also ended up using pre-mix garam masala. I can only fantasize about what this stuff tastes like if you do it ‘right’!)
Paquita
This looks great!! Even though I am already vegan, I also signed up for the PCRM 21 day event! I had a good chuckle after receiving a phone call from Alicia Silverstone.
We mad the Cilantro-Infused Black Eyed Peas for the “New Year’s” event with Collard Greens. The Peas were from “The Indian Slow Cooker” book that I have been blogging about at http://www.getskinnygovegan.blogspot.com
I have been loving eating Indian food for the last month!!!! Even though I have “splurged” and added some silk cream for the makhani. It’s so easy to have all the food on hand that it’s hard not to make it! AND there is the big bonus of walking in your house and having it smell like an Indian kitchen, which in our household is a mouth watering proposition. You might like Anupy’s blog at http://www.indianasapplepie.com
She is super fun. Changing the world with healthy, easy, cheap food and taking everything lightly. Super fun girl!
Katie @ Live for the Long Run
I’m a recent Indian food convert. This dish looks and sounds delicious. It gives the amount of calories per serving but I didn’t see how many servings the recipe makes! I’m really excited to make this!
P.S. – I love your website!!!
SusanV
Hi Katie–it makes 8 servings. I hope you enjoy it!
Elyssa
I just love this recipe! It is so so good! I did change it some because I didn’t have all the seasonings but it tasted so amazing and those that didn’t use to like black eyed peas now love them! 🙂
Chicki
I made these last night. I used pre-cooked beans, and crushed tomatoes (since my parner does not like tomato chunks) and it was AMAZING. Not as pretty as the picture, it was more of a gravy/saucier from the crushed tomatoes.
Oh, and with pre-cooked beans on the stove instead of pressure cooker, it took about 20 minutes to make! Leftovers were amazing too.
Thanks for another awesome recipe
janet @ the taste space
This made a ton of beans! After soaking alone, the 2 cups of beans swelled up to 6 cups! I liked the dish, it was subtlety flavoured with a bit of zing. Not my favourite bean dish, but gorgeous to look at with the tomatoes and yellow-tinged black eyed peas. 🙂
Gena
I forgot to do black eyed peas this year. Harumph. I may need to remedy that soon by making this delicious recipe!
pamshands
Hi Susan!
I was home today recuperating from a minor surgery so I pulled some of these out of the freezer (that were made at New Years), dumped them over a baked potato, and OMG-sooo delicious. I just had to say Thank You for your amazing blog and recipes!
colleen
how large are the 8 serving sizes? I’m on WW and its hard to gage potion sizes sometimes.
Kindness
I am going to use the quick soak method for my black eyed peas, but I was wondering if the step to leave them sit for an hour in the boiled water is really necessary.
Susan Voisin
I don’t find that any soaking of blackeyed peas is necessary. Since they cook in about an hour, I don’t see the point of letting them sit that long before cooking.
Kindness
Thank you Susan. I did make this last night, but haven’t tried it yet. I took someone elses’ advice and chopped in a chilli pepper. Can’t wait to try it.
Heidi
I am not sure if my cumin seeds were just too strong, but that flavor completely overwhelmed everything else–all of the nice Indian spices were lost. I am afraid I won’t make this recipe again.
plantpowered(rabbit)
I just cooked this same recipe and the peas are still a bit mushy.
I first tried to let it simmer for 30 mins. but it was still a bit hard so i added another 10 and then another 10 and another 10 and finally another 15 and still the peas are not soft enough to my prefered consistency. What did i do wrong? Before i let it simmer more for 15 mins. i added about a half cup of water..
Oh btw i did soaked the beans for 12+ hours. Drained it and then cooked.. So im pretty sure its not the soaking park is the mistake..
Susan Voisin
Beans can be temperamental. Different factors, such as the age if the beans, the altitude, even the hardness of the water they’re cooked in, can make a big difference as to how quickly they soften or if they ever soften at all. It sounds like it’s good that you soaked the peas first. I’m sorry that they’ve taken so long to cook, but unfortunately that sometimes happens with beans.
plantpowered
Thanks for the reply, i let them simmered again this morning for 40 minutes and they are much much better now. Almost as close to what i wanted them to be 🙂 Maybe these peas were a bit old since its been sitting in our pantry for quite a while now.
THanks for the recipe again and your website is awesome! Ill be visiting youor website more often..
Laura
Do I measure out 2 cups of dried blackeyed peas or is it 2 cups after they are cooked? Thanks so much!
Susan Voisin
Good question! It’s 2 cups of dried blackeyed peas, before cooking.
click here
Heather, it’s a spice that you can find in Indian grocery stores and sometimes in supermarkets. But if you can’t find it, you can leave it out.