Lobia Masala-black eyed pea curry

I have had this huge bag of black eyed peas sitting in my pantry for forever-good thing legumes have a long shelf life-and it is high time i put them to use. I originally picked them up after having our dear friend Prasanth over for with dinner. He brought the most delicious black eyed pea concoction that his mother had made and sent back with him. He is always gracious to share. So, i eventually wanted to try and recreate that dish, but it's been so long, that i can hardly remember what exactly was in it, except for the black eyed peas. 

So i thought i would come up with my own dish, similar to my mung dhal, which is yellow lentil based, i was hoping to make a wet stewey mess with these b.e.p's and see if i couldn't find a delicious way to soak up a buttery roti. 

Lobia Masala is just the hindi name for black eyed beans, and this is a typical Punjabi recipe but it is also Bengali too, because i am Bengali and i made it up! It is little on the sweeter side as i thickened it with a coconut milk and a bit of brown sugar, just to give it a different flavor than what i usually stick too, which is savory. That dish that Prasanth brought also had a sweetness to it because i remember there being bits of toasted coconut pieces in there. 

I apologize in advance for all the spices that are needed to make this. I tend to go a little crazy in the spice department because i just love them and in my baby opinion, you can never have too many spices. Be generous and creative with them! They are there to be used! 

let's get started, shall we? you will need:
-just a sec. my littlest is up from her nap and asking to be brought down:)

back. here goes:


1 cup black eyed peas
1 small onion chopped
1 tablespoon ghee
1/2 green chili, finely chopped
1 thumb size piece ginger, chopped
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 large tomato
3 tablespoons chopped cilantro leaves
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon cumin
2 teaspoons garam masala
 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 tablespoon brown sugar
8 oz coconut milk, about 1/2 can

In a large pot, rinse and boil  the black eyed peas for about 10-15 minutes, and then rinse the water out.
return pan back to stove top with new water and keep on a low boil throughout the cooking time.

In a large pan, heat it and start with ghee. when it has melted, throw in chopped onion. 

in a mortar and pestle, create a chunky paste combining garlic, ginger, and green chili. i used half of a chili by touching the flesh with my finger and tasting it to test for the heat. you can add more if you want more heat, or less...once the paste has formed, you will add this to your sizzling onions.

stir in turmeric, cumin, garam masala, curry, paprika, chili, and brown sugar. give everything a good coat. also the chopped tomato can be added somewhere in there too..

Back to the chickpeas, really, to be softened to an actual chewable state will probably take 45 minutes to an hour. So i just had this on simmer the entire time, i allowed the water to go down a bit because i didn't know how thin or thick it would become. I was looking for it to thin a bit, and allow the beans to plump and soak up some of that water. 

Add spicy mixture to pot and continue on simmer stirring occasionally. I covered it and would check on it maybe every 15-20 minutes till it cooked down a bit,

Last is coconut milk, which you can eye ball yourself, and see how you like the consistency. Also the cilantro can go in too. 

Just keep stirring and simmering and taste testing to get it just right. The spices should shine through, and you should have a healthy heat that lingers. 

I hope you like it! I made this with just roti and skipped the rice, but it would be great served with that as well!

enjoy