Anjum’s Black-eyed Pea Curry

When you are tired of making the same curry over and over again every night of the week, either because you are tired to make something elaborate or just because you cannot think of anything else to make, this recipe can come to your rescue. Not only is this a breeze to make, especially if you stock up some canned black-eyed peas, it is a power house of protein as with any other lentil dish. This recipe is from Anjum Anand’s book – Anjum’s New Indian.

I have this habit of never sticking to a recipe except while baking something. I like to add my touches to it, adding something different or removing something from the original recipe or tweaking it with a completely different main ingredient etc. But this recipe looked so simple that I wanted to try out its simplicity. I did change the quantities of some ingredients to suit my taste.

Black-eyed Pea Curry – The Recipe

From Anjum Anand’s – Anjum’s New Indian

• 2 tbsp canola oil
• 3-4 bay leaves
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 3-4 Thai green chillies, slit lengthwise
• 1 red onion, chopped
• 2 tsp crushed ginger and garlic
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 2 tsp coriander powder
• 1 tsp Kashmiri Mirch or if using regular red chilli powder / cayenne use 1/4 tsp
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 2 tomatoes, pureed
• 1 can black eyed peas, rinsed
• salt, to taste
• cilantro – for garnish

Heat the oil in a kadhai / sauté pan. Add the bay leaves and cumin to it. Once the cumin sizzles, add the onion, ginger-garlic and green chillies. Sauté till the onions are brown and the raw garlic smell disappears.

Now add the turmeric powder, coriander powder, chilli powder and garam masala. Saute well. Add the pureed tomatoes, with a little water (if needed) and let it come to a slow boil. Add the black eyed peas and salt to this mix. Lower heat and let the peas simmer in the sauce.

Garnish with cilantro and serve with chapatis/rotis/plain basmati rice.