I grew up eating this Punjabi black eyed pea curry. It’s warm and comforting and the beans are so rich and buttery. This is my mom’s recipe – although, hers is slightly different every time she makes it because she doesn’t use “measurements” when she cooks (real deal Indian mamas don’t do the whole “measuring” thing). I’ve also adapted this recipe so that you can make it in an electronic pressure cooker, like an Instant Pot. I’m sure you can also easily adapt this to make it on the stovetop too if you’d like.
Black eyed peas are also called “lobia” in northern India. So, this recipe is also known as “Punjabi Lobia Masala.”
The great thing about black eyed peas is that they don’t take as long as other legumes to cook. You don’t need to soak the beans at all – but I always soak legumes to help reduce phytic acid (more info on that here). If you follow the paleo diet, then you know legumes are not “paleo” – however, I eat legumes and white rice and figured a lot of my readers do too. During my pregnancy, I ate this dish pretty often because black eyed peas are high in calcium and I actually tolerate soaked & prepared beans better than I tolerate most dairy.
Rather than following a strict diet, I think it’s more important to listen to your body and eat the things that make you and your body feel good. This recipe not only tastes great, but it makes me feel good too. It’s hearty, rich in fiber, high in protein and as I mentioned – a good source of dairy-free calcium (fyi: 1/2 cup of black eyed beans has 185 milligrams of calcium).
This is a recipe that’s almost always served on New Years Day in our house. It’s thought to bring good luck. I always thought this was an Indian superstition (or maybe just a thing that we believed in our house?), but it turns out that black eyed peas are considered good luck in many other cultures too! Even here in the US (mainly in southern states)! I wouldn’t wait for a holiday to make this though – it’s so easy that you can make it any time you want!
My hubby, who isn’t a huge fan of legumes, loves and requests this curry often. He also likes my dal makhani so try that too if you get a chance.
Serve this black eyed pea curry over some rice, cauli-rice, paleo naan or you can do what I often do and eat a bowl of it on its own. Let me know what you think of this if you do make it!
- 1 cup dried black eyed peas, soaked for 1-2 hours
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil or fat of choice
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 large onion, diced
- 1 bay leaf
- 6 garlic cloves, minced
- 1-inch ginger, minced
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon cayenne (adjust to spice preference!)
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 1 teaspoon salt, adjust to taste
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tomatoes, chopped
- 3 cups water
- Cilantro leaves, optional for garnish
- Soak the black eyed peas in water for 1-2 hours. Drain.
- Press the “Sauté” button on the Instant Pot and add the oil and cumin seeds.
- Once the cumin seeds start to splutter, add the onion and bay leaf.
- After 7-8 minutes or when the onions begin to turn golden, add the garlic, ginger and spices. Stir briefly, then add the tomatoes.
- Cook for 5 minutes, or until the tomatoes break down.
- Add the drained black eyed peas to the pot along with the 3 cups of water.
- Mix well, cover and lock the lid. Press the “Keep Warm/Cancel” button on the Instant Pot, then press the “Bean/Chili” button to begin the pressure cooking. It will automatically be set for 30 minutes. Make sure the steam valve is closed.
- Once the stew is done, the Instant Pot will automatically switch to the “Keep Warm” mode. Allow the pressure to release naturally.
- Garnish with cilantro if desired.
Looks like either the ingredients list is missing lentils, or step 6 is there in error… Will try this recipe soon.
I meant to write black eyed peas – it’s correct now
What would the measurement be if we are using canned black eyed peas?
Do you ever use frozen black eyed peas? How does it affect the cooking time?
Hey Ashley,
It sounds like this is made with some sort of pressure cooker. If you don’t have one, how would you make this dish using a regular pot? Thanks for your help and Happy Holidays to you and your family!
G
I was on the hunt for something that used ingredients I already had, and would be satisfying on a cold night after a long day. Of course I logged on to your blog and found this on the front page — it met my needs, and bonus that it was super simple & made use of my favorite kitchen appliance 😉
This cooked up beautifully, and satisfied all the rumbly tummies in this house — finicky six y/o even asked for seconds. I used duck fat for the cooking oil, but otherwise stuck 100% to your recipe, and everything was perfect. A great blend of satisfyingly hearty, earthy flavors with rich, bright spices to warm it up and make it pop
Thank you so much!!
Shauna, I’m so happy to hear that!! And wow, your little one liking this curry makes my day!
I was surprised she liked it so much — she’s never had a black eyed pea before! With such a great introduction, she will probably be a lifelong fan
This was my very first Instant Pot recipe in my maiden journey of learning how to cook! Thank you!
Hi Sonia! That’s great to hear
Another winner! I did this in a stove top pressure cooker and cooked it for 6 minutes after an hour of soaking with a quick release. We had this instead of hoppin’ john on New Year’s Day. My husband, 7,5, and 2 year old loved it (I left out the cayenne). My 5 year old said this was much better than hoppin’ john and renamed it poppin’ john and requested that I not just make it on New Year’s Day.
I made this on New Year’s Day and the kids 7,5, & 2 loved it. I usually make hoppin’ john for luck and my 5 year old said this was so much better and renamed it poppin’ john. She requested that we not just have this on New Years. Thanks for another winner! I made it in a stovetop pressure cooker after an hour of soaking and did it for 6 minutes with a quick release. It was perfect.
Katie, I’m so happy to hear that! And I love the name poppin john LOL.
I want to try this, but I worry whether 30 min is too much. I have done black-eyed peas in the instant pot before, and even without any pre-soaking they were very soft (almost a bit too mushy) after only 25 minutes.
I made this last night while cooking our food for the week, and it’s delicious! I used about a third of the amount of cayenne called for, and do wish I’d left it out–while *I* really like it, I think my kids will balk at the spice level and it seems as though it would be plenty flavorful without the cayenne. Still, I think my kids will still enjoy it with a dollop of whole milk yogurt on top. So good–thank you!
Hi Ashley,
I tried your recipe and I love it. Thank you.
Happy to hear that! Thank you!
Made this for dinner tonight, and have to say Wow! It was so good. Thank you! Looking forward to trying other recipes from your site.
Tom, I’m so happy to hear that! I hope you’ll let me know what you think of any other recipes that you try!
I left the beans soaking for about 3 hours instead of the recommended 1 or 2, and this came out as soup. Very runny. The spice level (as in the directions) would have been great had it been a thick sauce on beans, as pictured, but as soup it was overpowering.
I know I put in exactly the 3 cups of water (24 ounces) as directed, so that was not the problem. Could “over-soaking” have caused this soupy result? This was only my second Instant Pot effort, so it was discouraging. Any advice? Thanks!
Hi, I tried this and while the flavour was great, it came out very soupy. And I mean extremely runny. Followed the recipe to a T with one exception. I soaked the beans for about 3 hours instead of the recommended 2. Would this be enough to alter the outcome so significantly? Thanks. I’m new to instant pot (this was my second recipe to try) and am discouraged with my result.
Hi Sue, no that wouldn’t have done it. I’m not sure why it came out soupy – you can always hit “saute” once it’s done to boil off any extra liquid though.