Everyone knows that the consumption of Black-Eyed peas are supposed to bring a person good luck for the New Year,but if you are like me it's not one of my favorite foods. As a child, I have always found ways to eat the foods that I disliked by adding ingredients that I do like. Well, I came across a very tasty recipe for black-eyed peas and wanted to share with you guys for the New Year!!! Take a look and hopefully will you like it as much as I did.
(Makes about 6 side dish servings, recipe adapted from Curried Black-Eyed Peas from Lisa's Kitchen.)
1 cup dried black-eyed peas
2 T olive oil or ghee (use olive oil for South Beach diet)
1 tsp. brown or black mustard seeds
2 tsp. sea salt
1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1 1/2 tsp. ground coriander
1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
(recipe called for 1/2 tsp. asafetida which I didn't have)
1 cup slow roasted tomatoes (or use 1 cup chopped canned tomatoes or 1 cup chopped fresh tomato)
2 T tomato paste
1 tsp. green Tabasco sauce, or more (or use use fresh chopped green chile pepper)
handful of fresh curry leaves (I used about 1/2 cup curry leaves, slightly chopped, but I would use even more if I had plenty of them)
2-3 T thinly sliced green onion or chopped cilantro for garnish (optional)
Cook the black-eyed peas, using one of these methods (I used the pressure cooker):
~To cook black-eyed peas in pressure cooker, no need to pre-soak. Put the peas in pressure cooker and fill about half full with water. Lock lid, and cook 10-11 minutes at high pressure, then use quick-release method to release pressure. Drain and continue with recipe.
~To cook black-eyed peas in regular pan, first soak overnight in cold water to cover. The next day, drain water and put black-eyed peas in saucepan with water to cover by a few inches. Simmer over low heat until tender, about 40-45 minutes. Drain and continue with recipe.
Combine sea salt, ground cumin, ground coriander, turmeric, and asafetida (if using) in small dish. Heat olive oil or ghee in large non-stick frying pan. When oil is shimmering hot, add the mustard seeds and cook until they begin to pop, which will happen very quickly. When seeds start to pop, add ground spice/salt mixture and cook about 1 minute.
Add slow roasted tomatoes, tomato paste, green Tabasco sauce, and curry leaves, then lower heat, stir and cook 2-3 minutes, until tomatoes are slightly thickened and mixture is fragrant. (You will need to cook longer if you use canned or fresh tomatoes.) Stir in black-eyed peas and simmer about 10 minutes, until peas are hot and mixture is slightly thickened. Serve hot, sprinkled with sliced green onions or chopped cilantro if desired.
