Black Eyed Peas Curry is cooked in a flavorful onion, tomatoes, and coconut-based sauce with earthy flavors from turmeric, cumin, and coriander. Spiced with red chili powder and aromatic garam masala, this tasty curry served with rice or warm roti this meal is on repeat in my home.
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Also known as lobia or chawli, dried black-eyed peas are a must-have in my pantry. They are inexpensive, have a long shelf life, and are available in most grocery stores. They also cook fairly fast compared to other dried beans.
In India, I grew up seeing my mom always soaking dry beans the night before. In my "The Essential Indian Instant Pot Cookbook" I have an easier variation of this recipe, which uses dry beans and a longer cook time for the same creamy gravy sauce. Looking for more plant-based protein dishes? Do try the delicious Rajma Masala Recipe and also the Maharashtrian Misal Recipe.
Ingredients
Here are the ingredients for my mom's recipe that I grew up eating. My version uses Instant Pot so I can also cook white rice at the same time using the Pot in Pot cooking. Best way to have the whole meal ready in no time!
- Black Eyed Peas - Also known as Chawli or Lobia. Soaked in water overnight or for at least 4 hours.
- Spices - mustard seeds, turmeric, red chili powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, and garam masala.
- Masala Paste - Blend onion, tomatoes, coconut, cumin seeds, ginger, and garlic to make a smooth paste which is the base masala for this recipe
How to Make Blck Eyed Peas Curry
- Set the Instant Pot to Sauté mode and heat oil. To the hot oil, add mustard seeds and allow them to pop, this may take 2 to 3 mins. Add asafetida and turmeric.
- Stir in the onion and tomato masala paste and cook for a minute stirring frequently. Add red chili powder, cumin and coriander powder, garam masala, and salt. Mix well. Put a glass lid on and cook for 3-4 mins photos.
- Open the glass lid and mix everything, ensuring no spices are stuck to the bottom of the pot.
- Add jaggery, black-eyed peas, and water. Stir as you remove any stuck masala from the bottom of the pot.
- Place the tall trivet inside the pot.
- Put the rice bowl on top of the trivet. Close the Instant Pot lid with the pressure valve to sealing. Cook on Pressure Cook/ Manual(Hi) for 8 minutes photos.
- Allow 10 mins or full Natural Pressure Release. Carefully remove the rice container and the trivet using heat-resistant mitts.
- Stir the curry and garnish with chopped cilantro photos
Serving
On busy weeknights, we enjoy the black-eyed peas curry with steamed rice. Here are a few other ideas to serve this delicious Indian curry. You can either make thin roti or parathas to scoop the curried black-eyed peas. You can also switch up steamed white rice with jeera rice or steamed brown rice. Add a side of beet raita to round up this meal perfectly.
Storing
Store any leftover curry refrigerated in an air-tight container for 3 to 5 days.
You can also freeze it for up to 2 months. I would recommend freezing in smaller 1 to 2 serving portions in freezer-proof containers. To reheat simply thaw the curry overnight in the refrigerator and then heat up in the microwave or stove top pan.
Tips
- Forgot to soak the black eyed peas? No worries. Simply increase the pressure cook time to 20 minutes and allow full natural pressure release. Instead of white rice, you can make brown rice with the increased cooking time.
- Don't have frozen fresh coconut? You can use unsweetened shredded dry coconut instead. Or add coconut milk instead of water for cooking the curry.
- ¾ cup of tomato puree can be used in place of fresh tomato.
More Indian Vegetarian Curries You'll Love
Did you enjoy this homestyle Indian curry? Here are some more vegetarian curries for you to try:
- Maharashtrian Misal - A spicy curry with sprouted beans
- Bharwa Baingan - Curried stuffed eggplant with an easy Instant Pot recipe
- Mushroom Masala - Mushrooms cooked in a creamy tomato-based sauce
- Chana Masala - Curried chickpeas in a heartwarming sauce
- Punjabi Dal Makhani - Creamy restaurant-style lentils with an EASY Instant Pot recipe
Check out this collection of 20 Indian Lentil and Bean recipes using Instant Pot.
Recipe
Instant Pot Black Eyed Peas Curry with Rice
Recipe Video
Ingredients
- 1 cup dry black eyed peas 3 cups soaked
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
- 3 tablespoon shredded coconut unsweetened
- 1 medium onion roughly chopped
- 1 large ripe tomato quartered
- 1 inch ginger
- 8 garlic cloves
- 1 tablespoon oil
- ½ teaspoon mustard seeds
- ⅛ teaspoon asafetida optional
- ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 tablespoon kashmiri red chili powder
- ½ tablespoon ground cumin
- ½ tablespoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt divided
- ½ tablespoon jaggery or brown sugar optional
- 2 cups water
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro for garnish
Pot in pot Rice (optional)
- 1 cup white rice
- 1½ cups water
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Soak black eyed peas in 3 cups of water overnight or 6 hours. Drain all the water and keep it aside.
- Rinse and drain the rice. Add water and salt and keep aside.
- Blend cumin seeds, coconut, onion, tomato, ginger and garlic to make a smooth paste.
- Turn the Instant Pot to Saute(more) mode and heat oil. Add mustard seeds and allow them to crackle. Add asafetida and turmeric. Add the onion and tomato paste and cook for a minute stirring frequently.
- Add red chili powder, cumin and coriander powder, garam masala and salt. Mix well. Put a glass lid on and cook for 3-4 mins.
- Open the glass lid and mix everything once more. Making sure no spices are stuck to the bottom of the pot.
- Add jaggery, black eyed peas and water. Give a quick stir.
- Put a tall trivet in the pot. Put the rice container on top of the trivet.
- Close the Instant Pot lid with pressure valve to sealing. Pressure Cook for 8 minutes. Open after 10 mins or allow full natural pressure release.
- Remove the rice container. Remove the trivet. Garnish with chopped cilantro. Enjoy hot!
Notes
Nutrition
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pat says
I enjoy your blog and have bookmarked some recipes, cooked rice your way etc. But I have an old fashioned pressure cooker. It would be useful to mention directions occasionally for them, esp if they are very different from the new Instapots. thanks
Archana says
Sure I will do that! Every recipe is different but in general 1 whistle in traditional pressure cooker is equivalent of 2 mins of pressure cooking in the Instant Pot
Chris says
I don't own an IP or pressure cooker, but can easily see how a recipe works for stove top or oven. I just bought a bag of dried black eyed peas for the traditional new year's meal, and am planning to make this recipe. (Without that terrible smelling asafetida! I bought a small container, couple of years ago, and thought it had gone bad ... whoa!)
Archana says
Yes, especially black eyed peas that cook fast on stove top too.
Lisa says
The ingredient list mentioned a ripe tomato, while the instructions referenced tomato paste. Are they interchangeable?
DV says
Great recipe! Quick and easy
Veena says
Perfect spice blend and a healthy soul filling recipe
Lisa says
Please disregard my previous comment concerning fresh tomatoes and tomato paste. After reading the older comments, and re-reading the recipe, I realize there isn’t tomato paste in the recipe, however you make a paste with the fresh tomato. The instructions are clear.
Maneesha says
beautiful recipe! Loved it!!
Jo says
Hi Archana,
I have your cookbook and I absolutely love this recipe, and have made it multiple times. Every veg recipe I have made from your book tastes great (only cook veg), and most of the lentil and dal ones are my weekly lunch staples for work.
I have a collection of instant pot cookbooks, but yours is the only one that gives consistently great results. I have found the other books (by well known authors) a bit hit and miss and sometimes bland. So thank you .
I’m only now exploring your website and have picked out a few yummies to make this weekend.
Thank you again,
Jo
Archana says
Thank you Jo! You made my day! If you haven't already please do review the book on amazon too.
allison says
hi there! Huge fan of your blog and cookbook! If i wanted to add some meat protein to this, how would you recommend doing it? I'm thinking of a ground chicken or turkey.
Archana says
Both ground chicken and turkey will be great! Stir it in before adding the black-eyed peas and follow the remaining recipe as is. You will need 1 teaspoon of kosher salt for 1 to 1.5 lbs of ground meat
Christine Whittington says
This dish looks fantastic and it would be great variation on our usual black-eyed pea New Year's dishes. However--I detest shredded coconut. It is the only food that I truly dislike! It is a texture thing for me. I can't eat it in any foods, from candy bars to carrot cake to curries! I am fine with very smooth coconut milk and frequently do add it to curries. Do you think it work to omit the coconut and add some coconut milk? Maybe replace some of the water with coconut milk?
Archana Mundhe says
Hi Christine, yes you can substitute the shredded coconut with coconut milk. Like you already mentioned replace some of the water with coconut milk. I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as my family does.
Kay says
I made this in a super lazy way. Dumped all spices at once, didn’t purée tomatoes or sautee them and just layered them carefully on top (mixing in tomatoes sometimes triggers a burn warning for me). Didn’t puree anything actually. Still turned out great, better than other similar recipes for black eyed pea curry, would make again!
Archana Mundhe says
I love this so much! That is exactly the kind of cooking I am here for. You made it work for your pot, your way, and it still turned out great. Thank you for sharing your tips. So glad you enjoyed it!