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    Home » Indian

    Instant Pot Black Eyed Peas Curry | Lobia Curry

    Published: Dec 4, 2020 · Modified: May 18, 2021 by Archana · This post may contain affiliate links · As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases · 53 Comments

    1398 shares
    Jump to Recipe

    Black Eyed Peas Curry cooked in a smooth 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.

    Black eyed peas curry served with roti and rice

    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.

    Black eyed peas curry with roti and rice

    Prep

    This is my mom's recipe that I grew up eating. To begin, soak black-eyed peas in water overnight or at least 4 hours. Blend together onion, tomatoes, coconut, cumin seeds, ginger, and garlic to make a smooth paste which is the base masala for this recipe (photos 1 - 3). Photo 4 shows soaked peas and other spices for this recipe.

    Prep for black eyed peas curry

    Once the spice paste is ready, this recipe is easy to cook in Instant Pot. You can also cook white rice at the same time as the Pot in Pot cooking, so you have the whole meal ready in no time! Let me show you detailed step by step photos here:

    Process

    Step1: 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 (5 - 8).

    sautéing spice and masala

    Step 2: Open the glass lid and mix everything, making sure 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 pressure valve to sealing. Cook on Pressure Cook/ Manual(Hi) for 8 minutes photos (9 - 12).

    cooking black eyed peas with rice in the instant pot

    Step 3: 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 (13 - 14).

    steamed rice and curried black eyed peas in the Instant Pot

    Serving

    On busy weeknights we enjoy the black-eyed peas curry with the pot in pot steamed rice. Here are few other ideas to serve this delicious Indian curry. You can either make thin phulka rotis or layered whole wheat 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 perfectly round up this meal.

    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.

    ★ Have you tried this recipe? We love your feedback, Please click on the stars in the recipe card below to rate.

    Tried this recipe? We love your feedback.Please click on the stars in the recipe card below
    black eyed peas curry with rice
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    4.66 from 38 votes

    Instant Pot Black Eyed Peas Curry with Rice

    Black Eyed Peas Curry - Onion, tomatoes and coconut based curry spiced with turmeric, red chili powder and garam masala.
    Prep Time20 mins
    Cook Time30 mins
    Total Time50 mins
    Course: Entree
    Cuisine: Indian
    Servings: 6
    Calories: 217kcal
    Author: Archana Mundhe

    Equipment

    • Instant Pot Pressure Cooker
    • Tall Trivet
    • Stainless steel pot

    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 cooking 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!

    Video

    Notes

    If you do not have time to soak the beans, simply increase the pressure cook time to 20 mins and allow natural pressure release. With the increased cook time, you can make pot in pot brown rice instead of white rice

    Nutrition

    Calories: 217kcal | Carbohydrates: 38g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 1201mg | Potassium: 261mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 620IU | Vitamin C: 6.5mg | Calcium: 40mg | Iron: 2mg
    Tried this recipe?Share your photo and tag @ministry_of_curry or tag #ministryofcurry

    ♥ We LOVE to hear from you! Did you try this recipe? Please share your food photo with hashtag #ministryofcurry on Facebook or Instagram, so we can see it and our followers can enjoy it too! Thank you and Happy Cooking ♥ Subscribe to our Youtube Channel for tasty and easy video recipes. Looking for more Instant Pot recipes? Check out our delicious Instant Pot Recipe board on Pinterest.

    Author: Archana

    Hey there! I am a techie turned recipe developer, cooking instructor, and food blogger. I love food and enjoy developing easy and healthy recipes for busy lifestyles. I live in New Jersey with my husband and two sons.
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    1. pat says

      December 09, 2020 at 7:42 am

      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

      Reply
      • Archana says

        December 10, 2020 at 12:53 pm

        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

        Reply
    2. Chris says

      December 30, 2020 at 10:12 pm

      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!)5 stars

      Reply
      • Archana says

        January 02, 2021 at 3:23 pm

        Yes, especially black eyed peas that cook fast on stove top too.

        Reply
    3. Lisa says

      January 24, 2021 at 5:28 pm

      The ingredient list mentioned a ripe tomato, while the instructions referenced tomato paste. Are they interchangeable?

      Reply
    4. DV says

      January 24, 2021 at 6:48 pm

      Great recipe! Quick and easy5 stars

      Reply
    5. Veena says

      January 24, 2021 at 8:39 pm

      Perfect spice blend and a healthy soul filling recipe5 stars

      Reply
    6. Lisa says

      January 25, 2021 at 1:26 am

      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.

      Reply
    7. Maneesha says

      March 19, 2021 at 4:44 pm

      beautiful recipe! Loved it!!5 stars

      Reply
    8. Jo says

      September 23, 2022 at 8:21 pm

      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,
      Jo5 stars

      Reply
      • Archana says

        September 26, 2022 at 9:26 pm

        Thank you Jo! You made my day! If you haven't already please do review the book on amazon too.

        Reply
    9. allison says

      October 26, 2022 at 2:03 pm

      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.

      Reply
      • Archana says

        October 26, 2022 at 5:19 pm

        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

        Reply
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    Hi, I'm Archana: a former software engineer, now a full-time blogger. I am a mother of two boys who share my love for food and cooking. Words I love to hear are, “Mom, what’s for dinner?” The same words I say to my mom every time we speak. I live in the greater New York City Area with my husband and sons.

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