Instant Pot Black Eyed Peas Curry | Lobia Curry

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.

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.

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.

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).

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).

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).

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.

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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

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