Saucy Black Eyed Peas with Stewed Tomatoes and, of course, Spices

And a full-proof technique to cook pulses

Do you know what is the difference between beans, peas, lentils, legumes and pulses? The information-infested brain uses these words, knows they are closely related but if asked specifically, one draws a blank. While searching online, it struck me that just 40-50 years back, people either consulted someone knowledgeable in the community or went to the library to research questions like this! That seems wild and quaint in today’s time, but it also explains why they did not have an attention span of a bee nor a colander for a brain.

Legumes is the broadest term of all, the parent category which encompasses beans, peas, lentils and pulses. Legumes are any seeds that grow in a pod and pulses are types of legumes that are dry seeds (so peanuts and soybeans are legumes but not pulses). Beans, peas, lentils are pulses with unique characteristics, flavors and cooking styles. To find out more, please go to usapulses.org

Pulses are inexpensive, adaptable across cuisines and recipes, easy to cook, forgiving to errors, immensely scalable, welcoming to a wide variety of spices and flavorings while being nutritious, satiating and finger-licking tasty.

Black chickpeas, red lentils, whole urad, whole mung, split mung, garbanzo beans - L to R

India is a legume country. We eat them as and in curries, dals, sabjis, bhajiyas, pakodas, meats and even desserts. ChutneyLovers will cover them in their many splendored glories.

The big question with many beans and peas is to soak or not to soak. My Indian DNA does not allow me to proceed without soaking but black eyed peas do not need to be soaked. But do remember that cooking time (1 hour for peas soaked for 3 hours) may increase by 15 -30 minutes depending on the age of peas.

RECIPE- Saucy Black Eyed Peas with Stewed Tomatoes and, of course, Spices

This is the second pulses recipe of ChutneyLovers, the first one being Savory, Gluten-free Mung Bean Pancakes.

Ingredients

• 1 cup black eyed peas

• 2” piece of cinnamon

• ½ piece star anise

• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt divided

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

• ½ teaspoon cumin seeds

• ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder

• 1 cup diced tomatoes (roma tomatoes cut into ½” pieces) or ½ cup canned diced tomatoes

• 1 teaspoon peeled, grated ginger

• ½ teaspoon sugar

• ½ teaspoon coriander powder

• ¼ teaspoon red chile powder (Buy the Kashmiri red chile powder from the Asian store, it has a lovely crimson hue and a touch of heat)

• 1/4 teaspoon garam masala

• 1 teaspoon kasuri methi

Method

• Pour 1 cup black eyed peas (BEPs) in a mixing bowl and wash them under running water. Drain the water and add 4 cups of fresh water to the beans. Set the bowl aside for 3 hours.

• After 3 hours, drain the water and place the beans in a thick-bottomed pot, pour in 6 cups of water.

• Add 2” long piece of cinnamon and star anise to the pot along with ½ teaspoon salt. Turn the heat to medium and boil.

  

• In about 20 minutes, the kitchen will be filled with the warm and fuzzy aroma of spices.

• The BEPs will take about an hour to become squishy soft. Crush a pea between your thumb and index finger and if it gets squished without any force, the peas are ready. Boil for another 15 minutes if the pea feels resistant to force and repeat the crush test.

• Fish out the cinnamon and star anise and discard. We will use the BEPs along with their liquid. Taste the boiled peas, they are a delight to snack.

• Rinse and wipe the same pot dry and place it on medium heat, pour 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in it.

• After waiting for 2 minutes for the oil to heat up, add ½ teaspoon cumin seeds to the oil.

• Once the cumin seeds stop sizzling, add 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder

• Combine in the 1 cup diced tomatoes and 1 teaspoon grated ginger along with 3/4 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon sugar.

• The tomatoes will start breaking down right away and stewing in their own juices.

Tomatoes stewing

• In 7-8 minutes, the juices will evaporate, and the flavor will concentrate in the jam-like (I’m allergic to the word jammy) tomatoes. You will see oil bubbling at the edges of the tomatoes.

• Add ½ teaspoon coriander powder, ¼ teaspoon red chile powder to the tomatoes. Stir well and cook for 2 minutes. The oil will start secreting again.

• Pour in the peas, the liquid and 1 cup water in the tomato mixture.

• Increase the heat to high and let the peas come to a boil which should take about 7 minutes. Crush the peas with the back of the sauté spoon, this crushed paste thickens the sauce organically and transforms the dish from a runny, watery work-in-progress to a rich finale.

• Take 1 teaspoon kasuri methi (find more about this wonder herb in the next section) in the palm of a hand and crush it with the other palm. Add it to the peas along with 1/4 teaspoon garam masala.

• Mix well, cook for a minute and turn the heat off. Serve hot with rice, bread or pita bread. I love to eat a bowl topped with diced cucumbers. Diced onions and tomatoes are fitting garnishes too.

My lunch

Because I can’t resist a vanity shot

TECHNIQUE – COOKING BEANS/PEAS

Follow this template for cooking any beans or peas –

Cook the beans till they are squishy soft in water with dry spices of your choice – cloves, cinnamon, black peppercorns, bay leaf, star anise, black cardamom are worthy flavor contributors. Use a pressure cooker, slow cooker or Instant Pot but stovetop cooking is a slightly long but fine method too. Treasure the liquid generated in the process of cooking these pulses, it is what will give your dish a velvety, semi-viscous sauce.

Start with tadka of cumin seeds, stew the tomatoes in it with dry spices like coriander powder, red chile powder and garam masala. Make sure the tomatoes break down and in the process of stewing, lose their moisture and start secreting oil.

Add cooked legumes to the stewed tomatoes and let this mixture boil. Adjust the consistency as per your preference.

Garnish with chopped cilantro, parsley or mint or a combo as per your liking.

Kasuri methi is a flavor booster herb that I believe you should have in your pantry. Methi is fenugreek - both the seeds and leaves are intensely loved in Indian kitchens. Methi has a bitter flavor which transforms into a haunting savoriness upon cooking. This bitterness mellows once the leaves are dried and a perfect antidote against richness of Indian meat or paneer curries. I love to add kasuri methi to any tomato-heavy saucy dish and it will add an x-flavor to tomato sauce too. Try it.

CHRONOLOGY OF STEPS

• Soak the black eyed peas or not

• Boil the peas

• Watch one episode of The Diplomat

• Cut the tomatoes, grate ginger

• Cook the peas

SHOPPING LIST

• Garam Masala – MDH Garam Masala

• Kasuri methi - Everest Kasuri Methi

• Kashmiri Red Chile powder - Deep Red Chile Powder Kashmiri

Stay tuned for the next meal of ChutneyLovers. It’s going to be a knockout – a no scrap, no waste meal from - hold your breath – bananas.