Black-Eyed Peas Curry / Lobiya Masala / Chawalie Masala

"Eating Black-Eyed Peas on New Year's Day is thought to bring prosperity", I recently came to know this through Wikipedia. My Mom's Black-Eyed peas curry is always very spicy and terrific. According to her, the other bean curries can be made more tastier by using the specific spices/masalas specially made for those curries, but Black-Eyed peas curry is made with the spices used in our daily diet. So, the most important step in making this curry is to cook the spices in a very well manner to get the terrific taste.






















Directions:



Black Beans do not require pre-cooking. But since i will not be using pressure cooker for making this recipe, so i'll pre-cook beans in microwave.
To cook beans in your microwave, place drained, soaked beans in a container with 6-8 cups of fresh hot water, cover and cook at full power for 8-10 minutes or until boiling. Reduce power 50% and cook another 15-20 minutes or until beans are tender. Drain and reserve water for curry.
Heat the oil in a deep, thick-bottomed pan on a medium flame.
Add the cumin seeds and allow them to cook for a minute or so.
Add garlic and saute 1 minute.
Add finely chopped onions and fry until the onions become slightly translucent.
Now add the sliced onions and fry for another 1-2 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a separate bowl add coriander powder, cumin powder, red chili powder, turmeric powder and ginger paste along with 2-3 tsp water and mix well.
Add the above paste to the pan and let this cook for atleast 5-7 minutes or until the mixture starts leaving oil, stirring occasionally.
Add tomatoes. Cover and cook this mixture for 8-10 minutes till everything gets mushed up.
Now add beans, salt and required amount of water according to the desired gravy thickness.
Cover and cook for 15-20 minutes.
Use a masher to mash some of the beans coarsely. Mix well.
Add garam-masala just before taking off the flame.
Garnish with fresh cilantro leaves.
Serve hot with rice, roti or any Indian bread.


Good chefs always taste their Recipe.....Go Ahead....And say Wow.



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