Black eye bean curry is a delicious vegetarian dish served with rice or with a flat bread and salad.
Use beans which have been pre-soaked overnight with 1 tablespoon of yoghurt added to the soaking water. This makes the beans easier to digest and makes the nutrients more available.The beans may be prepared by simmering in a slow cooker or in a normal cooking pan. To save time they may also be prepared in a pressure cooker.
Ingredients
500g of black eye beans which have been pre-soaked overnight and then been rinsed and drained
1 onion
1 garlic bulb
1 inch cube of fresh ginger
1 green chilli
1 cup chopped tomato
1 tablespoon of organic clarified butter
1 tsp cumin seed
1 tsp coriander seed
½ tsp black peppercorns
½ tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp Himalayan or Celtic sea salt
¾ tsp turmeric
¼ cup chopped coriander
Method
- In a heavy bottom pan, lightly toast cumin, coriander, black peppercorns and mustard seeds. When the aromatic flavours from these spices has been released, grind them either using a mortar/pestle or in a coffee grinder. Store spice mixture in glass jar.
- Peel onion, garlic and ginger.
- Finely chop onion, garlic, ginger and chilli by hand or in a in a food processor
- Melt clarified butter in a suitable cooking pan and add the chopped onion, garlic, ginger and chilli mixture. Gently cook, until soft and translucent. If necessary add a little water to stop the mixture from sticking and burning.
- Add chopped tomato, salt, turmeric and 1 tsp of the ground spice mixture to the onion mixture and stir. This is the base of the curry sauce and is known as masala.
- Cover pan and reduce heat to gently cook the masala for 5 minutes. Add some water if masala becomes too thick and sticks to the pan.
- Add soaked black eye beans to the masala and stir.
- Add enough water to cover and cook the beans
- Bring the curry sauce gently up to boiling and then lower heat and simmer
- Check seasonings and adjust if necessary
- Continue gently cooking until the beans are tender. A pressure cooker helps to shorten cooking times
- Turn off heat and add chopped coriander
If a milder curry is preferred reduce or omit black peppercorns and green chilli or add more if a spicier curry is preferred it’s up to you.