Black-Eyed Pea and Urad Dal Curry

This has become my husband’s favorite bean dish, after I added two magical ingredients (generous amounts) to this classic Indian dal curry to make the flavors more complex and interesting to our palate. There are several special things about this dish: First, CC#1 who is our family’s pioneer into Indian cuisine, introduced me to this dish originated from her Instant Pot Indian Cookbook. She and I both need to eat less carbs and sugar on doctor’s orders so this seems like the perfect direction to explore.

Second, we had our first bitter encounter with whole urad dal (with black skin). The dal tasted so bitter that CC#1 noted in her cookbook that she mighted have added too much garam marsala. I had only used skinned and split urad dal which is creamy white and tastes quite bland to make dosa. It turns out whole urad dal must be soaked for 24 hours to lose the bitterness. They actually turned green! I learned later that urad dal are closely related to mung beans. What a wonderful discovery though because whole urad dal is now my most favorite legume for making Indian dal curries.

This is Indian food week for me and hubby. He wants to eat vegetarian but I am the one making the meals. With just the two of us, it is easier for me to lean heavily toward no meat dishes. Indian cuisine offers so many good choices. This dish pairs well with rice, dosa, or roti, but one is able to ditch more carbs by pairing with the additive 100% chickpea cake introduced by CC#1.

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup dry black-eyed peas

  • 1/2 cup whole urad dal (black, not skinned white ones)

  • 2-3 whole canned tomatoes, diced

  • 1 yellow onion, diced

  • 3 cups water

  • 3-5 garlic cloves, minced

  • 1 tbsp ginger, minced

  • 2 tsp kosher salt (Diamond)

  • 2 tbsp canola oil

  • 1 tsp cumin seeds

  • 1/2 tsp turmeric

  • 1/2 tsp ground cumin

  • 1/2 ground coriander

  • 1 dried chili, crushed

  • 1/2 tsp garam masala

  • 1 tbsp dried fenugreek leaves

  • 2 tsp salt (may need more after dish is cooked)

  • 1/4 cup heavy cream

  • 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped (optional)

  • 1/3 - 1/2 cup raw cashews

  • 1/3 cup raisins

Instructions:

  • Soak both beans for 24 hours, change water several times

  • Cook soaked beans, tomatoes, and chopped onions in 3 cups of water in pressure cooker for 25 minutes

  • Cook cumin seeds in oil on medium high heat for 1-2 minutes until very fragrant

  • Add ginger and garlic and cook for another 1-2 minutes

  • Add all spices (except fenugreek leaves) and cook for 1-2 minutes

  • Add in bean mixture, cashews, raisins, fenugreek leaves in one pot

  • Cook for about 5-10 minutes

  • Off heat, stir in cream



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