It is the bank holiday weekend. I am feeling lazy and there is not much in the way of food in the house. Driving back from the south coast after spending time with family left me with a craving for an old childhood favourite- black eye beans. I decided that I would try and make it curry style this time.

Ingredients

• 1 cup dried black-eyed peas (2 1/2 cups cooked)
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon minced ginger
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 teaspoon cumin powder
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 2 teaspoons garam masala (see note below)
• 1 tablespoon coriander powder
• 3 tomatoes, diced
• 1 cup coconut milk
• Salt, to taste
• A bunch of fresh cilantro, chopped, for garnish

Methods

1. Rinse and pick through the black-eyed peas. Put them in a pot and cover with water and add salt to taste. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer and cook until the beans are soft, 30-45 minutes. Drain.
2. While the beans are cooking, prepare the coconut curry sauce. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the cumin seeds and fry, stirring, for 20 – 30 seconds or until the seeds are fragrant and begin to crackle.
3. Reduce the heat to medium and add the onion. Fry until transparent then add the garlic and ginger and fry until soft. Add all the spice powders and fry, stirring, for about a minute or until they release their aroma.
4. Add the tomato and raise heat to medium-high. Simmer, stirring occasionally and crushing the tomatoes with the back of your spoon until you get a thick sauce. Add the black-eyed peas, coconut milk and salt to taste. Simmer for a couple of minutes or until the sauce reaches the consistency that you like.

Final product was nice but sans chilli powder and a few other ingredients, and eaten with rice. The remainder has been frozen down and will make for a nice lunch next week.