Black-eyed pea curry

One lazy sunday afternoon, I was wondering what to cook up for lunch. My fridge was almost empty and that's when I discovered a packet of black-eye pea sitting in the shelf. Black-eye pea or Lobia is common to California and it is low in fat and rich in protein and fiber. Although in South India we do not make this often, Lobia curry is famous in Punjab and it can be served with hot rotis.

Canned black-eyed peas are easier to cook but I prefer to use the packet version. The packet version peas have to be soaked overnight preferably.

Once the peas are soaked and ready to be cooked, dice a medium sized onion, some chilies, garlic, and tomatoes. 

In a pressure cooker, heat up oil and add cloves, cardamom, bay leaf and cinnamon. 

Once the aromas of the spices have come out, add cumin seeds (jeera). 

Next, add in the chopped garlic. 

Add in the chopped onions and mix. 

After the onions are sauteed till they are translucent, add green chillies, and tomatoes. Add in turmeric powder, chilli powder, cumin powder and coriander powder. 

Once the spices have lost their raw smell, add in the soaked black-eyed peas. Add in 2-3 cups of water. 

Mix everything well. Add in salt. Now put the lid on and pressure cook this for around 4 whistles. Tada, yummy black-eyed peas curry is now ready to be savored hot with rotis or rice. 

If you want to add cream/milk to thicken the consistency, you can do so at the end. This is optional. You can also garnish with chopped cilantro leaves. 

Fiery red chilli chutney

Xiao got me some amazing fresh red chillies from his backyard last week. In South India, we are huge fans of chillies that are super hot! So when I got these chillies, I decided to make a spicy red chilli chutney with it.

Ingredients

Red chillies - 10-12 (Fresh or dry)
Red onion- 1/4 (cut into small pieces); if you can get hold of shallots, use those. the flavor comes out much better.
Asafoetida - a pinch
Garlic- 1-2 pods
Tamarind- a small ball/1 tsp paste
Salt to taste

Preparation

1. Heat oil and fry the red chillies for 2-3 minutes till they start to glisten.

2. Once the red chillies are done, take them off the fire and put in the cut onions. Fry them till they are golden brown. 

3. Next, put in the garlic pods (you can mince them or put it in as pods), add the asafoetida and the salt.

4. Mix everything together nicely and switch off the fire. Now add in the tamarind and combine well. 

5. Wait for the mixture to cool and blend it in a blender, along with the red chillies. Your red chilli chutney is now ready! 

6. Serve this red chilli chutney with hot, hot dosas.