Lucky peas

Isn’t there some good luck thing with black eyed peas and the new year?  I swear I recall some tradition of the sort.  It’s still January, so I think this recipe counts.

[Edited to add: I just looked this up to confirm that eating black eyed peas on New Year’s Day is in fact a good luck tradition, as they are supposed to bring prosperity]

Better late than never right?

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I’ve always had a weird fascination with black eyed peas.  The black and white thing is creepy to me.  Don’t they look evil? 

There’s a resemblance, no?  Ok, maybe not. 

Whatever.  I’ve been wanting to use them in a recipe ever since I saw Angela’s recent masala creation (the whole New Year’s thing is just an added bonus).  So at the beginning of the week I put some black eyed peas in a jar to get soaking.

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Soaking isn’t necessary, but it does help decrease the cooking time (how eco-friendly!).  Plus – as with all other foods that are soaked – it makes the nutrients more readily available for your body. 

I’ve also heard that soaking beans prior to cooking them allows them to slowly absorb the liquid they need to cook evenly and completely so they don’t split open, lose their skins, or cook only the outer surface while the middle remains hard.  Because who likes unevenly cooked beans?  Not I. 

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After just one night of soaking, they absorbed all the liquid and practically doubled in size! 

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I rinsed them and added more water…and continued to do this for the next few days.

Then it was masala time!  I followed Angela’s recipe pretty precisely, but used coconut water in place of regular water, fresh tomatoes instead of canned and added in corn for extra fiber and color.

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Onions simmering. 

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Spices assembled.

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Beans cooking.

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Tomatoes added.

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Beans added.

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Corn added.

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Spices added.

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Kyle’s was served over white rice, while mine was piled on steamed kale.

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Both of us agreed this was a perfectly harmonious blend of spices.  Not too strong, but definitely present. 

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Clearly I need to make more Indian food because we were both huge fans. 

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Comments (14)

  1. brothern8ture

    Haha. This looks like an absolutely delicious meal, don’t get me wrong. But that bottle of what I am assuming is “Cumin” has worn off to the point where it has become funny. I am a little kid, I know. And soaking beans is the way to go. I feel like it is better for our bodies rather than forcing the beans to cook from completely dry in a short amount of time.

  2. movesnmunchies

    those look fabulous!! i have never had black eyed peas.. what do they taste like??

  3. kissmybroccoli

    Ya-um! I used to hate black-eyed peas. I always thought they tasted like dirt. My mom would make us eat at least one every New Year’s Day…and that is what I would do, spoon ONE little bean into my mouth and choke it down with a glass of water! Then I discovered dried beans! Yeah, they taste NOTHING like the canned stuff!

    Can’t wait to try this recipe. I love Indian flavors, but I prefer making it at home since I tend to be a weeny when it comes to spicy stuff!

  4. julie

    i feeeel like this is the perfect game day meal. i also feel like your quinoa and pb is the perfect game day meal. i also feel like every meal is the perf game day meal.

    i’m nervousited can you tell?

  5. Pingback: The Cove « hungry hungry hippie

  6. elise

    youre a perv…hahaha…but now im going to think of that EVERY time i use it. damn you.

  7. elise

    like a cross between a kidney bean and a chickpea? kinda? hard to identify. they’re beany. haha.

  8. MarathonVal

    I rarely pimp out my own recipes on other blogs, but I have to give a shout out to my Coconut Curry Black Eyed Peas with Carrots and Tomatoes, I’m completely obsessed!

    http://www.veganbyvalerie.com/2010/12/31/coconut-curry-black-eyed-peas-with-carrots-and-tomatoes/

  9. Megan

    Long time stalker (daily), but a first time commenter here. I’m also a big fan of OSG, and my husband was looking over my shoulder when she posted about the Black Eye Pea Masala on the 8th. He asked for it for weeks, so I actually made this the other day too. He loved it!! I can’t wait to tell him that the Hungry Hippie posted about OSG masala too 🙂

  10. Carin

    oh lands. i need to watch the cove. have you watched earthlings yet? it’s available full=length on their website. i was bawling through about an hour of the hour and a half, and i now KNOW i’ll never touch a meat product again and dariy and eggs are losing ground….

    black eyed peas taste like peat moss smells to me, if that makes any sense. maybe i should try making them like that. it looks good!

  11. elise

    ive heard the same thing from multiple people about earthlings…im working up the nerve still…

    peat moss?

  12. Laura

    This looks like a variation of that corn/bean/sausage thing that Marie was always obsessed with…

    (thats all…)

  13. Pingback: Crash and burn « hungry hungry hippie

  14. elise

    i thought marie hated that dish?

Comments are closed.