Black Eyed Pea Coconut Curry

Please forgive me for being slightly misleading with my title.

There are no black eyed peas in this dish.

There should have been but in Rob’s enthusiasm to clean out the freezer, we swapped cooked flageolet beans. Considering the beans are completely smothered in the coconut curry sauce (true to the title of the recipe), one may not be the wiser.

Through fortuitous planning, nearly every New Year I share a new recipe for black eyed peas:

2011: Garlicky and Lemony Black Eyed Pea and Kale Salad

2012: Trinidadian Black Eyed Pea Stew

2013: Hillbillly Hummus and Smoky Black Eyed Pea and Kale Stew

2014: Southern Black Eyed Peas with Stewed Tomatoes

2015: Black Eyed Pea and Collard Green Chili

 

This dish was Rob’s creation, using the recipe for Coconut Smothered Black Eyed Peas from 660 Curries as his inspiration while using odds and ends from the freezer. Instead of using fresh/frozen coconut, a thick sauce was created with coconut milk. Spiced simply with cumin, mustard seeds and curry leaves, this curry was more than the sum of its parts and utterly delicious. There was excellent sauce to bean ratio, and we probably could have added more beans.

We served it with naan and only got 3 servings with it. Next time, I’d double it so we could eat it longer. As with all curries, the flavours were still wonderful as leftovers… and even made decent photos. 😉

Looking for another black eyed pea curry? Try this Goan-Style Black Eyed Pea Curry.

 

Black Eyed Pea Coconut Curry
Adapted from 660 Curries (original recipe here)

2 cups cooked flageolet beans (the original recipe calls for 1 cup dry black eyed peas)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, seeds and stem/pith removed
1 cup coconut milk
1 tsp salt, or to taste
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/4 tsp ground turmeric
1 tbsp coconut oil
1 tsp mustard seeds (we used yellow)
12 medium/large fresh curry leaves

1. In a blender, place onion, jalapeno pepper, coconut milk, salt and cumin seeds. Blend until smooth.
2. In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, place cooked beans and stir in the coconut mixture. Stir in the turmeric. Keep uncovered and stir occasionally until the flavours meld.
3. Meanwhile, in a small skillet over medium-high heat, heat the oil. Add the mustard seeds, cover the skillet and cook until the seeds have stopped popping, around 30 seconds. Remove from heat and add the curry leaves. Be careful because they will splatter upon contact. Stir this into the coconut/bean mixture.
4. Serve with naan, roti or rice.

Serves 3.