We’ve recently discovered Jenny Lewis (seriously, how have we never listened to her before?) and the old school country music influence that comes through in her songs has put me in the mood for some southern cooking. Either that or we’ve simply been eating a bit too much junk lately and I was craving something nutritious (probably the latter, but whatever, Jenny Lewis, southern food, makes sense to me!). I went with this tried and true recipe that combines black-eyed peas, Indian spices, kale and a handful of other ingredients for a delicious, hearty, affordable meal.
This Indian Spiced Black-Eyed Peas recipe is the first of many healthy recipes to make in big batches which I will be sharing with y’all. I like to cook ahead for the week on Sundays which generally means that we eat healthier throughout the workweek when we are more pressed for time, otherwise we end up grabbing takeout, or even worse, fast food! That stuff is all okay in moderation, but we both feel better and more energetic throughout the week if we’re eating healthy.
Enough about practical things, let’s get to the black-eyed peas. I love black-eyed peas. I’m a born and bred Southern girl and therefore black-eyed peas are kind of in my blood. They are one of my favorite beans and I cook them every New Year’s Day along with greens because y’all know the spiel about good luck and money, and also because it’s simply a good excuse to cook two of my favorite foods. Black-eyed peas don’t require much fuss once you get them going and they don’t need a pre-soak like other beans, which just adds to the myriad of black-eyed pea awesomeness.
This is not authentic Indian fare, but rather my own take using spices found in Indian cuisine like turmeric, coriander, cumin, ginger and cayenne, combined with my own twist of tarragon and smoked paprika. You’ll probably see me incorporate these spices into my recipes regularly as they are some of my faves. I keep my spice cabinet well-stocked with a diverse array of spices; they are a great healthy way to add lots of flavor to your cooking.
I pretty much put onions and garlic in everything, and they are a must-have in this dish. Shoutout to MC’s mom here for the cute purple garlic twist you see in the picture above; she just introduced me to this genius device a few months ago and it’s become one of my favorite kitchen tools. Makes mincing garlic so simple and keeps the smell off your hands, love it!
I don’t ever make black-eyed peas without greens, because why would you? I’ve used kale here because it’s sold pre-cut in large bags at our regular grocery store and is generally what I have on hand, but I like to switch it up sometimes and use mustard or collard greens which work equally as well.
The finishing touches to the Indian Spiced Black-Eyed Peas Recipe are shredded carrots to add some color, soy sauce for a flavor boost, hot sauce because we like it spicy, and a bit of half & half to lend a creamy texture.
I serve the black-eyed peas over prepared brown rice, topped with a dollop of plain greek yogurt and a sprinkling of pickled onions, both of which complement the dish perfectly and make a nice presentation. You can substitute sour cream for the yogurt if you prefer, and fresh green onions work well if you don’t want to make pickled onions.
This dish reheats well, and I actually prefer to let it sit overnight before serving as it gives the spices time to meld and the flavor improves. It’s a great make-ahead meal and you can get 6-8 servings out of one batch. This amount covers our lunches for half of the week, so great to make on a lazy Sunday evening. Hope y’all like it and let me know what you think in the comments!
Indian Spiced Black-Eyed Peas Recipe
(6-8 servings)
- 1 tbsp coconut oil or butter
- 1 lg sweet yellow onion, chopped
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 5 oz shredded carrots
- 1 lb dried black-eyed peas, sorted and rinsed
- 1 tbsp cumin
- 2 tsp coriander
- 2 tsp tarragon
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp ginger
- ¼ tsp cayenne
- 6 c water
- ½ tsp sea salt
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- ¾ c half & half
- 8 oz kale, torn into pieces
- hot sauce, optional
Garnish
- plain greek yogurt or sour cream
- homemade pickled onions or fresh green onions
Brown Rice
- 2 c brown rice
- 4 bay leaves
- ½ tsp salt
Method
Heat oil or butter in large pot over medium heat. Add onion and saute 3-5 minutes until transparent, then add garlic and carrots and cook another minute. Stir in black-eyed peas, then stir in spices until everything is evenly coated. Pour in water, add salt and soy sauce, stir to combine. Cover loosely and cook over medium heat until black-eyed peas are tender, about 1-1.5 hours. During last 10 minutes of cooking, stir in half & half, then add kale in batches, stirring in between additions to wilt. Cover and cook until done. Taste and add salt and hot sauce to taste.
While black-eyed peas are cooking, prepare brown rice according to package or rice cooker directions, adding 4 bay leaves and ½ tsp salt. Remove bay leaves before serving. You can substitute any kind of rice you prefer, or serve with naan or cornbread instead.
Serve black-eyed peas ladled over rice and topped with plain greek yogurt and pickled onions with extra hot sauce on the side. The black-eyed peas are even better the next day and reheat well, so feel free to make ahead!