I have been a vegetarian my entire life and yet I am sure I never fell short on my protein intake. Dairy and different legumes are the major sources of protein for me and most Indians (even the ones that eat meat). The black eye beans are one such legumes I grew up eating and now I cook for my family to meet with their protein requirements. These beans are an excellent source of protein (8%), dietary fibre (28%) and several micronutrients (iron, thiamine, folate).
While I have always loved different legume curries, I know these curries could be less tempting for some (mostly little humans!). Well I have learned an awesome trick to make these black eyed beans or any legume curry delicious. We know that adding salt to cakes and brownies enhance their flavor. Similarly, adding a little sweetness (trust me it makes a huge difference) with some acidity from lemon juice or curd brings a perfect balance of flavors in legume curries and makes them utterly delicious. I know adding sweetness sounds very gujarati-ish but seriously this hack has worked for all of my legume dishes.
Black eye beans or choda curry is a perfect comfort food that is both- healthy and tasty. It is filling and sometimes heavy so we usually prefer it for dinner or a weekend lunch. We eat it as a gujarati thali- choda curry, bajra rotla, rice, salad and papad, but it goes just as well with parathas or jeera rice. Do give it a try and let me know if you too like this curry or not.
Serves 4 | Prep time: 10 minutes(6-8 hrs for soaking black eye beans) | Cook time: 25-30 minutes
Ingredients
- 2 cups dry black eye beans
- 2 medium onions – finely chopped
- 3 medium tomatoes – finely chopped
- 1 tbsp – ginger garlic paste
- 3-4 green chillies – finely chopped
- ½ cup – whisked yogurt
- 1 tbsp – lemon juice
- â…“ cup – jaggery
- ½ tsp – turmeric powder
- ½ tbsp – cumin-coriander powder
- ½ tbsp – red chilli powder
- ½ tbsp – garam masala
- 2 tbsp – oil
- 1 tsp – jeera
- ½ tsp – hing
- Salt as per taste
- 2-3 cups – water
Steps
- In a pressure cooker, take oil and heat it. Now add jeera (cumin seeds) and hing (asafoetida).
- Once the cumin crackles, add onions. Saute onions until they are translucent.
- Add ginger-garlic paste and saute for a couple of minutes more.
- Now add ginger-garlic paste and saute for about 2-3 minutes.
- Once the rawness of ginger garlic paste is gone, add tomatoes, green chillies. Mix all properly and let them cook them for 10 minutes.
- Once the tomatoes have softened, add all the spices (cumin-coriander powder, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, garam masala, salt, and jaggery) and water.
- Mix everything properly and cook the curry mixture on medium heat for about 5 minutes.
- At this stage, add soaked choda (black eye beans) and rest of the water.Close the pressure cook with the lid and cook it until 6 whistles.
- After about 6 whistles, switch off the heat. Let the pressure cooker cool down completely (allow all the steam to escape before opening). Check if the beans are fully cooked or not. If they are not cooked completely then cover it and pressure cook 2 more whistles.
- Once the beans are fully cooked, add whisked yogurt and lemon juice. Mix everything properly.
- Garnish with coriander and enjoy with bajri rotla/bhakhari/fulka roti/parathas or plain rice.
