Black Eyed Beans with Potato in Mint Gravy

Known as Lobia in North India and Karamani in South India, black-eyed beans are an interesting ingredient to cook with. They are rich in protein and good to include in a diet to form a healthy mix of pulses and vegetables. The advantage with pulses is that you can add a small amount of them to vegetables to increase the volume of the dish without losing the taste. This dish is gravy based and pairs well with rotis.

Recipe for Black Eyed Beans with Potato in Mint Gravy

Serves : 2-3
Ingredients :

• 1 cup black-eyed beans, soaked overnight
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 3 medium potatoes diced (peeling not required)
• 1/2 cup fresh tomato purée
• 1 cup mix of mint and cilantro paste. While grinding this paste, add 2-3 green chillies too. If you don’t have cilantro, just make it using mint. You can also add 2-3 tbsp of grated coconut while grinding this paste if you like your gravy to have a coconut base.
• 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste [optional]
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp oil
• Curry leaves [optional]
• Salt to taste

Method:

• Heat oil in a pan and add the cumin seeds
• When they splutter, add the onions and cook till they are soft and transparent
• Add the ginger-garlic paste along with turmeric and garam masala and mix well
• Add the potatoes to this mixture and sauté them for 4-5 mins. Add some salt at this stage because the potatoes should not taste under-salted.
• Drain the water from the black-eyes beans and add it to the potato mixture and stir it well.
• After 2-3 mins, add the tomato purée and let it cook for another 2-3 mins till it comes to a boil on medium flame.
• Lower the flame, add 1.5-2 cups of water, cover the mixture with a lid and let it cook for 15-20 mins. Also adjust salt at this stage.
• Once the black-eyed beans have been cooked, add the flavourful, ground paste of mint and chillies to the mixture and let it cook for another 5-7 mins.
• Garnish with curry leaves and serve hot

Tips :

• The black-eyed beans need to be just soaked in water for a minimum of 8-10 hours. This would get the texture of the beans perfect for a gravy based dish. If you don’t have that much time and have soaked it for only 3-4 hrs, then cook the beans in a pressure cooker on a low flame for 3-4 whistles.
• Monitor the water levels in the gravy while cooking. Add water and manage the heat to get the consistency of your choice.