Lobia is a delicious, vegan and gluten-free, black-eyed peas curry recipe from India. This easy vegan curry recipe is a tasty protein-rich dish.
Indian cuisine has a lot of bean & lentil recipes and we eat them almost every day. For a country with the highest number of vegetarians in the world, beans and lentils are a major source of protein. That doesn’t mean that non-vegetarians in India don’t eat beans or lentils. They are a part of the staple diet of India so any meal in India is incomplete without a bean or lentil recipe.
One of the favorite bean recipes of Amit is Lobia and I also love it. Both of us have very fond memories associated with this dish as we both grew up in the Himalayan states of India where it’s consumed a lot.
Lobia is actually the Hindi word for black eyed beans but the curry is also called Lobia. It’s also called Rongi in Punjab and Himachal, Chawli in Maharashtra and has several other different names in different South Indian states.
The process of making Lobia is quite similar to that of Rajma or kale chane. If you learn how to make one, you can easily make the other two recipes.
How to serve Lobia?
- Lobia can be served with rice, roti or any other Indian bread like Paratha or puri.
- Though mostly eaten for lunch or dinner, you can also have it as a heavy, protein-rich breakfast with paratha or roti.
- Indians generally believe in eating freshly cooked food and don’t freeze it for later consumption but if you want to save time, you can make a large pot of Lobia in advance, it freezes well. When you want to eat it, just take out a portion in a pot and boil or microwave.
Health benefits of black-eyed peas:
- Lobia is a rich source of various Vitamins like Vitamin A, B, and Folate which is required to form and maintain new cells in the body.
- This potassium-rich bean also balances the excess sodium in our diet and thus helps to maintain a healthy level of Blood pressure. Potassium is also good for improving metabolism.
- Being loaded with fibers, it’s also good for your guts.
- It’s a very good source of protein so a great option for vegans and vegetarians who constantly look out for having more protein-rich options in their diet.
More protein-rich recipe ideas for vegans and vegetarians:
- Chickpea Pulao (Vegan)
- Sabut masoor ki dal (Vegan)
- Paneer do pyaza (Vegetarian)
- Palak Paneer (Vegetarian)
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How to make black-eyed peas curry?
Lobia - a Vegan & Gluten free black eyed beans curry
Ingredients
- 1 cup uncooked black eyed beans dry
- 1 large red onion
- 2 tomatoes
- 4-5 garlic cloves
- One small piece of ginger
- 2-3 green chillies
- 1-2 bay leaves
- 2-3 cloves
- 3-4 black pepper corns
- 1-2 black cardamom
- 1/2 tbsp coriander powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1/4 teaspoon garam masala
- 1 teaspoon red chilli powder
- Salt as per taste
- 2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
- 1 tbsp cooking oil
Instructions
- Wash and soak the beans in water for 7-8 hours or overnight.
- After 7-8 hours, add the beans, and around 4 cups of water in a pressure cooker and cook till 4-5 whistles. Use the same water in which beans were soaked to cook it. If that water is not enough, add more normal water.
- Grind onion, garlic, and ginger in a grinder to make a paste. Take the paste out in a bowl and keep aside. In the same grinder, make a paste of tomatoes and green chilies.
- Heat oil in a wok and add all the whole spices to it. Saute for a few seconds till the spices become fragrant and then add the onion paste and salt. Cook for around 12-15 minutes or till the onion paste becomes golden brown.
- In a bowl mix all the spice powder with around 2 tablespoons of water and add it to the onion paste. Saute for around a minute and then add in the tomato paste. Cook for around 7-8 minutes till the tomato paste gets nicely cooked and changes color to bright red.
- Once the tomatoes are nicely cooked add boiled beans and water to the wok. Mix well and cook for around 8-10 minutes on medium flame.
- Finally add garam masala and coriander leaves, mix, and cover the pan. Cook the curry for another minute before switching off the gas.
- Serve hot with Indian bread or rice.
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