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lobia recipe
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5 from 2 votes

Lobia recipe

Lobia recipe or black-eyed pea is the quick and easy-to-make recipe which is cooked in a Punjabi style by cooking spices in onion-tomato gravy.
Prep Time10 mins
Active Time30 mins
Soaking time2 hrs
Total Time2 hrs 40 mins
Course: Curries, Main Course
Cuisine: North Indian, punjabi
Keyword: Black-eyed peas curry, Lobia recipe
Yield: 4
Calories: 185kcal

Materials

  • 1 cup Lobia or black-eyed peas
  • 3 cups Water for pressure cooking
  • ¼ cup Mustard oil
  • 1-inch Cinnamon stick
  • 1 Bay leaf
  • 1 tbsp Jeera/ Cumin seeds
  • 2 medium Onions finely chopped
  • 2 medium Tomatoes finely chopped
  • 1 tbsp Ginger-Garlic paste or finely chopped
  • Salt as per taste
  • ¼ tsp Hing/ Asafoetida
  • ½ tsp Haldi/ Turmeric powder
  • 2 tsp Coriander powder
  • 1.5 tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder
  • 1 tsp Kitchen king masala
  • 1 tsp Garam masala
  • 1 tsp Amchur/ Dry mango powder
  • 1 tsp Kasuri methi crushed
  • A handful of coriander leaves for garnishing

Instructions

Soaking and pressure cooking Lobia:

  • Rinse a cup of Lobia under running water and soak it in a large bowl with enough quantity of water.
  • Soak lobia for at least 2 to 3 hours or overnight.
    Lobia doesn't take a long time like kidney beans or chickpeas, even 2 hours of soaking is enough.
  • After 2 hours, rinse the soaked lobia again under running water and put it in the pressure cooker with the pinch of salt and water.
  • Pressure cook for 2 whistles, until it turns soft and can be mashed easily with the spoon or fingers.

Making Lobia masala or black-eyed peas curry:

  • In a thick wide bottom kadhai, heat ¼ cup of mustard oil and when oil starts releasing smoke lower the flame and add bay leaf, cinnamon stick and cumin seeds.
  • Saute cumin seeds till it starts spluttering, then add finely chopped onions and saute till it turns translucent.
  • Then, add finely chopped or grated ginger-garlic and saute till raw smell of garlic goes away.
  • Add finely chopped or grated tomatoes in the kadhai and mix and saute till the moisture from tomatoes are evaporated.
  • After 3 to 4 minutes, the onion-tomato mixture will start to thicken and oil starts to release from the mixture.
  • Then, add dry spices - hing, haldi, coriander powder, Kashmiri red chilli powder, kitchen king masala and salt.
  • Mix and saute dry spices with onion-tomato paste for 3 to 4 minutes on medium flame.
  • After a few minutes, spices and onion-tomato paste will be cooked and now add boiled and strained lobia or black-eyed peas.
  • Mix it gently with the spatula and make sure not to mash lobia's otherwise it would look like mashed gravy.
  • Add half a cup of water and give it a nice mix. And let it simmer on low flame for 3 to 4 minutes till the lobia absorbs all the flavour and aroma from the spices.
  • Lastly, add garam masala, amchur powder and crushed kasuri methi and mix it gently without mashing all the lobias.
  • Turn the flame off and cover and let it sit for a couple of minutes before serving. Serve it with parathas along with onion slices and lemon wedges.