All this is is spiced black eyed peas and Basmati rice. “All this is”…yeah, right. I have a friend who says that Indian vegetarian cuisine is one of the only vegetarian cuisines worth eating. To him, everything else lacks flavour, but if you know how to work with spices – freshly ground, the right balance, the right combinations – then Indian cuisine is a vegetarian dream come true. Often there is a lot more flavour in Indian non-vegetarian cuisine for the same reason he thinks most vegetarian cuisine in general is bland. But maybe, just maybe, he’d take a meal of this dish over a poorly cooked steak with mashed potatoes. I would.
If you don’t want to be disappointed with this dish eat it the same day you cook it and make the garam masala from scratch. The flavours fade on day 2. It’s fine, but it’s just not nearly as exciting. You’ll feel as though you’re “just” eating rice and beans instead of a rich, flavourful feast.
Black-Eyed Peas with Rice
1 cup dry black-eyed peas (also called black-eyed beans, but not to be confused with black beans, though you could substitute other types of beans and it’d be fine. You could even use 2 cans of beans – reduce the amount of water – but it’s infinitely better to cook them yourself for digestive, nutritional and taste reasons)
1 1/4 cups Basmati rice (you could also use brown Basmati, but increase the water to 5 cups and increase the rice cooking time by approximately 10 minutes)
3 tbsp oil
2 large onions, thinly sliced
4-5 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 one-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1 hot red chili pepper, seeds and white membrane removed, finely chopped
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp Indian chili powder or cayenne, optional (use up to 1 tsp if you skip the fresh red chili pepper above)
1 medium tomato, chopped
1 tsp salt
4 1/2 cups water
1 tbsp ghee, or butter or Earth Balance (or other dairy-free substitute. You can also use oil, but the flavour isn’t usually as sweet)
2 green cardamom pods
4 whole cloves
1 one-inch cinnamon stick
1 tsp garam masala (recipe follows)
1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves, to garnish, optional
Directions:
Soak the beans in a bowl of cold water overnight (or for at least 5 hours)
Soak the rice for 30-40 minutes (this removes some of the starch) and then wash the rice in a few changes of water and let drain in a sieve for 15 minutes (this is supposed to keep the grains of rice separate when they cook, giving a finer, fluffier dish. I’m skeptical, though. You could also just rinse the rice a few times right away and then just drain it until you’re ready to use it. As a wise woman once said, the recipe can’t see you)
Measure all the spices and chop everything that needs chopping. The trick here is to have everything ready to go. Also drain the beans and rice now if they’re not already drained. You could save the garam masala to make while the dish cooks, or you could do it in advance and not have to worry about it. That way you’ll have time to clean up the counter-tops and do some dishes before the meal is ready.
The reason you need three whole tablespoons of oil is that you’re going to shallow-fry the onions, then use the rest of the onion-flavoured oil to cook the dish. It adds an earthiness that you need because there’s no meat involved. So don’t skip it. A lot of the oil will be drained on paper towels after the frying.
You heat the oil over medium in a large pan (or very large skillet). When hot add the onions and fry until they’re brown and crisp. Mine never really crisped. They more so caramelized, which was also nice. Give them about 10 minutes max. They shouldn’t need that long, though. Five should be enough. Remove them with a slotted spoon to paper towels to soak out some of the oil, leaving the remaining oil in the pan.
Then add the garlic, ginger and hot red chili pepper to the pan. 30 seconds later add the turmeric, cumin, coriander, optional cayenne and the tomato. 1 minute later the oil is supposed to separate from the spices. That also didn’t happen…I probably had removed too much oil from the pan with the onions. Ah well.
Add the drained beans, salt and water and cook for 30 minutes, or until the beans are tender. Older beans could take up to 40 minutes. Remove from heat and keep covered. While beans cook make the garam masala.
In another skillet heat the ghee or butter or butter substitute over medium heat and when hot add the cardamom, cloves, and cinnamon. 10 seconds later add the drained rice, and stir for one minute to coat with the spices.
Now pour the contents of the skillet over the cooked beans. Use a rubber spatula to make sure you get all the spiced ghee into the pan. That’s the flavour of the dish.
Bring the pot to a boil and add the garam masala. Reduce the heat to low and cook, covered for about 10 minutes, until the rice is tender. Fluff with a fork and garnish with the fried onions. Fresh cilantro leaves also brighten the whole thing up, so garnish with those if you’ve got them.
Garam Masala
2 tbsp whole coriander seeds
2 tbsp whole cumin seeds
1 tbsp whole black peppercorns
1 one-inch cinnamon stick
10 green cardamom cloves
1 tsp whole cloves
1 tsp whole fennel seeds
5 bay leaves
Place spices in dry skillet and roast over medium heat for 2 minutes, or until aromatic. Remove spices to a bowl and let cool. When cool, grind spices in a spice grinder, a coffee grinder, a mortar and pestle, or in a plastic bag with a heavy saucepan or mallet (remove air from bag and hold end closed). Necessity is, after all, the mother of invention. Store in an airtight container for up to 6 weeks.
Leave a Reply