It's such a relief to be back to healthy eating after snacking and drinking my way through the holidays. I have so many fabulous, really nutritious recipes from my family archive that I can't wait to share this year. My mum's black eyed bean and yoghurt curry is up there with some of the tastiest food I have ever eaten. When she cooks a big pot of this, I can eat it for days... on its own, with rice, roti, or leftover on toast (a highly recommended option).
To cook this for 4 people, you will need:
2 cups of black eyed beans (washed and soaked for a couple of hours), or a couple of tins if you need an easy fix
1 teaspoon of cumin seeds
1 teaspoon of salt
3 tablespoons of oil
1 red onion, finely sliced (optional)
1 stalk of curry leaves (omit if you don’t have any)
1 tablespoon of ginger, finely grated
2 teaspoons of spice mama’s bottle masala (or good quality curry powder)
1 cup of greek yoghurt
sugar and salt to taste
fresh coriander to garnish
Boil the black eyed beans in a large pot of water covering the beans by an inch or so (and the teaspoon of cumin seeds and salt), for around 40 minutes, or until they are soft. Don’t drain the beans, there should still be a couple of inches of water left and its full of nutrients and taste. If you're in a hurry, using tinned beans is fine.
Heat the oil in a heavy based pan and fry the onion if you are using on medium heat for 10-15 minutes until they are brown and caramelised. Add the curry leaves, ginger and bottle masala, stir for a minute or so on low so nothing burns.
Add the beans, and stir for a few minutes. Whisk the yoghurt with a cup of water, and with the heat on very low, very slowly stir it into the pan, so it doesn’t split.
Cook for another 10 minutes or so, taste and add salt and maybe half a teaspoon of sugar; and garnish with fresh coriander before serving.