Lobia Dal - Black Eyed Peas Stew

This is a simple crowd pleaser recipe and this dal appeals to a lot of fussy kids as well. Black eyed peas are all over the place- I get mine from Safeway. I am not a big fan of canned beans as you can never really get rid of the horrid after taste, not to mention the hideous amount of sodium you end up ingesting in your system. Dry beans are a safer and healtheir bet, and all you need to do is to soak the beans overnight and pressure cook them in the morning. Sometimes I just leave the ingredients in the pressure cooker the whole day and turn on my burner as soon as I get home. The beans are well soaked by then and even absorb some of the spices.
If you have a gas burner , it takes much lesser time than the electric burner. I used an electric burner for two years and I was over the top happy to have the familiar blue flame of the gas burner back.

Ingredients

In the pressure cooker
2 cups of black eyed peas/ Lobia
1/2 inch piece of ginger
1 clove of garlic
1 tspn of cumin powder
2 tspn of coriander powder
1/2 tspn of turmeric
1 tbspn of salt
2 tomatoes diced

For Saute
1 tbspn oil
a pinch of asfoetida ( hing)

Others
1 tspn garam masala
2 tspn dried mango powder (khatai)


Instructions

1. Pressure cook all the ingredients in the above which are listed under'in the pressure cooker' for 15 minutes on medium-high flame.
2. Let the dal sit in the cooker for another 15 minutes after switching off the flame.
3. In a small pan or even a large metal spoon with a heat resistant handle, heat the oil over the flame. Add the asfoetida when the oil is hot and you can hear a sizzling sound. After 7-8 seconds pour the oil in the dal.
4. Add the garam masala and dried mango powder to the dal. Bring the dal to a boil.
5. Biol the dal for around 2-3 minutes. Shut off the burner. Garnish the dal with coriander leaves.

Serve with rice.