Instant Pot Black Eyed Peas Curry (Indian Lobia Masala)

Black Eyed Peas Curry or Lobia Masala is a popular dish in North India. It is made in an onion-tomato gravy, along with lots of ginger, garlic and aromatic spices. It is perfect to enjoy with some steaming basmati rice and parathas. This is a vegan and gluten free recipe, which we will make in the Instant Pot.

Being a North Indian, I grew up eating Black Eyed Peas, also referred to as Raungi, Chawli or Lobia in different parts of India. Interestingly they are also referred to as cowpeas, and are from the beans family, not peas. They are a comforting and nutritional meal. One cup of black eyed peas, has about 33 grams of carbs, 5 grams of protein, less than 1 gram of fat.  They also have a variety of vitamins and a good amount of fiber.

It was very interesting to find that eating Black eyed peas on New Years day is a tradition in Southern United States. They say it brings good luck. We love black eyed peas any time, so I have started to make them on New Years too 🙂

Black eyed peas cook much faster than other beans, which means you can get this meal ready pretty quickly. I have changed this recipe to make it in an Instant Pot, but you could very well use a normal pressure cooker.  The preparation for this curry is very easy and you will love the result.

If you like black eyed peas, check out hearty and healthy Black Eyed Peas & Spinach Rice.

How to make Black Eyed Peas in the Instant Pot?

• This curry needs very basic ingredients, which I always keep in my pantry. The only preparation needed is soaking the black eyed peas. They cook much faster if they have soaked well for 4 or more hours. If you forget to soak, then try soaking for 1/2-1 hour in warm water and cook for longer, about 30 mins in the pressure cooker.
• I use dry black eyed peas that I have soaked for 4 hours in this recipe. Using the instant pot to cook the black eyed peas is a great convenience and we can use dry black eyed peas, rather than canned. It is also cheaper to use dry peas. If you want to use canned black eyed peas, check recipe notes for more details.

• I am suggesting to grind these ingredients for this curry, however you can also just dice them and use in the exact same recipe.
• Heat oil with some cumin seeds, saute the onions with ginger garlic and then the tomatoes.
• Add the spices, black eyed peas and water, and cook on high pressure.

• I like to add some lemon juice at the end. It adds a great tang to the curry. Really…try adding some lemon juice to all the curries and lentils…it tastes wonderful.

Make this a Instant Pot Black Eyed Pea Vegetable Soup?

Want to make this a hearty soup. Add some veggies such as carrots and celery before pressure cooking. Then stir in some collard greens or spinach or kale once pressure cooking is completed. Enjoy with some delicious garlic bread on the side.

Want to find other easy Instant Pot Indian Recipes? Here are 29 Best Instant Pot Vegetarian Recipes for you to try! 

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Instant Pot Black Eyed Peas Curry Recipe (Indian Lobia Masala)

Instant Pot Black Eyed Peas Curry or Lobia Masala is a North Indian favorite. Black eyed peas cooked with onion, tomato, ginger, garlic and aromatic spices. 

Course Main Course

Cuisine North Indian

Keyword black eyed peas curry, black eyed peas recipe indian, lobia masala

Diet Dairy-free, Gluten-free, Nut-free, Vegan, Vegetarian

Method Instant Pot/Pressure Cooker

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 35 minutes

Servings 4

Calories 115kcal

Author Meeta Arora

Ingredients

• 1 cup Black eyed peas (Lobia) soaked in water for 4 or more hours
• 1 tbsp Oil
• 1 tsp Cumin seeds (Jeera)
• 1 Onion medium
• 1/2 tbsp Ginger minced
• 1/2 tbsp Garlic minced
• 1 Green Chili Pepper
• 2 Tomato medium
• 2 cups Water for cooking
• 1 tbsp Lemon juice
• Cilantro to granish

Spices

• 1/2 tsp Ground Turmeric (Haldi powder)
• 1/2 tsp Red Chili powder (Mirchi powder)
• 1 tsp Coriander powder (Dhaniya powder)
• 1 tsp Garam Masala adjust to taste
• 1 tsp Salt adjust to taste

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Soak the black eyed peas in abundant water for 4 or more hours so they are all submerged. When you are ready to cook, drain the water.
• Grind onion, ginger, garlic and green chilli to a paste. (If you prefer, you can dice them)
• Start the Pressure Cooker in sauté mode and heat it. Add oil and cumin seeds.
• Once the cumin seeds start to splutter, add the onion paste from step 2. Let this cook for 3-4 mins. On the side, grind tomatoes at the same time (or dice them).
• Add the tomatoes paste and spices to the instant pot and cook for another 3 mins.
• Add the drained black eyed peas and water to the instant pot. Stir well. Press Cancel and close the lid with vent in sealing position. 
• Change the pressure cooker setting to Manual or Pressure Cook mode at high pressure for 12 minutes. 
• After the instant pot beeps, let the pressure release naturally. Stir in the lemon juice. 
• Garnish with cilantro and serve with roti/rice.

Notes

Canned Black Eyed Peas: For canned black eyed peas, drain the liquid in the can. Add the peas with 1 cup of water and pressure cook for just 1 minute.  

Created: This recipe was created in a 6qt Instant Pot DUO60 Multi-use Pressure Cooker and has been updated to make it even better and easier.

 

Note: Nutrition values are my best estimates. If you rely on them for your diet, use your preferred nutrition calculator.

Nutrition

Calories: 115kcal | Carbohydrates: 16g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 4g | Sodium: 638mg | Potassium: 314mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 12.2% | Vitamin C: 17.5% | Calcium: 3.1% | Iron: 10.5%

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