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!
Recipe Video
Instant Pot Black Eyed Peas Curry Recipe (Indian Lobia Masala)
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
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
Note: Nutrition values are my best estimates. If you rely on them for your diet, use your preferred nutrition calculator.
This recipe was delicious! For the nutrition information, how large is one serving?
Hi JTA – Glad to hear you enjoyed the curry. One serving is about a cup for this recipe.
Another amazing recipe! I’ve tried so many from your site and they taste just like my mom made it. ❤️❤️ Thanks for writing down a detailed recipe that I can follow!
Thanks for the recipe. As a beginner, it wasn’t clear to me how much water to add when starting the pot for pressure cooking at the end. Would appreciate if you have suggestions on that. Thank you!
Hey Om – Sorry that the recipe was confusing for you. I used 2 cups water when cooking the black eyed peas in the instant pot. These peas were soaked in ample water, and then that water drained before they were added to the instant pot for cooking. Hope that clarifies!
Hello! I have frozen fresh black eyed peas in the freezer…. any suggestions on how to modify the cook time for those? thanks!
Hello Jen – Unfortunately I have never used frozen peas. I would guess If they are pre-cooked, then pressure cook for just 3-4 minutes. However if uncooked, you can cook for about 10 minutes under high pressure.
Hi! If I want to use canned beans, how would the time change for the pot? Thanks!
Hi Vita – I have not tried with canned peas, but I think 2-3 minutes of cooking would be enough as they would be already cooked. Please do share back how it turned out!
I have been reading your recipes and they look wonderful. I am about to buy an instant pot but can’t decide on the 6 or 8 qt. I usually make large volumes of stews and soups and freeze portions for later, so I thought I’d like the 8 qt, but it seems most of the recipes and are for the 6 qt? If I increased the recipes proportionally would the instructions be the same or would I have to figure out different timing and would it take longer in general?
Also, are all of the accessories available for the 8 qt?
Thank you!
Hey Pamela – If you enjoy making large quantities, go for the 8qt. How many people are you typically cooking for?
Most recipes and same timing will work as is in the 8qt. If some recipes have less liquid, then you might need a bit more in the 8qt due to the larger surface area. Accessories of 6qt will definitely work in 8qt. And you might be able to get 8qt specific accessories too.
The recipe looks amazing!! Please help me make the adjustments for using a regular pot and cooking this on my stovetop since I don’t have an Instant Pot. Thank you in advance.
Hello – The same recipe should work. Here are some changes I would suggest – 1) Use a thick bottom pot. 2) Increase the amount of water for cooking to 3 cups. 3) In the pressure cooking step, cover with a lid. 4) The cooking time will increase when making in a pot. It will take about 25-30 mins for the beans to get cooked. Hope you enjoy it!
Can we substitute with diced tomatoes or tomato sauce?
Hey Sierra – Yes, you can substitute canned diced tomatoes. A 14oz can of diced tomatoes is about 5-6 tomatoes, so you can add accordingly. Hope you enjoy it!