Black Eyed Pea Curry With Collards & Potatoes
Serves 6
Total time: 45 minutes || Active time: 45 minutes
I totally meant to put this up before New Years, because….black eyed peas! But dang have I been busy. Or lazy? I forget which. Blazy? Oh well, it’s never too late for black eyed peas, right? I’ll tell you some of the upcoming projects I’ve been working on in an upcoming post, but for now let’s talk about this curry.
Chunky red potatoes, velvetty collards and earthy black-eyed peas make for a voluptuous coconut curry that is slightly out of the ordinary. It comes together real real fast, too. Serve with basmati rice and an easy mango and avocado salsa, for sweetness, tartness and a little extra creaminess. Have some sriracha at the ready in case you want a little extra spice!
Recipe Notes
~ This is a verrrry versatile and basic curry. You can swap the black eyed peas for chickpeas, or the greens for spinach or kale. You can even swap the red potatoes for sweet potatoes (although keep in mind sweet potatoes cook a lot faster.) But don’t swap the tomato paste for ketchup or the coconut milk for orange juice or anything gross like that.
Ingredients
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 large red onion, thinly sliced
2 jalapenos, seeded and thinly sliced
1 tablespoon fresh minced ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons mild curry powder
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon agave
3 cups vegetable broth
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 1/2 lbs red potatoes, in 3/4 inch pieces
1 lb collards, rough stems removed, leaves chopped into bite sized pieces
1 cup coconut milk
1 1/2 cups cooked black eyed peas (from a 15 oz can, rinsed and drained)
For the Mango Avocado Salsa:
1 ripe avocado, diced
1 ripe mango, diced
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
To serve: Basmati rice
Optional garnish: Fresh chopped cilantro
Preheat a 4 quart pot over medium heat. Saute the onion and jalapeno in the coconut oil for 5 to 7 minutes, until onion is lightly browned.
Add the garlic and ginger, and saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add 1 1/2 tablespoons of curry powder, garam masala, salt, vegetable broth, agave, and tomato paste, and stir. The tomato paste may not dissolve just yet but that’s ok, it will when it heats through.
Add the potatoes, cover pot and bring to a boil. Once boiling, immediately lower heat to a simmer, and leave the lid ajar so that steam can escape. Let potatoes cook just until tender, about 5 more minutes.
In the meantime, toss together all of the salsa ingredients in a mixing bowl and set aside.
Once potatoes are fork tender, add the collards, black-eyed peas and coconut milk. Stir gently to incorporate. Leave lid ajar again, and bring to a simmer. Let simmer just until collards are tender, it should only take a few minutes.
Turn off heat and taste for salt and spices. Add remaining curry powder if needed. It tastes best if you let it sit for 10 minutes or so, but if you can’t wait then just dig in!
Serve over basmati rice, topped with mango avocado salsa and cilantro, if you like. Have some sriracha at the ready in case you want a little extra spice.
