Aloo Lobia & A Quick Note on RCI

Aloo Lobia

No rants, no ramblings, and none of my usual long posts today. All I want to share today is a quick recipe I created over the weekend.

Before I do that there is one more thing I want to mention quickly. It’s regarding RCI round-up. My initial plan was to post the round-up in first week of August. But due to heavy workload and some personal workload I haven’t had any time to sit and work on it. So my sincere apologies for the delay and I am hoping to post the round up in a week or two. Please bear with me this time! With over 80 entries, this edition of RCI-Udupi & Mangalore is going to be one bumper bonanza and I want to do full justice to it.


And now coming back to today’s recipe of Aloo Lobia, this recipe is something I came up during one busy weekend (yeah, even weekends are busy these days). I wanted to cook something good and comfort food as I was craving for some carbs by the end of the day after working non-stop. At that same time I didn’t want to spend more than 5 mins in front of a stove. One quick thinking and pairing black eyed peas and potato seemed like a good combination. And voila, it was better than good! An aromatic Tadka of cumin and curry leaves followed by cooking sweet onions and then a can of chopped tomatoes didn’t take more than few mins. By the time the ground spices were added and cooked along tomatoes, I was ready with cubed potatoes and rinsed black eyed peas. I literally dumped everything in a pressure cooker and left it cook on medium flame. While I stretched my feet with my favourite novel, the aroma of Aloo Lobia curry tickled my nose and then my stomach was giving all the signals for a delicious meal to look forward to. And it indeed turned out to be one delicious meal where I enjoyed this creamy Aloo Lobia with frozen chapattis and Krish enjoyed with Jeera Rice.

Black Eyed Peas, Potatoes & Tomatoes for Aloo Lobia

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Aloo Lobia (Spicy Potatoes and Black Eyed Peas Curry)
Prep Time: 5 mins
Cooking Time: 20-30 mins
Serves: 4-6
Recipe Level: Easy/Beginner
Spice Level: Medium
Serving Suggestion: With any Indian flat breads or flavoured/steam cooked rice

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Ingredients:
3 medium Potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
¾-1 cup Lobia/Black Eyed Peas/Alasande KaLu, washed and soaked in water till needed
1 large Onion, finely chopped
3 large/1 can Tomato, chopped
1 tsp Ginger-Garlic Paste
1-2 Green Chillies, slit
1 tsp Tamarind Paste
½-1 tbsp Jaggery/Palm Sugar (Adjust acc to taste)
Salt to taste

Spices Used:
1 tbsp Sambar/Rasam Powder or use 1 tsp Garam Masala
1 tsp each Coriander & Cumin Powders
½ tsp Haldi/Turmeric Powder

For Tadka/Tempering:
1 tsp Jeera/Cumin Seeds
2 springs Curry Leaves
A big pinch of Hing/Asafoetida
1 tbsp Oil

Special Utensils:
A Pressure Cooker

Aloo Lobia

Method:
Heat oil in a pressure cooker and add cumin seeds. When cumin starts to sizzle and turn golden red, add hing and curry leaves. Sauté it for few seconds.
Add finely chopped onions and cook till they turn translucent, about 2 minutes. Add ginger-garlic paste and green chillies and fry for a minute.
Mix in chopped tomatoes or canned tomatoes and cook till they are pulpy and release their juice, about 3 minutes.
Add all the spice powders (sambar/rasam powder, coriander and cumin powder and turmeric powder) along with tamarind paste, jaggery and salt to taste and mix well. Cook on medium heat for a minute.
Now add 3-4 cups of boiling water and bring the whole mixture to gentle boil, about 3 minutes.
Mix in cubed potatoes and soaked black eyed peas and cover the lid. Place the weight on lid and cook for 2-3 whistles or 12-15 minutes on medium flame. Let the pressure be released completely before opening the lid.
Serve this delicious Aloo Lobia with any Indian flat bread or flavoured/steam cooked rice and enjoy!