A classic black eyed peas & tempeh curry with added fiber and protein from plant source tempeh to make it extremely comforting well balanced dish.
Beans, lentils, legumes are great sources of plant based fiber and protein. They are inexpensive wholesome foods that can be easily incorporated in our diet to enhance nutrients. Many of us think that legumes are source of plant protein. To be honest, it does hold some protein however legumes’ the main source of macronutrient is carb/fiber that comes with touch of protein. Now if you pair any legumes curry with rice of roti, it is like carb on carb meal. That is sure to lack protein.
As I said earlier, legumes lack on protein which can be easily fixed by adding a hidden plant protein source. Tempeh is a great source of protein as well as fiber. Tempeh is fermented soybeans. The texture of tempeh is very similar to lot beans and some lentils like black eyes peas, chana dal, small kidney beans, garbanzo beans etc. Now some of you would might comment saying tempeh has a distinct after taste which is very bitter.
I would have to agree with bitter aftertaste of tempeh. However with a small trick, you can get rid of that bitter aftertaste. You simply boil tempeh in salted water for few minutes. And there you have an amazingly tasting plant protein source. Which you can incorporate in lot of dishes to add extra fiber and protein. I love paring black eyed peas and crumbled tempeh as the shape and texture of both are so similar that you can never tell the difference once you try this curry.
This simple Black Eyed Peas & Tempeh Curry easily come together in Instant pot within just few minutes using minimal ingredients. And each serving hold whooping 20 ish gram of protein. I love paring it with Jeera Rice and Crunchy Veggie Raita. This curry is so delicious that you can eat it like stew as well. I love adding crunchy veggies on top with some namkin mix along with some chutneys. It truly taste like warm chaat!
I love experimenting with different vegetarian protein and fiber sources to come up with dishes that I actually love eating and make them on repeat. Eating healthy does not have to be difficult or boring and this curry is a true example of that. I really hope you give this wholesome recipe a try and give me your feedback. You can tag me on Instagram @myvegetarianroots or leave me a comment below!
Happy & Healthy Eating!
Black Eyed Peas & Tempeh Curry
Equipment
- 1 Instant Pot
Ingredients
- 1¼ cup Dry Uncooked Black Eyed Peas aka Lobia Beans
- 8 oz Original Organic Tempeh
- 3 tbsp Avocado Oil OR choice of cooking oil
- 1½ tsp Cumin Seeds
- 3 Whole Cloves
- 3 Whole Peppercorn
- 1 small Cinnamon Stick
- 1 whole Dry Red Chili
- 1 medium Bay Leaf
- â…› tsp Hing (asafetida)
- 1 cup Finely Chopped Yellow Onion
- 1 cup Finely Chopped Tomato
- 1 tbsp Tomato Paste
- 4 cloves Garlic Cloves (large cloves)
- 1 inch Ginger
- 1 Serrano Use Jalapeno for less heat
- 1¾ tsp Salt
- 1 tbsp Cumin Coriander Powder
- 1 tsp Kashmiri Red Chili Powder make it 1½ tsp if skipping spicy red chili powder
- ½ tsp Red Chili Powder the spicy kind, skip for less heat
- 1 tsp Turmeric Powder
- 1½ tbsp Kitchen King Masala use 1½ tsp (NOT tbsp) Garam masala if you do not have kitchen king masala
- 3½ cup Water
- ½ cup Finely Chopped Cilantro
- 1 tbsp Lemon Juice
Instructions
- Wash and soak black eyed peas (lobia beans) 4-6 hours.
- Break tempeh in small pieces and boil in water with ½ tsp of salt for 5-7 minutes. Drain the water and let the tempeh cool down. Once ready to touch, simply break it into small pieces, I like to size it as small as the lobia beans so that the sizes of both are equal. You can simply use food processor to break it small instead of doing it by hands.
- Process ginger, garlic & serrano in a food processor. Keep it aside.
- Once ready to make the curry, put instant pot on saute mode. Add in avocado oil, cumin seeds, whole cloves, whole peppercorn, cinnamon stick, whole dry red chili and bay leaf. Cook cumin seeds until they deepen in color and start to frangant.
- Add in hing (asafetida) and wait for couple of seconds then add in finely chopped onion with processes ginger, garlic, jalapeno and ½ tsp of salt.
- Stir well and cook onions until they start to translucent and raw smell of garlic is gone. Do not burn them.
- Add in finely chopped tomatoes, tomato paste and rest of the spices with 1¼ tsp of salt. Mix well and cook it for couple of minutes or until oil starts to separate or it starts to stick to the bottom.
- Then add in boiled and broken down tempeh crumb and soaked lobia bean WITHOUT any water. Mix well then add in 3½ cups of water. Mix well and bring it to boil.
- Then close the lid, seal the valve and set IP on high pressure for 10 minutes.
- Once 10 minutes of cook time is done, let the pressure release naturally for 16-18 minutes or until all the pressure is completely out and valve comes down.
- Open the lid, stir well. Use back of the spatula to press some of the lobia beans which to thicken the curry on its own. If the curry seems runny, you can simmer it for 2-4 minutes on saute mode. Keep in mind that the longer it sits the thicket it gets without cooking more.
- Add in squeeze of lemon and garnish with plenty of fresh cilantro. Simply serve it with either roti/chapati/naan/paratha or over steamed rice and side of raita!
