Mangalorean Spinach and Black Eyed Beans Curry is a traditional Indian recipe (from Mangalore) for a classic curry of black-eyed beans and spinach in a tamarind and coconut flesh gravy served topped with a perl onion tempering. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Indian version of: Mangalorean Spinach and Black Eyed Beans Curry.
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This is a classic vegetarian curry of black eyed beans and spinach (or mustard greens) in a lightly-spiced coconut base. If you’re a forager then garlic mustard greens work very well as a wild substitute for the other greens in this recipe.
Ingredients:
To dry roast:
5 dried red chillies
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
½ teaspoon cumin seeds
½ teaspoon black mustard seeds
4-5 black peppercorns
Other ingredients:
40g fresh coconut, grated
2-3 garlic cloves
1 medium red onion, chopped
1 marble-sized ball of tamarind pulp
200g baby spinach, coarsely chopped (or substitute mustard greens or wild garlic mustard leaves)
90g dried black eyed beans
salt, to taste
½ teaspoon turmeric powder
For the tempering:
2 tbsp grape-seed oil
3-4 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
3-4 pearl onions, sliced
Method:
Soak the black-eyed peas in a large bowl of water for at least 4 hours. Drain, transfer to a saucepan, cover with plenty of water then bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for about 60 minutes, or until the beans are soft and fully tender. Drain the beans, reserving 200ml of its cooking liquid.
Set a non-stick pan over medium heat. Add the spices for dry roasting and cook, stirring constantly for 2–3 minutes, until aromatic (but make sure they don’t burn). Take off the heat, turn onto a plate and set aside to cool completely. At this point turn into a food processor or spice grinder and render to a coarse powder.
Set the pan used to toast the spices back over medium heat. Add the coconut, garlic and chopped onions. Continue dry frying until the coconut darkens in colour ever so slightly and releases its excess moisture and the onions have become translucent (about 6 minutes). Take off the heat and set aside to cool.. Once cool, add it to the food processor with the powdered spice blend. At the same time add in the tamarind a a few tablespoons of water and grind to a coarse paste.
Set a pan over medium heat add in the blended paste with enough water to yield a thick gravy. Increase the heat to medium high then add in the spinach and the cooked black eyed beans along with the reserved cooking liquid. Season with salt then stir in the ground turmeric. Add more water if needed and bring to a boil.
For the tempering, take a ‘tadka’ pan or small frying pan and add the oil. Once hot add the garlic and pearl onions. Fry until nice and golden in colour. Turn the curry into a warmed serving dish then top with the tempering.
Mix well to combine and serve accompanied by rice and/or rotis.
