The elections kept me so busy that it’s been more than two months since my last food post. I’m starting a new Bleeding Heartland tradition of posting one recipe every Monday.

Black-eyed peas are a traditional southern American food that I don’t recall ever eating when I was growing up in Iowa. I love to cook with them now. They contain a lot of vitamins and minerals and are more digestible than some other beans. I like to substitute them for the pinto beans in any chili recipe (here’s my favorite).

Black-eyed peas are especially convenient if you like to cook your own dried beans. Unlike many legumes, they don’t need to be soaked before cooking. Bring a pot of unsalted water with some peas to a boil, reduce to simmer, and they should be ready to eat or add to a recipe after 45 minutes to an hour.

After the jump I’ve posted my favorite way to eat black-eyed peas. I adapted this recipe from Vegetarian Indian Cookery by Shehzad Husain, a British food writer.

Husain’s recipe calls for fresh green chilies instead of cayenne and has a few minor differences, such as fresh chopped mint and fried baby potatoes to garnish. This is my fast and easy adaptation

Spicy black-eyed peas

1 large onion, sliced very thinly or diced fine

1 tsp ginger, grated or chopped fine

1 tsp ground coriander

1 1/2 tsp garam masala (I don’t recommend substituting curry powder)

1/2 tsp ground turmeric

1 1/2 tsp chili powder (or less, depending on how spicy the powder is)

pinch cayenne pepper (optional if you like spicy food)

salt to taste

tomatoes of your choice (I have used 1 14-oz can diced tomatoes, a few chopped fresh tomatoes, a small jar/can of tomato paste plus some water, or about 1-2 cups of strained tomatoes)

2 Tbsp lemon juice (from a bottle works fine if you don’t have a fresh lemon)

2 cans black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed, or about a cup of dried black-eyed peas, cooked and drained

Saute onion in vegetable oil (you need to use several tablespoons) until it is getting caramel brown. You need to stir frequently so it doesn’t burn. It takes me about 20 minutes to get the onions cooked enough.

Meanwhile, assemble all the other ingredients. When onions are done, add tomatoes and all the spices, and stir and cook for a minute or two.

Then add the drained black-eyed peas, stir and cook until heated through.

Serve with warmed tortillas or Indian-style bread. I warm tortillas in a dry skillet. You could cook rice to go with it, but this isn’t an Indian curry with lots of sauce to pour over rice. It’s filling enough to be a main dish. I like to add a bit of mango chutney.

This recipe is suitable for vegans, vegetarians or omnivores. It can be made for someone on a gluten-free diet if you have the right kind of bread to serve with it.

If you have a favorite way to eat black-eyed peas, please leave a comment in this thread.