Last weekend I met some of my girl friends for lunch. It was long due and we finally managed to successfully do the lunch. So if you have any friends with kids, you will know what I am talking about. Since I don’t any yet, I am relatively available for meet ups most times but my friends who have one or may be even 2 find it so difficult to plan ahead citing the obvious reason. In fact even on the set day, it is still unsure whether they are going to make it for any plans or no. I understand their situation, not judging anyone. Being a parent does get very demanding and you are pressed for time always. Hats off to all those who do it so beautifully. You do have your moments but you still hang in there and enjoy this phase. I hear, these little ones grow up very quick! 🙂

While we chatted amicably over lunch over various topics, one of my friend who is also a mother of a beautiful toddler asked me about my blog and then suggested that I make some quick dinner recipes to help people like her. I did tell her to check out Black Eyed Peas and Dill Curry, Eggplant and Tofu stir fry in Hoisin Sauce, Vegetable Stir Fry recipes to name a few which are quick fix meals. Yes as busy working parents, all one is looking for is some easy recipe or a quick meal for dinner/lunch. Parents already have their hands full, now they want their plates full with something healthy, nutritious and something that is ready in minutes. 

This recipe is packed with proteins, its got lentils, spinach and black-eyed peas cooked with Indian spices to make it more flavorful and palatable. This recipes just needs 1 tbsp cooking oil and very minimal chopping too. That makes life simpler right! Boil the spinach along with tur dal, turmeric powder and salt. Meanwhile grind together onion, garlic, ginger, green chillies and almonds. Here is my tip – add almonds in gravy paste or even chutney. It gives it a nutty flavor and adds more punch to the dish. In a pan, heat the oil, temper the mustard and cumin seeds. Add and fry the paste for 2 minutes or till the raw smell goes away. Now add the tomatoes and saute till they become pulpy.

Once the tomatoes are cooked, add the ready to use black-eyed peas. If you don’t have this, then boil them previously along with the spinach. Add all the spices and finally the boiled spinach-lentils mixture. Adjust salt and garnish with cilantro. 

Spinach & Black Eyed Peas Masala is now ready to be served. You can have it with some brown rice or any Indian bread.

If this wasn’t easy then what is! It’s simple indeed. 

Spinach & Black Eyed Peas Masala

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Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 5 minutes

Author Priya Lakshminarayan

Ingredients

• 2 cups spinach
• 3/4 cup tur dal
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 large onion
• 2-3 garlic cloves
• Half inch ginger
• 2 green chillies
• 4-5 almonds
• 1 tbsp cooking oil
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 2 to matoes finely chopped
• 1 tbsp dhania jeera powder
• 1 tsp chilly powder
• 1 tbsp garam masala
• 3/4 cup black eyed peas
• 1/3 cup chopped cilantro
• Salt

Instructions

• Boil the spinach along with tur dal, turmeric powder and salt. Meanwhile grind together onion, garlic, ginger, green chillies and almonds. Here is my tip - add almonds in gravy paste or even chutney. It gives it a nutty flavor and adds more punch to the dish. In a pan, heat the oil, temper the mustard and cumin seeds. Add and fry the paste for 2 minutes or till the raw smell goes away. Now add the tomatoes and saute till they become pulpy.
• Once the tomatoes are cooked, add the ready to use black eyed peas. If you dont have this, then boil them previously along with the spinach. Add all the spices and finally the boiled spinach-lentils mixture. Adjust salt and garnish with cilantro.
• Spinach & Black Eyed Peas Masala is now ready to be served. You can have it with some brown rice or any Indian bread.

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 I dedicate this recipe to all you busy parents out there. I hear you! My recipes always aim to meet the demands of all my readers. I am so glad I can be of some help to you. This is my mother-in-law’s recipe. I learnt it from her and I am so glad that I did. She tells me that she created this recipe accidentally. She had some black-eyed peas lying around and just decided to team it up with spinach and make a spicy gravy dish to be eaten with chapatis (An Indian bread). 

Lastly, I would love to hear from you, please leave your comments below and share your cooking stories with me. You can also subscribe to our newsletter to get regular recipe updates and more. Follow Cookilicious on Twitter and Instagram and tag your food pics to #cookiliciousveg. And like always, keep your cooking delicious! 

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