This Cauliflower and Black Eyed Peas Curry balances the carbs in the black-eyed peas with tasty, low-carb veggies like cauliflower and mushrooms, with a creamy finish of cashew milk or coconut milk. Served with cauliflower rice, if low-carb, or with white or brown rice, it makes a tasty meal that'll keep you sated for hours to come. This is a gluten-free, soy-free recipe and it can be nut-free if you use coconut milk.
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One of the things I hated, at first, about eating low-carb and vegan was not being able to easily incorporate beans and lentils, which I love, in my diet. Legumes are incredibly healthy but they are also notoriously high in carbohydrates. And while all that was perfectly fine when I was younger, that combo simply doesn't work any more when it comes to keeping my weight in check now.
I've been working on finding healthy ways to eat legumes while keeping the overall dish low-carb, and recently I shared with you my incredible Coconut Dal with edamame, which has just 10 grams of net carbs in each serving.
Now, I give you a ridiculously tasty and easy Cauliflower and Black Eyed Peas Curry that has just 9 net carbs in each serving, but is also stunningly tasty and satisfying to those plant-loving tastebuds and tummy. Cauliflower is a very keto-friendly veggie, and one that is divine in low-carb dishes like this curry as well as this Cauliflower Rice Biryani and this Cauliflower Risotto.
If you love black-eyed peas, you can eat more of them in this spicy black-eyed peas curry!
Recipe card
Cauliflower and Black Eyed Peas Curry (Low Carb + Vegan)
Ingredients
- 14 oz black eyed peas (canned or homecooked or frozen are all fine)
- ½ medium onion (diced)
- 1 medium tomato (diced)
- 8 oz cremini mushrooms or button mushrooms (quartered)
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste
- ½ head cauliflower (separated into small florets)
- ½ teaspoon cayenne
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- ½ teaspoon paprika (optional, for color)
- ½ to 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 1 cup cashew milk (or coconut milk. You can make the cashew milk at home by blending ¼ cup raw cashews with ¾ cup water)
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Place the tomatoes and onions in a blender with one mushroom. Blitz into a smooth paste. Add a bit of water if necessary to keep the blades moving, but add as little as possible. Set the paste aside.
- Heat oil in a saucepan. Add cumin seeds and let them become fragrant, which they will in a few seconds. Add the tomato onion paste, and stir in the cayenne and turmeric and paprika, if using. Add the ginger garlic paste. Mix well.
- Cook the tomato onion paste until it darkens and the liquid has evaporated. Add the cauliflower florets followed by mushrooms. Mix well.
- Add a dash of salt. Cover and cook over medium-low heat until the vegetables are almost tender. Keep an eye and don't let the veggies burn. Add a quarter cup of water if they begin to stick.
- Add the black eyed peas with two cups of the stock you cooked the peas in, or, if you used canned or frozen beans, just add water. Stir well and bring to a boil. Cover and continue cooking five more minutes or until the veggies are fully tender.
- Stir in the coconut milk or cashew milk. Add salt to taste and the garam masala. This curry doesn't need much garam masala--just a tiny bit, so add a little at first, taste, then add more if you want.Let the curry warm through, then turn off heat.
- Garnish, if you wish, with a couple of tablespoons of chopped cilantro.
Notes
- The recipe is already low-calorie and low-carb, but you can reduce the calories further by swapping the coconut oil for vegetable stock to saute the tomato-onion past.Â
- This curry can be refrigerated for up to three days. You can freeze in an airtight, freezer-safe container for up to three months.
- For a low-carb dieter, serve the curry with cauliflower rice. A vegan cucumber raita goes beautifully with it without adding too many carbs.
- For others, serve with brown or white rice and the raita. Poppadums on the side would be amazing.
Nutrition Information
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How to make Cauliflower and Black Eyed Peas Curry
- Place the tomatoes and onions in a blender with one mushroom. Blitz into a smooth paste. Add a bit of water if necessary to keep the blades moving, but add as little as possible. Set the paste aside.
- Heat oil in a saucepan. Add cumin seeds and let them become fragrant, which they will in a few seconds. Add the tomato onion paste, and stir in the cayenne and turmeric and paprika, if using. Add the ginger garlic paste. Mix well.
- Cook the tomato onion paste until it darkens and the liquid has evaporated. Add the cauliflower florets followed by mushrooms. Mix well.
- Add a dash of salt. Cover and cook over medium-low heat until the vegetables are almost tender. Keep an eye and don't let the veggies burn. Add a quarter cup of water if they begin to stick.
- Add the black eyed peas with two cups of the cooking stock or water. Stir well and bring to a boil. Cover and continue cooking five more minutes or until the veggies are fully tender.
- Stir in the coconut milk or cashew milk. Add salt to taste and the garam masala. This curry doesn't need much garam masala--just a tiny bit, so add a little at first, taste, then add more if you want.
- Let the curry warm through, then turn off heat.
Storage and freezing instructions
This curry can be refrigerated for up to three days. You can freeze in an airtight, freezer-safe container for up to three months.
Serve
- For a low-carb dieter, serve the curry with cauliflower rice. A vegan cucumber raita goes beautifully with it without adding too many carbs.
- For others, serve with brown or white rice and the raita. Poppadums on the side would be amazing.
Denise says
I just made this + it was excellant. I wasn't sure what size pot I needed to use to make the curry. I went larger than necessary to make sure everything would fit.
So, glad I have enough for mutiple meals.
John-Mark says
I lowered the carbs in this fantastic dish significantly by using Black Soybeans instead of Black Eyed Peas.
Black eyed peas have 4 times the Net Carbs of Black Soybeans, are delicious, and can be used wherever high carb black beans are called for.
A 1-cup serving of cooked black soybeans has significantly fewer carbs than black-eyed peas, with black soybeans containing about 8g of total carbs compared to black-eyed peas' 33.5g. Black soybeans are a much lower-carb option, while black-eyed peas have a much higher carbohydrate count.
So it was a no-brainer to use them here, though if one is avoiding soy, this would not be a good swap.
So while I don't eat beans often (maybe once every 2 months), this fantastic recipe has gone into my "favorite recipes collection."
Thank you so much for sharing it!
TIMOTHY WALSH says
Excellent. Easy to make. Healthy. And I lost weight too !!!!!
Vaishali says
Awesome, that's wonderful to hear!
Barbara says
Just made this. Wow. excellent recipe. So good on a winter day!!! Thank you!
Mary Ann Fusco says
I'm making this right now but not sure what the "cooking stock" is? There is no stock listed in the ingredients!
Vaishali says
Hi, it’s the water in which you cooked the beans. If you used canned or frozen beans just use water!
Mary Ann Fusco says
Thanks I used canned peas and I did add a "no chicken cube" to water and it was delicious! Thanks for this recipe!
Vaishali says
Hi Mary Ann, so happy you loved it!
Chana says
Can I use pinto beans instead? I have only a tiny bit of black eyed peas
Vaishali says
Yes, they would absolutely work here!