Black-Eyed Pea Soup with Corn and Dill

Despite the number of cookbooks and recipes that I have on hand, I don't go too long without cooking something from my treasured copy of Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian. I've featured several recipes from this book here at Lisa's Kitchen, and you can be sure it won't be the last time. Containing over 650 straightforward meatless recipes of varying complexity for soups and salads, legumes, grains, vegetables, eggs and cheese, and sauces and dips from around the world, this book will satisfy any cook looking for ideas to keep their kitchen interesting. If followed exactly, Ms. Jaffrey's recipes will work out perfectly every time, but more experienced and experimental cooks will enjoy the range of possibilities.

My latest choice was this recipe for Black-Eyed Peas with Corn and Dill. It's very easy to prepare and quite tasty. All that is needed to complete the meal is a flat bread or rice dish. I served it with Cashew Rice with Diced Potatoes.

Black-Eyed Peas with Corn and Dill

1 1/2 cups of dried black-eyed peas
3 tablespoons of olive oil
1 teaspoon of cumin seeds
1 teaspoon of black mustard seeds
3 - 4 whole, dried red chillies
15 - 20 fresh or dried curry leaves
1 medium onion, finely chopped
3 - 4 cloves of garlic, minced
4 medium tomatoes, finely chopped
5 tablespoons of fresh dill
4 cups of water
2 cups of corn (use fresh corn or defrosted frozen corn)
1 1/2 teaspoons of sea salt

Soak the beans overnight in enough water to cover. Drain and set aside.

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. When hot, add the cumin and mustard seeds and stir until the mustard seeds turn gray and begin to pop. Now add the dried chilies, stir, and throw in the curry leaves. Stir and add the onions and garlic to the pot. Stir and fry until the onions begin to brown. Add the tomatoes, and stir and cook for another minute or two.

Now add the black-eyed peas, half of the dill and water. Bring to a boil, and then reduce the heat to low and cover and cook, stirring occasionally, for another 40 minutes, or until the beans are tender.

Remove the lid and boil the mixture rapidly for 5 minutes. Now add the corn, salt and remaining dill and boil rapidly for another 10 minutes.

Serves 6.

I'm submitting this tasty dish to Morsels and Musings, who will be hosting this week's edition of Weekend Herb Blogging.