This Lobia curry recipe is perfect for those who are looking for simple and easy recipes for making black-eyed peas or lobiya. This lobia curry is a simple recipe with minimal ingredients and very nutritious. Soak them overnight so that next morning you can bring this black eyes peas curry to the table within 30 minutes!
If I were you, I would make a big batch of it and freeze it. You can serve this black eyes peas curry or lobia curry as a side dish with chapattis or rice. Or, turn it into a lobia salad with diced vegetables and some herbs. But my personal favourite is having these lobia beans as lobia chat. Simply top it with some yogurt, diced salad veggies, sea salt and some dry roasted cumin powder. Voila! Healthy and highly nutritious meal ready which would keep you full for a very long time.

My go-to white lobia recipe of all times!
This simple lobia curry is my favourite way of cooking lobia beans as it requires only 5 ingredients (other than the black eyes peas or lobia dal). It is a very light dish, perfect for summer so that your body can relax a bit after enjoying all the indulgent food of winter and holidays.
Lobia beans, or black eyed peas has very little fat as well as carbohydrate in them. They are, however, packed with protein and other nutrients like Iron, Magnesium and Calcium. Being a legume, it is plant-based and is an excellent source of protein for those who follow vegetarian or vegan lifestyle.
Below, I will give you the recipe of this easy and light lobia curry, along with 2 other serving ideas that we discussed earlier. So, let’s get started.
How to make white Lobia Curry – Ingredients list
- Lobia or Black Eyed Peas
- Mustard Oil, an alternate would be any other edible oil
- Hing or Asafoetida, omit if not available
- Cumin Seeds
- Ginger
- Green Chilli
- Roasted Cumin Powder
- Lemon
- Salt & Sugar
Lobia ki sabji is a very popular North Indian dish, and can be made in several ways. Normally, the lobia curry served at the dhabas and restaurants are much more richer and have a thick gravy of onion, garlic, tomatoes and spices. Unlike other legumes like rajma or kidney beans, lobia cooks relatively faster. Hence it has a much shorter cooking time.
If you plan a bit ahead then you can further cut down the cooking time by soaking the lobia dal or black eyed peas the night before. Next day, after discarding the soaking liquid, you can pressure cook the dal and cook it much faster.
You will find lobia or black-eyed peas in most of the grocery stores in the Pulses & Legumes aisle. Lobia in Bengali is often referred to as ‘borboti‘.
How to make this light & easy lobia k sabji?
- Soak the lobia dal or black-eyed peas overnight. This would make them tender and cut down the cooking greatly. If you are planning to make them for lunch, soaking the beans the previous night helps. Otherwise, if you want to make this lobia curry for dinner then you can soak them in the morning of the same day.
- When you are ready to cook, discard the soaking liquid and wash the lobia beans a couple of times in clean water.
- Now, add them to the pressure cooker along with some water (enough to submerge them completely plus a little bit more), salt and a drizzle of oil. Allow it to pressure cook on high for 5-7 minutes or 2-3 whistles
- Turn off the heat and allow the pressure cooker to depressurize on its own
- Now, in a pan heat a tablespoon of oil and temper it with hing or asafoetida and cumin seeds. As they splutter, drop a green chilli and the grated ginger. If you prefer heat, you can chop the green chilli into smaller pieces as well. Give everything a stir on low-medium heat.
- Now drop the cooked lobia beans in the pan and give everything a stir.
- Check for seasoning, add a teaspoon of sugar and allow it to simmer for 5-7 minutes.
- With the back of the ladle, mash a couple of beans to give the gravy a body. Once the consistency looks perfect to you and the beans are cooked, turn off the heat.
- Serve with a sprinkle of dry roasted cumin powder and lemon juice.
How to serve this Lobia Curry?
If I am serving this lobia sabji for lunch then I would pair it with a rice dish such as Peas Pulao or Jeera Rice. For dinner, I would keep it simple with some soft chapattis. You will find the recipe to make the softest Indian Rotis here.
How to make Lobia Chat at home?
The leftover of this lobia curry can be easily turned into a lobia chat. Fill a bowl with this lobia sabji and top it with whisked yogurt, tamaring chutney, mint & coriander chutney, diced veggies like onion, tomato, cucumber, etc., perhaps a few pomegranate arils and a generous helping of sev. Season it with some sea salt, roasted cumin powder, red chili powder and enjoy it as a perfect snack.
Another way of making this chat is to use some pressure cooked lobia beans or black eyed peas. I usually keep a box of cooked beans aside before making a curry with the rest of it.
How to make Lobia Salad at home?
Lobia beans can be the perfect addition to your salad. It will bulk it up and also add some more protein and healthy nutrients to it. Slice, dice or chop your salad veggies such as Cucumber, Onion, Tomato, etc. Tear your greens such as lettuce. Make a simple vinaigrette of extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, sea salt and red chili flakes, and top it on your salad. Add the cooked lobia beans and give everything a good mix. You can also add croutons to add a bit of crunch to your dish.
As you can see, this recipe is a wonderful way of including legumes in your diet, either the same day in the form of lobia ki sabji or the next day as lobia salad or chat with the leftover.
Have you tried this recipe? I would love to hear about it.
Tag me on Instagram @priyankabhattacharya.sa or Facebook @hashdiaries and I will share it further.
Few more Dal Recipes from my Blog
Bengali Dal Recipes
- Arhar Dal | Bengali Split Pea Dal Recipe
- Cholar Dal Recipe│Bengali Chana Daal Recipe
- Biulir Dal | Urad dal in Bengali style
- Masoor dal recipe Bengali style
- Musur Dal Sheddho
- Radhaballavi | Bengali Urad Dal Kachori
- Shobji Diye Arhar Dal – Toor Dal Recipe with Vegetable
- Motor Dal| Bengali Split Pea Dal Recipe
- Bengali Kacha Moong Dal Recipe (with Panchphoron)
- Ada diye Kacha Muger Dal | Bengali Moong Dal Recipe
Other Dal Recipes
- Punjabi Chana Dal Recipe
- Rajma Masala | Kidney Beans Curry Recipe
- Dhaba-style Punjabi Dal Makhani Recipe
- Arhar Dal with Onion-Tomato Spice Mix | Spicy Bengali Split Pea Dal Recipe
- Green Moong Dal Recipe
- Panchmel Dal | Rajasthani Mixed Lentils Recipe
- Mix Vegetable Soup Recipe
This Lobia curry recipe is perfect for those who are looking for simple and easy recipes for making black eyes peas or lobiya. This lobia curry is a simple recipe with minimal ingredients and very nutritious. Soak them overnight so that next morning you can bring this black eyes peas curry to the table within 30 minutes!
- 1 cup Lobia or Black Eyed Peas
- 2 tbsp Mustard Oil an alternate would be any other edible oil
- A pinch of Hing or Asafoetida omit if not available
- ½ tsp Cumin Seeds
- 1 inch Ginger Grated
- 1 Green Chilli
- Dry Roasted Cumin Powder – To Garnish
- Lemon Juice to finish
- Salt to Taste
- 1 tsp Sugar
-
Soak the lobia dal or black-eyed peas overnight. This would make them tender and cut down the cooking greatly.
-
When you are ready to cook, discard the soaking liquid and wash the lobia beans a couple of times in clean water.
Now, add them to the pressure cooker along with some water (enough to submerge them completely plus a little bit more), salt and a drizzle of oil. Allow it to pressure cook on high for 5-7 minutes or 2-3 whistles. Turn off the heat and allow the pressure cooker to depressurize on its own
-
Now, in a pan heat a tablespoon of oil and temper it with hing or asafoetida and cumin seeds. As they splutter, drop a green chilli and the grated ginger. If you prefer heat, you can chop the green chili into smaller pieces as well. Give everything a stir on low-medium heat.
Now drop the cooked lobia beans in the pan and give everything a stir.
-
Check for seasoning, add a teaspoon of sugar and allow it to simmer for 5-7 minutes. With the back of the ladle, mash a couple of beans to give the gravy a body.
Once the consistency looks perfect to you and the beans are cooked, turn off the heat. Serve with a sprinkle of dry roasted cumin powder and lemon juice.