Tower of Joy: Black-eyed Pea Masala and Curry Cornbread

The New Year is upon us!  And what better way to celebrate than with black-eyed peas and cornbread, in traditional southern style (minus collards)?  To put a fun spin on both, we opted to flavor them with curry.  I mostly got the idea for that because we rang in the new year eating at a wonderful restaurant (Chauhan Ale & Masala) that specializes in blending together Indian cuisine and traditional southern fare.

What you need for the Black-eyed Peas:

• 2 1/2 cups dried black-eyed peas (be sure to soak them and then retain the water)
• 2 tbsp curry powder 
• 3 tbsp garam masala
• 3 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 inch fresh ginger, peeled and minced
• 2 tomatoes, diced
• 3 serrano chiles, deseeded and diced
• 2 tbsp minced garlic
• 1/3 cup ghee
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 1/2 fat free plain greek yogurt
• 2/3 cup cilantro, finely chopped
• 4 1/2 cups water

 What you need for the Cornbread:

• 1 1/2 cup flour
• 1 cup corn (I heated up frozen corn for this)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tbsp ghee
• 1 tbsp yogurt
• 1 dried red chile pepper, deseeded and diced
• 1 tsp ground corriander
• 2 tsp garam masala

Black-eyed Pea Masala

Heat the ghee in a skillet over medium heat, and then add the serranos, onion, and garlic.  Sauté the mixture for approximately 5 minutes.  

Transfer the mixture to a large pot, and then stir in the curry powder, garam masala, turmeric, and cumin.  Once the spices are thoroughly mixed in, add the tomatoes.  Let cook for 2-3 minutes, and then pour in 4 cups of water.  Use the retained water (we only had 3 cups of saved water, so we added in 1 cup of tap water, as well.  Stir in the black-eyed peas.  

Bring everything to a boil, so that it looks like a bubbling cauldron of deliciousness.

Bubble, bubble, toil & trouble!

Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.

Stir in the yogurt and cilantro.  Serve garnished with yogurt and cilantro.

Curry Cornbread

Blend the corn, chile, sugar and salt in a food processor (or the vitamix!).  Next, mix together the flour and baking powder in a large mixing bowl.  Add in the ghee and the yogurt and knead the mixture until it is blended.  Mix in the corn mixture, and then add water until you have a soft, sticky dough.  We used approximately 1/2 cup.

Grease a 6-cup muffin tin, make the cornbread into balls, and put a ball in each cup.  

Bake at 375 degrees fahrenheit for 20 minutes.