Black-eyed Pea - Culinary Uses Worldwide

Culinary Uses Worldwide

"Hoppin' John," made of black-eyed peas, rice, and pork, is a traditional dish of Southern United States.

Texas caviar, another traditional dish in the American South, is made from black-eyed peas marinated in Italian salad dressing and chopped garlic, and served cold.

In Portugal, black-eyed peas are served with boiled cod and potatoes, with tuna, and in salads.

In Vietnam, black-eyed peas are used in a sweet dessert called chè đậu trắng (black-eyed peas and sticky rice with coconut milk).

In Greece, Turkey (Börülce salatası), and Cyprus, black-eyed peas are eaten with vegetables, oil, salt, and lemon. in Syria and Lebanon Lobya or green black-eyed-beans are cooked with onion, garlic, tomatoes, peeled and chopped, olive oil, salt and black pepper.

In the northern part of Colombia, they are used to prepare a fritter called buñuelo. The beans are immersed in water for a few hours to loosen their skins and soften them. The skins are then removed either by hand or with the help of a manual grinder. Once the skins are removed, the bean is ground or blended, and eggs are added, which produces a soft mix. The mix is fried in hot oil. It makes a nutritious breakfast meal.

In Pakistan and northern India, lobia is cooked as daal.

In West Africa and the Caribbean, a traditional dish called akkra is made of mashed black-eyed peas to which is added salt, onions and/or peppers. The mixture is then fried.

In Brazil's northeastern state of Bahia, especially in the city of Salvador, black-eyed peas are used in a traditional street food of Nigerian origin called acarajé. The beans are peeled and mashed, and the resulting paste is made into balls and deep fried in dendê. Acarajé is typically served split in half and stuffed with vatapá, caruru, diced green and red tomatoes, fried sun-dried shrimp and homemade hot sauce.

In Indonesia, black-eyed peas are called kacang tunggak or kacang tolo in local language. They are commonly used in curry dishes like sambal goreng, a kind of hot and spicy red curry dish, sayur brongkos, or sayur lodeh.