lobia recipe with step by step photos. – spiced and delicious punjabi gravy made with black eyed beans or lobia as we call these beans in hindi or punjabi language.
this punjabi lobia masala curry has a onion tomato base with spices. so the curry has some tang from the tomatoes. the beany flavor of black eyed beans balances the spiciness and the tang very well in this gravy.
lobia or rongi is favorite at home. at my mom’s place we used to call it chawli/chavli. in english it is known as black eyed beans or cow peas. my mom makes a really good chawli usal as well as the mangalore style chawli sambar, which is different from the south indian sambar.
i have learnt this punjabi recipe of lobia masala from my mom-in-law. this is one of the curries which is often made along with rajma and black chickpeas curry. i have also posted vellapayar curry recipe which is kerala style spicy and tasty curry made with black eyed beans.
punjabi lobia gravy is best served with steamed rice or rotis or parathas.
if you are looking for more punjabi recipes then do check:
lobia recipe
ingredients (1 cup = 250 ml)
- 1 cup lobia (black eyed beans or cow peas or rongi or chawli)
- ½ inch ginger (adrak), finely chopped
- 2 to 3 medium garlic cloves (lahsun), finely chopped
- 1 medium sized onion finely chopped
- 2 medium tomatoes finely chopped
- 1 or 2 green chilies chopped
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder (haldi)
- ½ teaspoon red chilli powder (lal mirch powder)
- ½ teaspoon punjabi garam masala powder or garam masala powder
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder (dhania powder)
- 3 cups water
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 1 to 2 tablespoon chopped coriander leaves (dhania patta)
- salt as required
how to make lobia recipe
soaking lobia
soak the lobia overnight or for a few hours.
drain and rinse the lobia with water. again drain and keep aside.
making lobia recipe
- in a pressure cooker or pressure pan, heat oil.
- add the cumin seeds and let them sizzle.
- then add the chopped onions.
- stir and saute till the onions become translucent.
- add the chopped ginger, garlic and green chilies. saute till the raw aroma of the ginger and garlic goes away.
- then add the chopped tomatoes and stir.
- next add the all the dry spices - turmeric powder, red chili powder, coriander powder and garam masala.
- stir and saute the masala on a low flame, till the tomatoes become soft and the entire tomato-onion mixture starts to leave the sides of the pan or cooker and you see the oil leaving from the sides. this cooking method is called as bhunao in punjabi and takes some time.
- now add the lobia or black eyed beans. stir well.
then add 3 cups water. add salt and stir.
pressure cook till the lobia is cooked completely. i cooked it for 8 to 9 whistles as I had soaked it for only half an hour. if you have soaked it overnight or for 2 to 3 hours, it will take less time to cook. the lobia should be soft enough and when pressed with your fingers, it should get mashed easily. check the lobia once its done.
- once the lobia beans are cooked, simmer the gravy without the lid so that it gets thickened.
you can also mash a few cooked beans to thicken the lobia masala gravy.
the consistency of the lobia masala gravy is neither thin nor thick.
- lastly add 2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves and give a final stir. you could also garnish lobia masala with chopped coriander leaves.
- serve punjabi lobia masala with rotis or steamed rice.
recipe notes
- instead of cumin seeds, you could also use cumin powder.
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how to make black eyed beans or lobia recipe
1. soak the lobia overnight or for a few hours in enough water. drain and rinse the lobia with water. again drain and keep aside.
2. in a pressure cooker or pressure pan, heat oil. add the cumin seeds and let them sizzle.
3. then add the chopped onions.
4. stir and saute till the onions become translucent.
5. add the chopped ginger, garlic and green chilies. saute till the raw aroma of the ginger and garlic goes away.
6. then add the chopped tomatoes and stir.
7. next add the all the dry spices – turmeric powder, red chili powder, coriander powder and garam masala.
8. stir and saute the masala on a low flame, till the tomatoes become soft and the entire tomato-onion mixture starts to leave the sides of the cooker and you see the oil leaving from the sides. this cooking method is called as bhunao in punjabi and takes some time.
9. now add the lobia or black eyed beans.
10. stir well.
11. then add 3 cups water.
12. add salt and stir.
13. pressure cook till the lobia is cooked completely. i cooked it for 8-9 whistles as i had soaked it for only half an hour. if you have soaked it overnight or for 2-3 hours, it will take less time to cook. the lobia should be soft enough and when pressed with your fingers, it should get mashed easily. check the lobia once its done. if the lobia beans are not cooked, then pressure cook for a few more whistles.
14. once the lobia beans are cooked, simmer the gravy without the lid so that the gravy gets thickened.
15. you can also mash a few cooked lobia beans to thicken the gravy.
16. the consistency of the lobia masala gravy is neither thin nor thick.
17. lastly add 2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves and give a final stir. you could also garnish lobia masala with chopped coriander leaves.
serve punjabi lobia masala with rotis or steamed rice.
Good Recipe, enjoyed lot with Family. Thanks for ur pictorial explanation of recipes. It makes easy to understand n cook.
Welcome Swapnil. Glad to know that stepwise photos help in making the recipe.
Thanks for this tasty recipe. I took a little longer to make it as I don’t have a pressure cooker, and also added some diced potato with the beans and some shredded spinach with the coriander. because I wanted to use up some vegetables which otherwise would not keep. It still worked beautifully!
I served it with some steamed basmati.
thanks and welcome mawb. the beans do take a longer time to cook when cooked in a pan. you have made lovely changes to the recipe. spinach must have worked very well in the recipe. thanks for sharing 🙂
Thanks for sharing your recipe. I made this for my husband and while he enjoyed it, he said he would have preferred a bit more mixture of beans so before I served my kids, I added a ti of white beans which added a nice bit of heft and textural contrast. Other than that, there is only enough left for lunch tomorrow!
thanks asher for the positive feedback. the same recipe can be used for mixed beans too.
This curry was delicious thnx a lot for posting such a wonderful recipe….hats off to uu <3 🙂
welcome riya
Good tasty recipe. Parsis cook same way but add ggpaste . Instead of chopped. Little vinegar added last. Eaten with tomato onion kachumbar.
thanks gooloo for sharing the parsi version.