Instructions: As I havent posted a recipe in a while, I thought Id share this one, which is adapted from Madhur Jaffreys "Indian Cooking". I made it last night to accompany some thick-cut pork chops which I dry-rubbed and grilled, but its a great side dish with just about anything. The recipe calls for 8 oz. dried black-eyed peas, but not having time to soak and simmer these, I substituted a larger quantity of frozen.

In a large saucepan, bring 2 qts. water to a boil; add peas and simmer 30 minutes. While this is going on:

In a deep skillet, heat the vegetable oil on high. When the oil is very hot, add the cumin seeds and cinnamon stick and fry, stirring, for 5-6 seconds. Add the onions and garlic and let cook, stirring, until onions are beginning to brown ( about 5 minutes). Add the mushrooms and cook until they are just softened, about 2 minutes. Add tomatoes, cumin, coriander, turmeric and cayenne. Stir to mix well, reduce heat to low, cover and allow to cook about 10 minutes.

When the peas are done simmering, add the tomato/onion/mushroom mixture to the pan containing the peas and water. Add salt, cilantro if using, and black pepper to taste; mix well and simmer, uncovered, another 30 minutes.

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