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Jamaican Black-eyed Pea Curry

This Jamaican black-eyed pea curry is so delicious. It’s creamy, bursting with flavor, hearty, healthy and super easy to make. It’s naturally gluten free and vegan. A must make recipe!

Jamaican black-eyed pea curry with rice and habanero peppers and a garnish of coconut milk and parsley overhead view

I’m lucky enough to live in walking distance to both a fully vegan Jamaican restaurant and a Caribbean with an elaborate vegan menu. Lucky because I love Jamaican food! It’s spicy, has bold flavors, creamy curries, the most delicious puffy breads, lots of beans, and have you had a Jamaican patty yet?? The cuisine lends itself well to vegan cooking, possibly due to the multicultural influence and also the Rastafarian Ital cuisine.

It probably comes as no surprise to anyone that my first Jamaican blog recipe is a curry. After all my site is filled with curry recipes from around the globe. And while I thought about developing a doubles recipe, it’s January and you guys aren’t looking for deep fried bread stuffed with chickpea curry recipes at the moment (are you? I mean, please tell me you are).

Jamaican chicken curry recipes inspired this black-eyed pea curry. You can often find the Caribbean curry with a vegan chicken substitution at restaurants but black-eyed peas were calling my name when inspiration for this dish struck. 

Thankfully it’s pretty easy to veganize Jamaican curry, the flavor comes from all the herbs and spices after all. Swapping in beans lightens the dish, which is great because then you get to eat more! And as you’re going to want seconds anyway, this is definitely a good thing.

Jamaican black-eyed pea curry

The Jamaican curry powder:

When it comes to making Jamaican curries, you’re going to want to use a Jamaican curry powder blend. While it has a lot of similarities to Indian curry powders you might be more familiar with, it’s a different combination of spices and they’re added in different amounts so it does produce it’s own unique, flavorful, delicious result.

I made my own Jamaican curry powder for this recipe. I have a particularly well stocked spice pantry, so was able to do so without any trips to the store. If your pantry is not as well stocked as mine, and you don’t have much interest in changing that up, you might be better off just purchasing a pre-made Jamaican curry spice blend.

Otherwise grab out the 8 spices you need from your pantry, or pick up the 1 or 2 you might be missing, fire up a dry skillet and get to making your own curry powder! Honestly, freshly prepared curry powder is the absolute best–it elevates your recipes and brings a fuller deeper flavor.

As soon as they’re ground, spices begin to lose flavor, which is why I try to use up ground spices in a timely manner and prepare my spice blends from whole spices when possible.

Jamaican black-eyed pea curry served with lime wedges and rice with a side of parsley for garnish

For this Jamaican curry powder we use cumin seed, mustard seed, coriander seed, fenugreek seed, and allspice berries. Toast the spices on a dry skillet until they turn fragrant and a shade darker, then grind them up using a spice grinder or mortar and pestle.

Next add the ground spices: ground ginger, white pepper (or black if that’s what you have), and lots of turmeric.

I like to use whole spices but also try not to be too fussy about my spice blends. So, for example, I usually have ground allspice on hand for baking and instead of picking up the whole berries it would be fine to use ground. If substituting a ground spice for whole, add it with the other ground spices and it will burn quickly on a dry skillet and use about 1/2 the volume when measuring.

If you make your own curry powder it will make extra, so you have plenty to put this recipe on repeat! Or you can make curry roasted veggies, flavor soups, make a tofu rub, etc! Make it a little in advance or just before making the recipe, whatever you like.

Jamaican black-eyed pea curry with rice and habanero peppers and a garnish of parsley

The black-eyed pea curry:

This curry couldn’t be simpler to make! It’s stuffed with potatoes and beans, spiced with curry powder, spicy chili peppers, onion, garlic, and fresh thyme. A somewhat brothy stew made creamy from a bit of coconut milk and simmered to reduce into a thick curry. The recipe needs a good amount of salt to bring out the spices and keep it from falling flat, then a generous addition of lime juice adds acidity to make the whole recipe sing.

Start by sautéing onion and garlic to soften, then add the hot peppers. Scotch bonnet peppers are traditional, but can be hard to find locally depending on where you live. I will substitute habanero for them. Like scotch bonnets, habanero’s have a reputation of being very spicy, but like any pepper it can vary a lot pepper to pepper depending on growing conditions, etc.

Jamaican black-eyed pea curry with rice and habanero peppers and a garnish of coconut milk and parsley angled view

I started with adding 1 seeded habanero to this recipe, but ended up needing to add 2 unseeded habaneros to get a medium heat. Guess is that’s what I get for buying peppers in the middle of winter. My recommendation to you is to start small (1 pepper, seeded) and add more to taste. Habanero heat tends to build slowly in your belly, so at first taste it might not seem as spicy as it is.

Along with the hot peppers add sprigs of fresh thyme, Jamaican curry powder, black pepper, and some salt (if using a store bought curry powder check the ingredients for salt, if the curry powder is salty you may need to cut back). Flash cook them for just 30 seconds, then add cubed potatoes and let them soak up the aromatics briefly before adding the black eyed peas and water.

Simmer the curry until the potatoes are just cooked, 10-15 minutes, then add the coconut milk and let the curry simmer another 15 minutes to reduce and thicken, for the potatoes to turn extra tender so they melt away in your mouth. At the end, add the freshly squeezed lime juice and taste and add more salt to taste.

Jamaican black-eyed pea curry served with lime wedges and rice

The curry is amazing hot off the stove, but the leftovers get even better as the flavors have had a chance to meld. Enjoy this curry with some rice and fresh parsley. We enjoyed smokey collard greens alongside of the curry.

I couldn’t get enough of this Jamaican curry! The flavors, the textures, it was all just so incredible! I really hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we did.

If you make it, leave a comment below and rate the recipe on the recipe card. And please share your photos with me on Instagram, tag @thecuriouschickpea and #thecuriouschickpea, I love seeing your creations!

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Jamaican black-eyed pea curry with rice and habanero peppers and a garnish of coconut milk and parsley overhead view

Jamaican Black-eyed Pea Curry

Yield: 8 servings

This Jamaican black-eyed pea curry is so delicious. It's creamy, bursting with flavor, hearty, healthy and super easy to make. It's naturally gluten free and vegan. A must make recipe!

Ingredients

  • 1 tsp oil
  • 1 yellow onion, diced
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1-3 scotch bonnet or habanero peppers, seeded if desired and minced (use gloves to handle)
  • 3 sprigs fresh thyme
  • 2 1/2 tbsp Jamaican curry powder (homemade* or store bought)
  • 1 - 1 1/2 tsp salt, to taste
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 1 lb (~4 small) yukon gold potatoes, peeled and diced to 1/2" cubes
  • 3 cups (30oz can) black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 cup coconut milk
  • 1/4 cup lime juice (~2 limes)

Instructions

  1. Heat a pot over medium heat, and add the oil, onion, and garlic. Sauté until the onion is soft, about 5-7 minutes.
  2. Add the scotch bonnet or habanero peppers, thyme, curry powder, black pepper, and 1 teaspoon of salt. Stir to coat everything in curry powder and let cook about 30 seconds. Add the potatoes and sauté for 1 minute. Then add the black-eyed peas and water. Partially cover, bring to a simmer and let cook until the potatoes are just fork tender, about 12-15 minutes.
  3. Add the coconut milk and continue to simmer with the lid off for 15 minutes to reduce and meld the flavors. Turn off the heat and add the lime juice. Taste and add salt to taste.

Notes

Jamaican curry powder: In a dry skillet toast over low heat 2 tablespoons each of cumin seed, whole mustard seed, and coriander seed along with 1 tablespoon each of fenugreek seed and allspice berries (or substitute 1 1/2 tsp ground allspice in next step) until fragrant, 3-5 minutes. Grind the toasted spices in a spice grinder or mortar and pestle. Then mix in 1 teaspoon each of ground ginger and white pepper (or black) along with 4 tablespoons of ground turmeric. Store in an airtight container until ready to use.

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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 217Total Fat: 7gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 618mgCarbohydrates: 33gFiber: 7gSugar: 5gProtein: 8g

Did you make this recipe?

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Tami

Monday 1st of January 2024

This is a great recipe - made it for our New Year's dinner tonight, and it might be a new tradition for us. Loved the flavors - very distinct from other curries that we've made. The kids loved it too! Made as written except for using dried beans instead of canned. I only made 1/3 the amount of the curry powder so I wouldn't have so much left over. Served with smoked basmati rice and maduros.

Kathleen

Saturday 4th of November 2023

Great recipe- very easy. Added peas and a little cornstarch to help thicken. I will do less lime next time.

Paul

Thursday 28th of September 2023

Made this using habanero pepper. Substituted coconut cream and a bit more liquid. Garnished with cilantro. Delicious go to vegetarian meal.

josephine

Friday 30th of June 2023

just came across your website and do enjoy your lovely preambles. they make me lol. good thing your caribbean restaurants are not in walking distance to where i live for i would be sampling the entire menu!

was a marvellous small caribbean cafe in harrow road area that was a treat to walk to after the notting hill carnival. the elegant tall chefs in their full whites with chef hat would peruse the customers to see if we were enjoying their culinary delights. he turned out the most splendid tasty jamaican food that i have ever eaten in london.

also a restaurant in crouch end area that delivered a feast for the eyes as the kitchen door opened and the dining table was approached. presentation matched de flavors. sadly these are both no more. a loss to londoners who sadly were not awake to REAL jamaican food at that time.

we are sooo lucky in london to be able to enjoy a taste of the global village. those who eat together. stay together!

Phillip

Friday 25th of November 2022

Why is it that everything from the Caribbean has to be labelled "Jamaican" its that same as things in Scotland being labelled "English"

Phillip

Friday 25th of November 2022

Apart from that the recipe is great as a Vegan dish

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