African National Dishes: Tanzanian Black Eyed Peas & Coconut Curry
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Our recipe focus this week transports us to the soft white sand beaches of Tanzania on Africa’s east coast. 
The dreamy sand scape of Tanzania’s coastline is dotted with coconut palms which not only give it an exotic backdrop but put cash in the pockets of those who harvest and process the fruits.
Add to the coconut locally grown black eyed peas and the indigenous spice cloves and the result is a creamy, spiced soup. I love the “soulful simmer” section in The Bean by Bean cookbook written by Crescent Dragonwagon. It is a great resource, for bean lovers, from which I loosely adapted the Tanzanian Black Eyed Pea and Coconut Soup. For ease I chose to use the spice blend garam masala because of the loose similarities it has with the suggested Tanzanian spice. Garam masala has a clovey foundation added to the cumin and coriander flavors which give this soup it’s Tanzanian twist.
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cooking Time LOW for 7-8 hours or HIGH for 3-4 hours.
Servings 4
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp light olive oil
- 2 cups / 1 large onion, diced
- 1 tbsp garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp ginger, minced
- 1 red chili pepper, chopped
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 2 tbsp garam masala
- 2 cups / 8oz black eyed peas, rinsed
- 3 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 x 15oz can light coconut milk
- 4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
- 3 cups collard greens,spinach or chard, roughly chopped
Heat the olive oil in a skillet and lightly sauté the onion, garlic and ginger for 2 minutes until it begins to soften. Transfer to the slow cooker.
Add the chili pepper, bell pepper, garam masala, black eyed peas, tomato paste, coconut milk and broth. Stir, cover and cook on LOW for 7-8 hours or HIGH for 3-4 hours.
Once cooked stir in the greens and serve.
Zen Moment
“Little by little, a little becomes a lot.”
– Tanzanian Proverb
