Karamani Sundal also known as Thatta Payaru sundal is a delicious sundal / salad made with Black eyed peas/cowpeas. This Black-eyed pea savory sundal is a quick and easy vegan recipe.
Karamani sundal is made with cooked black-eyed peas, seasoning, and grated fresh coconut. That is all it needs to make this delicious sundal. We can serve this sundal as a snack or we eat it as a side with sambar and rasam rice.
If you know me, you will realize that black-eyed peas are one of my favorite beans to work with. I just love the flavor of it!
And I have a partner in crime, my younger son, who loves karamani as much as me (or even more than me). Any chance I give him to choose a bean to make for dinner and his first answer would be to make lobia / black-eyed peas subzi.
He loves anything made with karamani and this sundal is no exception. I on the other hand like the Karamani sweet sundal a touch more than this savory black-eyed pea sundal. It could also be because I love sweets and he likes anything savory.
Just because we love black-eyed peas in our family, I also happen to have several recipes with them. If you are looking for more black-eye peas recipes, then this list should help.
Sundal for Navratri
Sundal is an essential neivedhiyam for Navaratri. Many ask, why sundal? Since Navarathri is a celebration of Women, we make protein-rich sundal for their health and well-being.
This karamani savory sundal is a wonderful addition to the list of sundal recipes that we can make for Navratri.
Ingredients needed
Check the recipe card at the bottom of the page for exact measurements and printable detailed recipes.
Black-eyed peas - It is also known as cowpeas, karamani, or thatta payaru.
Grated coconut - freshly grated coconut is what tastes best in sundal. I use frozen grated coconut that is thawed. If fresh coconut is not available, we could use the desiccated coconut but make sure they are unsweetened.
Seasoning - I used mustard seeds, red chilies, green chilies, asafoetida, and curry leaves to season.
Oil - I like using coconut oil when making sundal. Any other cooking oil could be swapped for coconut oil.
Salt
Step-by-step process
Wash the black-eyed peas a couple of times and then soak them in fresh water for about 2 hours (1). We could soak it longer as well, but 2 hours seems to be enough time to get perfectly cooked karamani (2).
Tip - If you are like me and forgot to soak the black-eyed peas, then just keep it immersed in hot water until you prep the rest of the ingredients, and then cook it a little longer in the pressure cooker or instant pot.
Drain the soaked karamani and then add enough fresh water to immerse the beans well. Add about 2 teaspoons of salt and cook the beans.
I cooked my karamani in the instant pot. I cooked it in the 'pot in pot method'. Add water to the inside pot and then place this pot on the trivet.
Set it on Manual mode and set the timer to 6 minutes. My beans had been soaking for about 2 hours. If you are using unsoaked beans, then set the cooking time to 10 minutes.
Do a quick release in 10 minutes. Check the beans to see if they have cooked. The black-eyed peas should remain whole but yet be soft when pressed (3).
Let the beans drain in a colander. Let it drain well to remove any moisture.
Heat a saute pan and add coconut oil. Add the seasoning ingredients, mustard seeds, green chilies, red chilies, asafoetida, and curry leaves (4).
Add the drained karamani and mix well. Let it cook for a couple of minutes (5).
Add the grated coconut and then mix well (6).
Turn off the heat and then serve (7).
Serving and storage
Black-eyed peas savory sundal can be served as a snack or as a side with rice. I love to make it as an after-school snack as it is healthy and also filling.
Sundals are best when served fresh. Leftover sundal can be refrigerated for a day or two and then reheated in the microwave and served. I would not store it for longer than a couple of days in the refrigerator.
We can freeze the left sundal as well and reheat it in the microwave. Pack them in a freezer-safe container or bags and then freeze for up to 3 months.
If given a chance, I would freeze cooked black-eyed peas and then make fresh sundal when needed.
Expert tips
- Make sure to not overcook the beans. Mushy beans do not make good sundal.
- Use freshly grated coconut for the best-tasting sundal.
- We can add some finely chopped cilantro and lemon juice in the end as well.
- If not making it for neivedhiyam, we can saute some onions as well and use them to make sundal.
- If you feel that the black-eyed peas have become mushy, use them to make curry instead of sundal. Check the complete list of other recipes that you can make with karamani above.
Frequently asked questions
I would recommend soaking it for at least a couple of hours, but we can make karamani sundal without soaking the black-eyed beans. Just increase the cooking time when the beans are unsoaked.
Yes, that would be another variation to the karamani sundal recipe. We can make it similar to this kondai kadalai sundal using a spice mix.
We could cook the karamani in a pressure cooker or in the Instant pot. We could also cook it on an open flame but it will take longer.
More beans recipe
If you made this recipe and liked it, give a star rating on the recipe card or let me know in the comments below. You could also share it with me on Instagram using #MyCookingJourney and tagging me @sandhya.ramakrishnan. You could follow me and my recipes on Facebook |Instagram | Pinterest | twitter
Recipe
Karamani Sundal | Black Eyed Peas Savory Sundal
Equipment
- Instant Pot or pressure cooker
- saute pan
Ingredients
- 1 cup Black-eyed peas / karamani I used White karamani
- ⅓ cup Coconut grated
- 2 tsp Coconut oil Can use any other cooking oil
- 1 tsp Mustard seeds
- 2 Green chilies slit length wise
- 2 Red chilies
- few Curry leaves
- a pinch Asafetida
- Salt as needed
Instructions
- Wash the black-eyed peas couple of times and then soak it in fresh water for about 2 hours. We could soak it longer as well, but 2 hours seems to be enough time to get perfectly cooked karamani.
- Tip - If you are like me and forgot to soak the black-eyed peas, then just keep it immersed in hot water until you prep the rest of the ingredients, and then cook it a little longer in the pressure cooker or instant pot.
- Drain the soaked karamani and then add enough fresh water to immerse the beans well. Add about 2 teaspoons of salt and cook the beans.
- I cooked my karamani in the instant pot. I cooked it in the 'pot in pot method'. Add water to the inside pot and then place this pot on the trivet.
- Set it on Manual mode and set the timer to 6 minutes. My beans had been soaking for about 2 hours. If you are using unsoaked beans, then set the cooking time to 10 minutes.
- Do a quick release in 10 minutes. Check the beans to see if they have cooked. The black-eyed peas should remain whole but yet be soft when pressed.
- Let the beans drain in a colander. Let it drain well to remove any moisture.
- Heat a saute pan and add coconut oil. Add the seasoning ingredients, mustard seeds, green chilies, red chilies, asafoetida, and curry leaves.
- Add the drained karamani and mix well. Let it cook for a couple of minutes.
- Add the grated coconut and then mix well.
- Turn off the heat and then serve.
Video
Notes
- Make sure to not overcook the beans. Mushy beans do not make good sundal.
- Use freshly grated coconut for the best-tasting sundal.
- We can add some finely chopped cilantro and lemon juice in the end as well.
- If not making it for neivedhiyam, we can saute some onions as well and use them to make sundal.
- If you feel that the black-eyed peas have become mushy, use them to make curry instead of sundal. Check the complete list of other recipes that you can make with karamani above.
Nutrition
Check out my other NAVARATHRI RECIPES HERE
Sangeetha S says
That sounds like a tasty and healthy recipe! It's great that it's easy to make, and the addition of grated fresh coconut adds a nice flavor and texture to the dish. I can imagine enjoying this as a snack or a light meal on a warm day.
Sandhya Ramakrishnan says
Thank you! This is one of my favorites to eat as an evening snack.
Dee says
I'm not a fan of black-eyed peas but the flavors in this dish are calling my name! I just may have to give it a try.
Laura Arteaga says
The combination of coconut, black-eyed peas, and curry leaves was absolutely delicious. Thanks for such a lovely recipe.
Cathleen says
I love this so much! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe, I am going to be making this over and over 🙂
sophie says
this recipe was a great way to add some variety and spices, and it was a success for the whole family since we love Indian cuisine!
Mindy S says
Wow! This was excellent! Incredibly flavorful and tasty. Thank you for the recipe!
Natalia says
Incredibly delicious! These were exceptional. I've experimented with many of your recipes, and they've all been mouthwatering. Grateful for another culinary triumph!
Carrie Robinson says
This sounds so flavorful! Loving the kick of heat from the chiles combined with the sweetness from the coconut. 🙂 Can't wait to try this recipe soon.
Mikayla says
The coconut and mustard seed combination is really great, and making sure the beans are cooked just right was a really great tip. Thank you it was so good!
Tristin says
This sundal was such a great healthy recipe. We made it with some rice for an excellent side dish!
Radha says
This is a simple and tasty one to make for quick neivedhyams and sides. This is exactly how I make it too.
Usha Rao says
This is one of my favorite snack and breakfast. I make something similar minus the coconut. This time I added it as well and made sundal your way. Loved the addition of coconut and it has a different flavor than the usual one sauteed version I make. From now I will be alternating this recipe with mine.
Srividhya Gopalakrishnan says
I love karamani too especially in kuzhambu and kootu. Easy to work with even if we forgot to soak this. This sundal is so simple yet delicious. Perfect as a snack and neivediyam.
Sriya says
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My Cooking Journey says
Thanks Sriya !! Happy Blogging 🙂
Sandhya
Divya Pramil says
Healthy and yum!! 🙂
Kothu Kari Kulambu / Minced Lamb Curry / Kheema Curry
You Too Can Cook Indian Food
My Cooking Journey says
Thanks Divya !!