Loobya (Egyptian black-eyed pea stew) recipe

So I was asked by my husband to make something I've never even tasted before.  That's a first for me. I think what makes it so hard to cook without tasting is that I don't even know what it's supposed to taste like.

Loobya is one of my husband's favorite dishes.  It is Egyptian black-eyed pea stew and like most other Egyptian stew it contains stew meat and a tomato sauce base.  I found a few recipes online that seemed really bland spiced only with onion, garlic, salt, and pepper.  From what I know about Egyptian food, nothing is that bland.  I searched and searched until I found a recipe in Arabic that was closer to what I was thinking.  Now I never follow a recipe down to the tee.  I like to make everything my own while still following local spice and dietary customs.   According to my husband I made another knock-out dish and the best loobya he's ever tasted!  Thought I'd pass along my recipe.

I have only eaten black-eyed peas in bean soup, many years ago, so I wasn't really excited about making it but it was something Wael was really looking forward to so I couldn't pass up the challenge.

This is an absolutely amazing dish.

This can easily be made into a vegetarian meal, just skip the meat, it will still taste great!

When making loobya it is important to rinse your black-eyed peas the night before and soak them in a large bowl of cold water.  When you tend to them in the morning, discard of any floaters on top.

Rinse again and refill the bowl with fresh water and black-eyed peas.  Set 1 hour.

Ingredients:

• 1 onion
• 3 tbsp sunflower oil
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 lb beef or lamb stew meat
• 4 tbsp tomato paste ( I make mine homemade but that isn't necessary)
• 1 lb bag of dried black-eyed peas
• 1 tsp cloves
• 1 tsp cumin
• 3 bay leaves
• 3 cardamon pods
• salt and pepper to taste
• juice of 1/2 lemon

Directions:

1. Fill stock pot with enough water to cover black-eyed peas.  Place over medium heat and heat to boil, then turn down to simmer.
2. Place onion and garlic in food processor.  Mince well. 
3. Place oil in pan over low heat.  Add onions and garlic and heat until aromatic and onions are translucent. 
4. Add onions and garlic to stock pot.
5. Add beef to pan over low heat and fry until brown.  Add to stock pot.
6. Cook for 2 hours over low heat.
7. Stir and add in tomato paste.
8. Grind spices in food processor (dry) or in mortar and pestle.  
9. Add spices to stock pot.  Salt and pepper to taste,
10. Cook over low heat and additional hour.
11. Serve warm.

Server with Egyptian short grain rice.