Black-Eyed Pea Cakes Bring Good Luck

Black Eyed peas are a traditional Southern dish to eat on New Year's Day, as they are supposed to bring good luck. I have sought out recipes for the occasion in the past, but wasn't going to bother this year as I was busy with more important cake baking. However, this recipe popped up in my feed and it looked so simple and I already had most of the ingredients that I decided I had to try it.

I highly recommend that you look at Rashmi's page because she has great photos and instructions. I used slightly less than one cup of beans but the same amount of other spices, plus extra parsley along with the cilantro. I made mine into patties instead of balls, and the recipe yeilded seven 2-3" patties. The flavor and texture were both excellent. I am certain that the secret to these guys staying together while frying was that the beans were not pre-cooked, just soaked. Whenever I have tried to fry bean patties before, it is has been with cooked (or canned! which I know doesn't work) beans, and they just fall apart. I'm so glad to see that the trick is in soaking the beans and then just pureeing them without cooking.

For dipping, I made a quick sauce of plain greek yogurt, a bit of curry powder, and a couple dashes of hot sauce.

May these bring us lots of good luck and great fortune!