Black-eyed beans

Cowpea is a family of beans with seed coat either smooth or wrinkled and of various colours including white, cream, green, buff, red, brown, and black. Seed may also be speckled or patterned. Cowpea is expected to become increasingly important as consumers seek interesting and healthy “new” foods and rediscover “traditional” foods that are low in fat, high in fibre with other health benefits.

Black-eye beans | VicFame

Black-eyed bean is a type of cowpea that is white with a round irregular-shaped black or red pigmented area encircling the hilum, giving the seed the appearance of an eye. Their distinctive firm, smokey-earthy flavour, rich velvety-creamy texture and high fibre content make them a good addition to anything from chili and soup to traditional stewed with onion, tomato and herbs until thick while keeping you satisfied and feeling full. Popular food around the globe, originally cultivated in West Africa, but are grown in Asia, Africa and the southern states of the USA. Deliciously paired with rice or another grain such as corn.

Black-eyed beans starch is digested more slowly than starch from cereals and tubers producing fewer sudden changes in blood glucose levels. More reasons to consume black-eyed beans is detailed here.

Black-eyed beans can be prepared in salads, stews, soups, purees and casseroles but most commonly in curries. They can also be processed into a paste or flour. A common snack in Africa is koki or moi-moi and akara where the cowpeas are milled into a paste filled into moulds and steamed or fried in oil, respectively. For a busy homemaker, moi-moi and akara are made from dehulled black-eyed beans or the flour.