Boost Your Immunity: Black-eyed bean salad

Health has taken precedence over everything else in today’s world. It’s of utmost importance to boost our immunity in order to safeguard ourselves from diseases and also build the strength to fight them. Today, in our Boost Your Immunity segment, we bring you a protein-rich recipe made with black-eyed beans, also known as black-eyed peas or lobia.

Manisha Aggarwal, a Delhi-based nutritionist, shares a recipe of Black-eyed bean salad with IndiaToday.in and also informs us about the great nutritional value of these pulses. The dish overall benefits health, builds immunity and can be enjoyed as a snack anytime.

INGREDIENTS
1 cup dry Lobia or black-eyed beans

1 medium tomato finely-chopped

1 cucumber finely-chopped

1 ripe mango

50g chopped cottage cheese

¼ cup roasted and coarsely chopped peanuts

Chopped coriander leaves for garnishing

Seasonings:

Juice of 1 lemon

¼ tsp cinnamon powder

¼ tsp black pepper powder

¼ tsp roasted cumin powder

¼ tsp chaat masala

1 tsp honey

Black salt as per taste

HOW TO MAKE
Soak lobia overnight or for 4-6 hours. Pressure-cook it along with salt for 2-3 whistles. Keep a check on the amount of water used, it shouldn’t be more than 1-1/2 cups. Take a large mixing bowl and add the drained and cooled lobia followed by chopped, tomato, cucumber, mango and cottage cheese. Add all the seasonings and mix well. Sprinkle coarsely grounded peanuts and fresh coriander.

BENEFITS
The main ingredient, lobia/cowpea/black-eyed pea, is high on protein, zinc, folate, magnesium and potassium. High soluble fiber and insoluble fiber content makes it desirable as an antidiabetic and antihypertensive product. Since many Covid patients are experiencing high sugar levels, this chaat can be helpful.

Cottage cheese and peanuts further increase protein and zinc value of the dish. Lemons and tomatoes used here add much-required vitamin C. Cinnamon and black pepper are perfect for boosting immunity. Black salt aids in digestion. Tomatoes, mangoes and cucumber are all rich in phytochemicals which are extremely important in reducing inflammations in our body.