Vegan Lemon Quinoa Bean Salad

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Spring has sprung and along with frequent showers, blooming flowers and warm weather it has also brought back my craving for salads. Throughout the cold months of fall and winter, I crave soups and hot curries, come spring and summer and I want much more salads.And salads that combine protein, some veggies and are filling enough to qualify as a one dish meal, are my favorite kind.

This quinoa bean salad definitely definitely qualifies. It is hearty, filling, nutritious, oil free, low fat and even packs well in the lunch box. Cannot ask for more from your salad :)  This salad can be put together really quickly making it a great option for weeknight dinners. If you are looking for more ways to include quinoa in your diet, give this one a a try and as always would love to hear your opinions and ideas :)

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Ingredients and Method to make lemon quinoa bean salad

1 cup quinoa

1 cup corn

1 cup cooked pinto beans ( see notes for substitutions )

6 spring onions cut fine ( only the green part )

2 jalapeños cut fine ( or to taste )

Salt to taste

Handful cilantro cut fine

Juice of half a lemon (or to taste )

Rinse quinoa in cold water for a full minute. Place in large heavy bottomed pan, add 2 cups of water and place on medium heat. Cook until quinoa is cooked and soft. Fluff cooked quinoa with a fork and keep aside.

Cook corn in the microwave or the stove top with just enough water until soft. Keep the cooked corn aside. Make sure there is no water remaining in the cooked corn, if there is, drain the corn completely and keep aside to use in recipe.Allow quinoa, corn and beans to cool to room temperature. In a large bowl, mix together quinoa, corn and beans gently. Add salt to taste and mix again. Add spring onions and jalapeños and mix.

Add lemon juice and mix well. Garnish with cilantro and serve at room temperature or chilled.

Notes:

If you do not want to soak and cook beans, you can substitute with canned beans. Just rinse the beans thoroughly in cold water, drain and use in recipe. Instead of pinto beans,  red kidney beans /rajma  or black beans can also be substituted in this recipe.

If you are looking for quinoa recipes here are a few more,

Quinoa Khichdi ~ Peanut flavored quinoa

Quinoa mung dosai ~ Savory crepes

Lemon Vegetable Quinoa

Quinoa Flax Uthappam ~ Savory quinoa crepes

Quinoa Oat Adai ~ savory quinoa lentil crepes

Quinoa Lentil swiss chard soup

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Rajma Toast ~ Savory Bean Toast

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Finally after a long break from this space I am back. The last couple of months have been so busy and hectic that I have hardly had the time to peek into this space let alone check through my emails and respond to the comments from my readers. If I've missed responding to your email, sorry for the delay, I have been playing catch up ever since I got back and hope to catch up on all my emails soon. Getting back into my routine after my unplanned break has been a strange and somewhat disorienting experience. The good part is, slowly but surely I am getting there and hope to be much more active in this space in the near future.

Getting back to the post, this rajma toast appears in my kitchen sometimes for weekend breakfast  and sometimes as an evening snack. This is an adaptation of a recipe that I came across in a recipe book of snacks by Nita Mehta. It kind of reminds me of the baked beans on toast that my father in law loves so much, only I think of this as a quicker Indianized version of the same . This is a great way to start the day with some protein and nutrition.  The bean mixture can be made a day or two ahead, so it doesn't take much time to assemble whenever you need it.  And whenever I make this, whether for a weekend breakfast or as an evening snack, it never fails to perk up my day just a little bit :)  

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Ingredients and Method to make Rajma / Bean Toast

1/2 cup dry red kidney beans (rajma)

1 small onion cut fine (pyaaz)

2 Thai or Indian variety green chilies ( hari mirch) ( or to taste)

1 clove garlic (lehsun)

1/2 tsp finely grated ginger (adrak)

Salt to taste (namak)

1 Tbsp oil 

1 Tbsp finely chopped cilantro (coriander leaves/ hara dhania)

To assemble

Grated cheese as required (optional) ( use vegan cheese for a vegan version)

A little bit of butter/ clarified butter / oil to apply on the bread ( use oil for a vegan version, I prefer extra virgin olive oil )

Tomato ketchup as required (optional)

8 to 10 slices of multi grain bread ( or any other wheat or white bread)

Soak red kidney beans/ rajma in sufficient water overnight or for 7 to 8 hours. Discard the water the beans were soaked in, fill with 1 and 1/2 cups of fresh water and pressure cook on medium heat for a couple of whistles, then lower heat and cook on low heat for 25 minutes, then switch off the heat. This ensures the kidney bean/ rajma cooks very soft. Once the pressure subsides, remove kidney beans, mash coarsely with a potato masher and keep aside. 

Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan on medium heat, add onions, green chilies, garlic and ginger and sauté until onions turn translucent. 

Add cooked red kidney beans and salt to taste and simmer for a few minutes until the mixture thickens a little and the flavors mingle. The mixture does not have to thicken too much, it thickens a little after cooling as well, so do keep that in mind when removing from heat. My picture below was taken a little early, use the picture of the bean mixture on the bread as a guide.  Garnish with cilantro / dhania and keep aside to cool a little.

You can make this bean mixture a day or two ahead if you are planning this for a weekend breakfast and do not want to fuss with it in the morning.

Heat a flat pan / tawa / griddle on low to medium low heat. To assemble the toast, apply butter/ clarified butter/ ghee / oil to one side of a slice of bread. Spread a little of the bean mixture to the other side of the bread. If you want to apply a little ketchup, you can add a little on top and spread a little, then top with grated cheese and place on the tawa/ pan, cover with a lid and cook until the lower side of the bread is golden brown and the cheese has melted on top. Remove and serve hot with ketchup on the side.

Notes : 

The ketchup on top of the toast is entirely optional, I've made this with and without the ketchup and both versions taste equally good.

Similarly the cheese is optional too, I've made it with and without the cheese and it tastes good both ways.

If you are looking for Bread snacks/ toasts/ breakfast recipes, here for a few more

Bread Besan Toast~Savory French toast

Corn Cheese toast

Chilli Cheese Toast

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Easy Vegan Black Eyed Peas curry- Maharashtrian style Chawli/Lobia curry. With Stepwise Pictures

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The other day I was on the phone with my sister in law Anu and she mentioned that she makes a Maharashtrian curry with vaal that she learned from her Maharashtrian neighbor. When she ran through the ingredient list I was intrigued, the curry and the gravy sounded very unusual, nothing like the onion tomato based gravies that are used in most curries. I was very curious about how this curry would taste and wanted to try it immediately.

Since R has been on a "I am not too keen on vaal" phase for a while now,  I decided to try the same kind of gravy but with black eyed peas. I made it that same evening and loved the taste and the gravy of this curry. This has to be one of the most super easy curries I have ever made, and it tastes yum. It is perfect for a weeknight dinner, can be served with some phulkas/ chapathis (Indian flat bread) or with some plain steamed rice.

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Ingredients and Method to make Black eyed peas curry
1 and 1/2 cups of dry black eyed peas soaked for 6 to 8 hours (see notes)
2 to 3 tsp coconut oil (or any other flavorless oil)
3/4 tsp mustard seeds (rai/kadagu)
3/4 tsp cumin seeds (jeera/jeeragam)
a pinch of asafoetida powder (hing/perungayam) (optional)
a sprig of curry leaves (about 8 to 10 leaves) torn into smaller pieces
1/4 tsp turmeric powder (haldi/manjal podi)
salt to taste 

Grind together (Masala paste 1)
1 tsp chopped ginger
3 Thai or Indian variety green chilies (or to taste)
1 dry red chili (optional)

Grind together ( Masala paste 2)
1/3 cup freshly grated coconut (or frozen thawed to room temperature) (nariyal/thengai poo)
1/2 tsp cumin seeds (jeera/jeeragam)

3 tbsp finely chopped cilantro (coriander leaves/hara dhania/kothamalli) for garnish

Soak black eyed peas/ chawli in sufficient water for about 6 to 8 hours. Drain water, fill with fresh water and cook in the pressure cooker until soft. Alternatively add the soaked beans with fresh water to a heavy bottomed pan, place on the stove and cook, adding water as required until soft. Keep cooked peas aside.

Grind ginger and green chilies to a fine paste and keep aside.

Heat oil in a large heavy bottomed pan on medium heat. Add mustard seeds to this, when the seeds begin to splutter, add cumin seeds. When the cumin sizzles, add a pinch of asafoetida powder, curry leaves and stir quickly once or twice.

Add cooked black eyed peas, salt to taste, turmeric powder and the ground ginger chili paste. Add water if required and allow this mixture to simmer for a few minutes for the flavors to mingle.

 
In the meanwhile grind coconut and cumin seeds to a smooth paste and keep aside.

Add ground coconut paste to the simmering curry and simmer another couple of minutes.

Finally garnish with cilantro. Remove from heat and serve hot with phulkas/ chapathis/ Indian or any other kind of flat bread or with plain steamed rice.

Notes:
If you have frozen black eyed peas you can thaw and use them in this recipes as well. 1 cup of dry black eyed peas gives you about 3 cups of cooked peas, so in this recipe that would mean about 4 and 1/2 cups of frozen/cooked black eyed peas. 

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Easy Mung Bean Curry ~ Moong Curry ~ With Stepwise pictures

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For some odd reason I was under the impression that I have already posted the recipe for this easy mung curry in this space. The other day when I was searching for it here, I realized somehow this recipe had missed making it into this space earlier.  It surprised me, mainly because this curry features frequently in my home, but since I was under the impression that I had already posted this curry, I never bothered with pictures etc for it :) Well you know how they say, better late than never........... :)

This curry is what I categorize as an everyday curry. Its a no fuss, easy and quick curry that is perfect when paired with any kind of Indian flat bread , whether it is rotis, phulkas or chapathis. In a pinch you can even have this curry with some kind of crusty bread like french bread/ ciabatta rolls/ or the more Indian pav on the side.  Yet despite its simplicity this curry is delicious,  very flavorful and has this lovely creamy texture that I just love. Also the fact that it uses very minimal ingredients means that it does not need very much in terms of planning ahead, which is great for people like me who do not plan their menu days or weeks in advance :) If you like mung bean, this simple curry may be just the thing for your quick weekday menu:)

Before I go a couple of  updates......I have recently updated my Easy Kadai Paneer post with updated pictures + stepwise pictures. I have also updated this oat sabudana dosa  (Oat Javarsi dosai/ Savory Indian crepes made with oats and sago) with updated pictures and my very first video clip of the process of making the dosa. Take a peek at these posts and let me know what you think :)



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Ingredients and Method to make Mung Bean Curry
1 and 1/4 cup whole mung beans soaked in water for 5 to 6 hours or overnight
1 large red onion cut fine
1 Thai or Indian variety green chili cut fine (or to taste)
1 tbsp oil ( I used coconut oil)
1/4 tsp turmeric powder (haldi/ manjal podi)
1/4 tsp cumin powder (Jeera powder)
3/4 tsp coriander powder (Dhania powder)
1/2 tsp red chili powder (or to taste) (can be substituted with cayenne powder)
1/4 tsp garam masala (or any other curry powder) To make your own garam masala check out this post
2 to 3 tbsp finely cut cilantro leaves (coriander leaves/ hara dhania/ kothamalli)
1/4 cup whisked plain yogurt (curds/ dahi/ thayir)

Heat oil in a large heavy bottomed pan, when hot add cumin seeds, when the seeds sizzle, add green chili and stir a few times. Add onions and saute until onions turn transparent.

 Drain the soaked mung beans and add to the sauteed onions. Add spices except salt, water enough to submerge the beans, stir well and close with a lid and allow the beans to cook until soft.

Add salt to taste, water if required to achieve desired consistency and  simmer for another few minutes for the flavors to mingle. I always add salt when the beans are almost cooked as I have heard that adding salt earlier inhibits the cooking process of beans and makes it a little hard. When done, add whisked plain yogurt and mix well.
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Finally remove from heat, garnish with some cilantro and serve hot with some Indian flat bread like rotis/ phulkas/ chapathis etc.

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Black bean salad with avocado

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Salads are synonymous with summer in my book. When the weather is super hot and just the thought of switching on the stove or oven is enough to make me cringe, a simple to put together, nutritious and tasty salad is a perfect solution for dinner :) I find myself turning to salads more often in summer than I do in winter. Winter is more for hearty soups than salads, don't you think ?



Even though fall is officially round the corner and we are having some cool days, we still have some days in our neck of the woods that is more summer like than fall. Yesterday was one such day and I decided to make this simple, yet hearty and delicious salad for the family. With a combination of black beans, avocado, bell pepper and corn this salad is loaded with a lot of good fiber and a good dose of nutrition. The combination of jalapenos, cilantro and lemon gives this salad a decidedly southwestern feel.  If you are experiencing some warm weather too, go ahead and give this salad a try and give your stove/ oven and your self a bit of a break from the heat :)



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Ingredients and Method to make Black bean salad
2 cups cooked black beans
1 green bell pepper de seeded and cut fine (capsicum/ koda molagai)
1 heaped cup corn kernels  cooked until soft
1 ripe avocado de seeded, peeled and cut into small pieces
2 jalapenos cut fine (or to taste)
1/2 cup finely cut cilantro (coriander leaves/ dhania/ kothamalli)
salt to taste
juice of half lemon (or to taste)

Soak dry black beans for 6 to 8 hours or overnight in sufficient water. Drain water, replace with fresh water and cook on the stove top or in the pressure cooker until soft. Drain any excess water and keep aside to cool to room temperature. If you are using canned beans, drain and rinse the beans before using in the recipe.

Cook corn kernels on the stove top until soft. Drain excess water and keep aside. If you are using frozen corn, you can just quickly cook it in the microwave in a few minutes.
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In a large bowl assemble black beans, corn kernels, green bell pepper, jalapenos, cilantro and mix well.

Add salt to taste and lemon juice and mix again. Just before serving add avocado, toss together and serve.

Enjoy the salad :)

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Black Eyed Peas Curry (Lobia/Chawli Curry)

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Cuisine from the region of Gujarat (a state in the western part of India) has a special place in my heart. The cuisine from that region has a very unique taste. A lot of the recipes I come across from this region have this typical combination of slightly sweet, slightly spicy and slightly tart that I find quite fascinating. Every time I visit India I make it a point to visit a Gujarati restaurant near our home that has become somewhat of a family favorite. All of us enjoy all the items on their menu and every time I  leave the restaurant I am drawing up a mental list of all the things I want to try in my own kitchen.

Sadly I do not end up trying as many dishes from this region as I would like, but from time to time I do make a few items that quickly becomes a new favorite and appears much more often in my kitchen. This black eyed peas curry definitely falls in that category. It is a simple, no fuss, quick curry that is perfect for weeknight dinners. All it needs is plain steamed rice, jeera rice or some flat bread/phulkas and you have a comforting and nutritious meal :)



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Ingredients and Method to make black eyed peas curry (Adapted from this recipe)
3 cups frozen black eyed peas (thawed to room temperature) (see notes)
1 large tomato cut fine (yielded 1 and 1/4 cup of cut pieces of tomato)
3/4 tsp cumin seeds (jeera/ jeeragam)
1 tbsp oil
3 tbsp chick pea flour (besan/ gram flour/ kadalai maavu)
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp red chili powder (or to taste)
salt to taste
1 tsp grated jaggery (or 1 tsp sugar)
3 to 4 tbsp finely chopped cilantro (coriander leaves/ dhania/kothamalli) for garnish

Heat oil in a large heavy bottomed pan, add cumin seeds to it. When the seeds sizzle, add chick pea flour(besan) and stir on low to medium low heat until it emits a nice aroma and loses its raw smell. Take your time with this step and stir often so that the flour does not burn.

Once the flour is roasted nicely, add chopped tomatoes to it and cook on low heat until the tomatoes turn soft and mushy. Add turmeric powder, chili powder and stir a few times.
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Add black eyed peas, salt to taste, sugar and water as required to achieve desired consistency and simmer for a few minutes  for the flavors to mingle. Remove from heat, garnish with cilantro.

Serve hot with plain steamed rice, any kind of pulao or jeera rice(cumin flavored rice) or with any flat bread (phulkas/rotis)

Notes:
I used frozen black eyed peas, but if you have dry black eyed peas, then soak in sufficient water overnight/ or for 7 to 8 hours.  Drain the water, add fresh water and cook in the pressure cooker or on the stove top until the peas are soft yet it retains the shape. Use in the recipe above.

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Yellow Squash with Mung Bean Curry (Kootu) and an update !!

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First the update :) For the last few weeks I have been diligently updating pictures on some of my older posts. If you want to take a quick peek at some of the pictures, these are the posts that I have recently updated....
Oat Upma made with Steel cut oats
Mor Kozhambu (Okra in buttermilk gravy curry)
Low Fat Cranberry cookies
Carrot Halwa (Indian dessert made with carrots) 
Milaguishyam( Medley vegetables in a lentil gravy curry)
Am planning to update some more pictures soon, will keep you all posted when I get around to doing it :)

Moving on, every time I go grocery shopping these days, my eyes are drawn to the variety of colorful squashes in the vegetable section.  I like all kinds of squash, they are versatile, low in calories and taste great in all kinds of curries.  This time I ended up buying yellow squash and combined it with mung bean to make kootu (a south Indian curry with coconut paste) This is the first time I have combined mung bean with yellow squash and I loved the combination, I kept the flavors in this curry simple, nothing too fancy or exotic. Yet this humble curry tasted fantastic with both rice and phulkas. It is perfect for a quick meal, it does not take too long to make and it is both nourishing and satisfying at the same time.


 
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Ingredients and Method to make Squash with Mung Bean Curry
1 cup mung beans (green gram/moong beans/pachai payaru) soaked for 8 hours
6 medium yellow squash ends cut off and peeled (see notes)
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
salt to taste

Grind to a smooth paste
1/2 heaped cup of fresh grated coconut (or frozen) (If using frozen thaw to room temperature)
5 Thai or Indian green chilies (or to taste)

Garnish with
1 tbsp coconut oil
7 to 8 curry leaves broken to small pieces

Cut the ends, peel the skin of the squash and cut lengthwise, then cut each half lengthwise again, then cut into 1/4 inch pieces. Yielded approx 4 1/2 cups of cut pieces.

Drain the soaked mung beans, place them in a large pot and sufficient water and allow the beans to cook until almost soft.

When almost done, add squash, turmeric powder, salt to taste and water if required and allow the squash to cook until soft.

Grind coconut and green chilies to a smooth paste and keep aside. If using frozen and thawed coconut, use warm water while grinding.

When the squash is cooked add coconut paste, allow to simmer for a few minutes for the flavors to mingle.
Finally remove from heat, add coconut oil and mix well. Then garnish with curry leaves.
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Serve hot on a bed of plain steamed rice or with some phulkas/ chapathis / rotis

Notes:
Yellow squash can be substituted with zucchini or bottle gourd (doodhi/lauki)

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Sprouted White Peas Misal Pav (Sprouted curry with Indian bread)

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Misal pav is a kind of curry that is served with pav (an Indian bread). It is usually made with sprouts, either moth beans, white peas or even chickpeas and is served topped with some raw onions, crunchy fried snacks like farsan or chivda or sev (Indian fried noodles). This curry originates from  Maharashtrian cuisine (Maharashtra is a state on the west coast of India). As is often seen with many dishes, this dish too has many regional variances and different parts of Maharashtra make different versions of this dish. 



The first time I tasted misal was surprisingly at a cafeteria during an audit. Not quite the place I would have ever expected to find a new dish, much less like it :) My friends were all excited even before getting to the cafeteria because they knew that misal was being served that day and their behavior had me wondering what all the fuss was about and made me curious to try the dish that seemed to have them so excited :) Obviously once I tasted the misal I was inclined to agree with my friends that this dish definitely is worth the fuss:)

Now this is a family favorite and it features regularly in our kitchen. To make it more of a healthy meal, I use less fried toppings, even avoid it on occasion. I also serve this with wheat pav, oat pav or as I did this time with wheat flax pav so that I can avoid the apf.  Often misal is served as a breakfast item, but in our home we love it so much that we welcome this anytime of the day. It does not matter if we have this for breakfast, lunch or dinner, just so long as we get to have it:)



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Ingredients and Method to make Sprouted misal  (Adapted from Priya's recipe)
1 1/2 cups dry white peas (matar) soaked for 8 hours, drained then allowed to sprout (see notes)
3 small to medium onions cut fine
3 medium tomatoes cut fine
4 Thai or Indian green chilies (or to taste)
1 inch piece of ginger minced
1/2 tsp minced garlic
2 tbsp oil ( I used coconut)
1/4 cup grated fresh coconut (if using frozen thaw to room temperature)

salt to taste
1/4 tsp cumin powder (jeera)
1/4 tsp coriander powder (dhania)
1/2 tsp dry mango powder (amchur)
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp chili powder (or to taste)

Garnish with
handful cilantro (coriander leaves) cut fine

Serve misal topped with
farsan/ mixture/ sev (crunchy Indian deep fried snacks)
Raw onions cut fine (optional)

and some pav (a rustic Indian bread) on the side to mop up the curry (Here is the recipe for pav and oat pav)

Soak the peas for 8 hours, drain then add to sprout maker and allow to sprout. I allowed mine to sprout for a little longer than 24 hours I think. Then cook the peas with sufficient water in a pressure cooker until soft. Alternatively these peas can be cooked on the stove top, just takes a little longer :) If you do not want to sprout the peas then the peas can be cooked after being soaked for 8 hours.

Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan, add onions and saute until onions are transparent. Then add minced ginger and garlic and stir a few times

Then add tomatoes and cook until soft and mushy. Then add grated coconut and saute for a bit.

Remove, cool this mixture then puree it in the blender/ mixer until smooth.

Add the pureed mixture back to the heavy bottomed pan, add cooked beans and all the spices. Add water to achieve required consistency and simmer the mixture for a few minutes for the flavors to mingle.
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Garnish with cilantro. Serve hot topped with farsan/ mixture/sev( crunchy Indian deep fried snacks) and raw onions (if using) along with pav (Rustic Indian bread) on the side.

Notes:
If you do not want to sprout the peas you can soak white peas for 8 hours, drain, fill with fresh water and cook in the pressure cooker or the stove top until soft yet not mushy. 

Ideally misal tastes best with pav. But if you do not have pav, you can also serve this with any other kind of non sweet bread like sandwich bread/ or any kind of rustic Italian bread or even plain Indian flat bread like chapathi/ phulka

White peas can also be substituted with chickpeas too.

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Low Fat Crunchy Roasted Chickpeas

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For the longest time I have been wanting to try oven roasting some beans, I always wanted to try first with either chickpeas or mung beans, since both these beans are my favorites and I think a crunchy snack with either of them would taste pretty good. A few weeks back when I was planning to make this chana masala, I decided to keep some cooked chickpeas aside specifically for this "experiment". It is so simple that I am not even sure this qualifies as a recipe, but the results are thoroughly enjoyable, we definitely loved it.

In fact, R who usually tends to favor fried crunchy snacks loved this so much, he even extracted a promise from me that I would make this again and soon :) The best part about this snack, not only is it low fat and crunchy, it is also a really neat way to get some fiber ....cannot ask for more from a snack :) So the next time you are wondering what to make for the weekend movie, here's an idea you might want to consider. It won't make you feel too guilty for indulging the next day :)



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Ingredients and Method to make crunchy roasted chickpeas
1 1/4 cup cooked chickpeas rinsed, drained and patted dry
1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)
1/8 tsp red chili powder (or to taste) (optional)
1/4 tsp garam masala (or to taste) (can be substituted with any other curry powder)
1 tbsp olive oil

Spread the cooked and drained chickpeas on a kitchen tissue for a little while ( I usually keep it for about 15 minutes or so). When most of the moisture has been absorbed by the tissue, use another dry one to pat dry the beans before transferring them to a small bowl.

Pre heat oven to  400 deg F . Line a tray with aluminum foil or parchment paper and keep aside.
In another small bowl add oil and all the spices and mix well.

Pour the oil + spices on the cooked and dried chickpeas and mix well making sure that each chickpea is coated with a little oil + spice mixture.

Spread the chickpeas on the pre lined tray evenly and place in oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until it turns golden and a little crunchy.

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Cool to room temperature and enjoy this snack :)

Store the balance of the cooled roasted chickpeas in an air tight container and use within a few days.....if it lasts that long :)

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Black Bean Curry with coconut milk gravy and a question :)

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Imagine this, you have lots and lots of rains, it's pouring and you have the time and luxury to decide what you want to do, no compulsions, pressures or schedules.  What are the first things that come to your mind when you think of such a weather. What are things that you would love to get a hold of and which would enhance the enjoyment of the weather? I am visiting my family right now and the monsoons here are pretty awesome. It really pours in this part of the world. And after a slow start that had everyone here worried, this is the sight that met my eyes when I woke up yesterday. Heavy rains :)



And since I am on a break I get to enjoy this weather with two of my most favorite things in any weather,  but most especially rainy weather........................




........ a cup of hot steaming tea and a good book. In this instance an interesting whodunit that has kept me engrossed every free minute I have gotten these last couple of days. Ah bliss!!! Can anything compare to some of the simple pleasures in life ?  Well all good things come to an end and I know this small break that I have will end in a few days too. In the meanwhile I am making the most of these few days :)

 

Moving on to the black bean curry. This is a curry that I came up when I was low on veggies and  discovered a couple of cans of black beans that I had purchased to make this black bean brownie. I used some coconut milk to give this gravy a little creaminess and a touch of exotic to it. There are no special spices or ingredients for this curry, yet the curry was just delicious. We loved it so much I have already made this a few times.  It is very versatile and works perfectly in any kind of flat bread, Indian rotis/ phulkas or breads or can even be served on a bed of plain steamed rice.




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Ingredients and Method to make Black Bean curry

1 large red onion cut fine
2 medium tomatoes cut fine
1 Thai or Indian variety green chilies slit lengthwise (or to taste) 
1 dry red chili broken into small pieces
2 tbsp oil
2 cups cooked black beans
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 tsp red chili powder (optional) (or to taste) (see notes)
3/4 tsp cumin powder
salt to taste
1 tsp sugar
1 cup coconut milk
3 tbsp finely cut cilantro (coriander leaves) for garnish

Heat oil in a large heavy bottomed pan. Add onions and saute until onions turn transparent, then add green chilies and stir a couple of times. Add dry red chili, stir a couple of times, then add tomatoes and allow to cook until the tomatoes become soft and mushy. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Puree this mixture until smooth and return it to the pan and place on heat.

Add turmeric powder, red chili powder if using, cumin powder, cooked black beans, salt to taste and sugar and allow the mixture to simmer for a few minutes until the flavors mingle.

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Add coconut milk to this mixture, mix well and allow the curry to simmer for a few more minutes on low heat.

Finally remove from heat, garnish with cilantro and serve hot on a bed of plain steamed rice, or Indian flat bread/ phulkas/ rotis or even with some kind of crusty/ rustic style bread to mop up the curry.

Notes:
Between the green chilies and the dry red chili,  this curry had sufficient heat. In case you like your curries really hot and spicy then you could probably add the red chili powder too, otherwise it might not be required. 

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