Black Beans

Black Bean curry

Black Beans are popular in Latin American cuisine. It is a good source of nutritional antioxidants. Beans contain no cholesterol, are low in fat and high in fiber and protein and they are cheap. Sometimes they are called the poor man’s meat. Dried black beans have black skin, creamy white flesh. Black beans taste wonderful and goes well with rice and any Indian bread.

Ingredients:

1 Cup black beans
2   Medium onions
2   Teaspoons minced garlic
1 Medium green chili –chopped-
      (Remove the seeds and membrane to reduce the heat)
2 Medium ripe tomato or 2 tablespoons tomato sauce
3 Tablespoons plain yogurt (optional)
1    Tablespoon fresh grated ginger
2 Teaspoons coriander powder
½   Teaspoon red chili powder
½   Teaspoon turmeric powder
½   Teaspoon garam masala or to your taste
1    Bay leaf
3    Tablespoons vegetable oil
1½ Teaspoon salt or to your taste
3   Tablespoons chopped coriander leaves
½   Cup fine chopped onions for garnishing

Cooking measurement conversion
Measurement converter

Black Beans

Onions, Tomatoes, Garlic, Ginger, Green chili & Coriander leaves

Coriander powder

Garam Masala

Ginger- Grated

Salt

Red chili powder

Yogurt

Green chili- chopped

Onion- chopped

Turmeric powder

Bay leaf

Coriander leaves

Oil

Directions:

1. Wash and soak the Beans in water for few hours before cooking (If beans are not soaked, they take long time to cook)

Soak Black Beans in water

Black Beans are soaked

2. Drain the water out from the soaked beans than wash and rinse them. After
washing transfer, the Beans in a Pressure cooker.

Wash and rinse black beans

Add Soaked Beans in the pressure cooker

3. Add 4 cups of water, salt, Bay leaf and 1 teaspoon of oil close the lid of the
pressure cooker with the weight and cook on medium heat. (While Beans are
boiling, they create lot off foam and it can plug up the pressure cooker hole to
avoid that little oil is add to the Beans)

Add water in Beans

Add Bay leaf

Add salt

Add oil

Mix the Beans with all the ingredients

Close the Pressure cooker

4.  In about 8 to 10 minutes pressure cooker will start steaming, turn the heat down and let the beans cook for 10 to 12 minutes. Turn the heat off and wait until steam goes down. Different brand of cooker required different cooking time.

5.  While Beans are boiling chop onions and Garlic and add in a chopper and
mince. Mixture  should be coarse.

Add Onion & Garlic in chopper

Mince onion and Garlic

6. On high heat add the oil in a nonstick frying pan or a heavy bottom stainless steel frying pan. Add minced onion and garlic and let it fry, while periodically stirring. Onions will have a lot of water so for the first 8 to 10 minutes keep the heat high so that all the onion water evaporates quickly.

In a pan add oil & minced onion & Garlic

Onions become light brown

7. While onion mixture is frying, add the tomato to the same food chopper or
blender and puree.

Add Tomatoes in chopper

Puree Tomatoes

8.  Once the onion water has evaporated turn the heat down to medium and let the
     onions fry for 8 to 9 minutes, while frequently stir the onions.

9.  Once the onions become light brown add Coriander powder, Red chili powder,
     Turmeric powder and mix with the fried onions and fry for few seconds.

Add Coriander powder, Red chili powder and Turmeric powder

Mix spices with fried onions

10. Add Tomato puree and mix.

11. Add yogurt and mix.

12. With the tomato puree and yogurt masala become watery turn the heat high
for 2 to 3 minutes, so that water evaporates quickly, and then turn the heat
down. Keep stirring the masala frequently.

Add Tomato puree

Mix Tomato puree with onion masala

Add yogurt

Mix Yogurt with onion masala

13. In about 5 to 6 minutes Tomato puree and yogurt will blend with fried
onions.

14. Once all the water has evaporated and you see the oil in the pan that means the
masala is done. Turn the stove off.

15. Once the steam of pressure cooker goes down open the lid.

Onion masala is ready

Open the pressure cooker

16. Check if the Beans become tender.

17. Add cooked Onion Masala from frying pan to the cooker.

Check if the Beans become tender

Add Onion Masala in the boiled Beans

18. with the cooking spoon mix the Masala and cook for 10 to 12 minutes, keep
the heat to medium and stirring periodically.

Mix onion masala well

Onion Masala is blended with Beans

19. Once beans become tender and the gravy start becoming thick add chopped
green chilies, grated ginger, garam masala and cook for 5 to 6 minutes.

Add grated ginger and chopped green chile and mix

Add Garam Masala & mix

20. Mash some of the beans, this will thicken the gravy and the masala and Beans
      will blend in together. Once you have the desired consistency of gravy, turn
      the stove  off.

21. When ready to serve transfer the beans into a serving dish and garnish with
     fine chopped onions and chopped coriander leaves.

With a Spoon mash some Beans

Black Beans are cooked

Black Bean Curry

Tips:

1. Use pressure cooker for cooking black beans, otherwise it takes too long to
    cook the beans.

2.   After opening the pressure cooker beans should be tender, if they are not then
     close the lid of pressure cooker and cook again.

3.    If you did not plan it and do not have enough time to soak the beans, try power soaking method.

Please take the time to let me know what you think about my recipe. Your comments would be helpful to me to improve the recipe.

Thank you

Geeta Seth

Other recipes:

Chole (chick peas curry)                                     Lima beans

Rajma (Red kidney beans)                                  Bhature

Power soaking the beans                                   Poori

Chapatti (Pulkha or roti)                                 Laccha paratha
                                                                           (Spiral layered paratha)
Boiled white rice                                              Kheera ka raita
                                                                          (Yogurt with cucumber)