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Showing posts with label kidney beans. Show all posts
Showing posts with label kidney beans. Show all posts

Wednesday, June 22, 2016

Pumpkin Kidney Beans and Quinoa Salad ( Vegan Lunch Diaries )

In the gastronomic world dominated by upstarts and gorgeous vegetables like the zucchini, purple corn and red cabbage, the humble pumpkin hardly finds any takers. But if you have been following my blog for sometime now, my fascination with the rather out of shape member of the squash family won't come as a shocker to you. I love the vegetable to an extent that one would always find some stocked in my fridge. While it is a rather common ingredient in most of the curries/dal in Odisha, I love to cook the vegetable just by itself. A simple pumpkin fry would do on most days, the spicy Sri Lankan Pumpkin curry is a must-have when I am in a mood to indulge myself.

With kiddo following in my footsteps, our family's love for this vegetable is now widely recognized. Just to ensure that he does not get teased about it, I now have a mission to give this down-market vegetable a sexy new makeover. And this vegan salad recipe, a complete meal in itself, is the first thing that came to my mind. Filling to the core and bursting with fiber, this is something that one must give a try.

Read on for the recipe -


















Preparation Time - 20 mins


Ingredients -

  • 1/2 cup quinoa
  • 1/2 cup boiled kidney beans ( or use canned ones )
  • 1 cup pumpkin slices
  • 1 small onion
  • 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp sugar
  • 1/4 tsp chili flakes or crushed pepper
  • salt to taste
  • a sprig of cilantro


Preparation - Take the vinegar, olive oil, sugar, chili flakes/pepper and salt in a bowl to prepare the dressing.

Chop the onion into thin slices and add to the dressing. Keep aside for 20 mins.

Cooking - Wash and cook the quinoa with 1 cup water and a tiny pinch of salt in a saucepan. Once the water is absorbed, fluff it up .

Sprinkle a few drops of oil on an iron skillet. Once it starts to smoke, throw in the pumpkin slices . Sprinkle a tiny amount of salt and cook them on high till brown spots begin to appear. Flip them over and cook on the other side as well. Once they are done ( not mushy ), remove and keep aside.

Add the boiled kidney beans, the pan-seared pumpkin and the dressing to the quinoa. Toss gently.

Garnish with a sprig of cilantro. Serve at room temperature.




Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Rajma Galouti Kebab

Had my eyes on this for a long time but finally got a chance this week as I was running a little short on vegetables. A good thing that my timing coincides with the holy month of Ramzan as this would be great on the 'iftar' menu. Read about it for the first time in one of those handy cookbooks written by the late Tarla Dalal and quite liked it for its simplicity. Then came an episode on Khana khazana featuring another strikingly different version of this delicacy which seemed to have originated in some far away universe. The latter was loaded by spices and too much of nuts I felt.

I decided to go with my favorite cook's recipe and modify/tweak it a bit while making the best use of ingredients available in my pantry. But when I made the first lot, I realized that the rajma gives a dry texture to these kebabs. Typical of any lentil fritters. So the potato/panner/khoya/nuts paste are very much required to impart that silken melt-in-the-mouth kinda texture to the kebabs. The addition of ghee is also crucial for the same reason. They turned out fine with the addition of more potato and unsweetened khoya.Read on for my version -






Preparation Time - 30 mins

Ingredients -

1 cup rajma/kidney beans
1 medium sized potato (boiled & peeled)
1/3 cup grated paneer
4 tbsp grated/crumbled unsweetened khoya
1 medium sized onion
2-3 green chilis
1 tsp finely chopped ginger
2-3 tsp chopped coriander leaves
1-2 tsp chopped mint leaves
1/4 tsp coriander powder
1/5 tsp cumin powder
1/3 tsp red chilli powder
2 pinch garam masala
1/3 turmeric
salt to taste
5-6 tsp oil/clarified butter (gives a more authentic taste)


Preparation - Wash and soak the rajma beans overnight.

Finely chop the onions and green chillis.

Cooking - Transfer the rajma to a pressure cooker with salt, turmeric and 1 1/2 cups water. Pressure cook for 3-4 whistles till soft but not too mushy. Allow steam to escape naturally. Then drain the kidney beans and keep aside.

Heat 3 tsp oil in a wok. Add the onions and fry till translucent.

Add the ginger and saute for 30 seconds. Add the powdered masalas and fry for another 20-30 seconds.

Add the kidney beans along with the grated potato, paneer and khoya. Use a heavy spoon or ladle to mash up the beans and get a uniform mix of the ingredients. Adjust salt.

Finally add the chopped green chili, mint and coriander leaves. Mix well. Remove from flame and keep aside till it cools down a bit.

Take small portions from the above mixture and shape into flattened circles or tikkis.

Heat a flat non-stick pan and brush with some oil/ghee. Place 3-4 of the flattened circles on it. Let it cook on one side for 3-4 minutes on low to medium flame. Brush on some oil/ghee on the top of each before flipping it over. Let it cook on this side for another 3 mins. Remove and keep aside.

Serve hot with mint-coriander chutney/ketchup or even a yogurt dip.



















Note - There kebabs are actually meant to be deep fried but I wanted to keep the calories in check with all the ghee and khoya going into it. Hence pan-fried them.

Thursday, May 22, 2014

Rajma Masala (North Indian recipe)

Rajma Chawal spells (read 'Screams') comfort food to me. Ok, it takes a bit too long to prepare but the taste is totally worth it. Melting in the mouth kidney beans simmering in a tangy gravy with a hint of hidden sweetness is sure to send most folks into a tizzy. And I am no exception to its irresistible charm. Though the version usually made by my mom is easier and lighter on the palate, I prepare each one alternately as I love both the recipes.

Read on for the recipe of Rajma masala (North Indian style preparation) -


















Preparation Time - 1 hour

Ingredients -


  • 1 1/2 cup rajma/kidney beans
  • 1 large onion
  • 11/2 tsp GG paste
  • 2 medium sized tomatoes
  • 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 dry chilli
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 inch cinnamon stick
  • 1/3 tsp sugar
  • 1 tsp coriander powder
  • 1/4 tsp turmeric
  • 1 tsp chilli powder 
  • 1/4 tsp garam masala
  • 1/4 cup beaten yogurt
  • 3 tsp oil
  • salt to taste
  • coriander leaves for garnishing


Preparation - Chop the onions into small pieces.

The tomatoes also need to be finely chopped. Or one can even puree them.

Cooking - Soak the rajma beans overnight ( 8-10 hours ). Wash and transfer to a cooker with some salt and turmeric. Add enough water to just cover the beans and a little more. Close lid and cook for 2-3 whistles.

Open lid once steam escapes. Check the beans. They should be soft without any bite left. ( Hard/partially cooked kidney beans are tough to digest. ) If not, cook for another whistle.

Heat the oil in a wok. Add broken red chili, cinnamon stick and bay leaf. Saute till fragrant.

Add the cumin seeds and allow to splutter. Then add the onion and fry till it turns brown.

Add the GG paste and cok till raw smell goes away.

Add the powdered masalas ( save a pinch of garam masala for adding at last ) and stir fry for 30 seconds.

Finally add the tomatoes and cook till the oil separates.

Add the cooked rajma along with the excess water. Bring to a boil and then let simmer for 7-8 minutes.

Finally stir in the yogurt and cook for another 5-6 minutes.

Sprinkle garam masala and coriander leaves. Remove from the flame.

Serve hot with some gorgeous long grained Basmati rice.




































Note - Dont forget to check out a this no-onion no-garlic version too !! 

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