Tuesday, April 11, 2006

ARF-5-a-day Tuesday #15 - Black-eyed beans in tomato-yogurt sauce

Gosh, I do hate days when I cant get the time to put up any new posts - it's almost like I'm addicted. I guess the constant challenge is to try and take better photos, make the write-up more interesting - I'm always inspired by people who take the time and trouble to make their photos unique. I'd LIKE to, but sometimes cant be bothered to get just the right background or perfect shot... I tend to make do with what I have and get on with it. Which isnt a bad philosophy for life, but not so good for food photography.

But this is meant to be a food post...so I shall get on with the matter in hand. Black-eyed beans (chawli in Hindi, black-eyed beans in English - heheh) are apparently made in the new year for good luck - well, I dont mind making them any time. I mean, good luck and tasty vegetarian proteins are always welcome in MY home!



I used a mild Mediterranean chilli to make this curry... serranos, Thai green or even habanero (well, a portion of one habanero, anyway!) would have been my chilli of choice, but since I was taking Pete's capsaicin capability into account, I had to considerably tone down the heat. Not that it was a bad thing, the creamy yogurt base of the sauce was very nice even without being chilli-hot.

So here it is - my entry for this week's ARF/5-a-day Tuesday #15. Gosh, how the weeks fly by! I seem to be measuring time in ARF Tuesdays of late...

Recipe for:
Black-eyed beans in tomato-yogurt sauce


Ingredients:

1 tin black-eyed beans (440g)
3 medium tomatoes, chopped fine
1 mild chilli, minced (or hot chillies to taste)
1 large clove garlic, minced or grated
1 tbsp ginger root, grated
1/2 cup yogurt at room temperature, beaten lightly
2 tsp oil
2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander leaves for garnish

Clockwise from top: Mustard seeds, coriander seeds, fenugreek seeds, cumin seeds. Centre: Kamarkas

Spice mix:
1 tsp coriander seeds
1/4 tsp methi (fenugreek) seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp kamarkas (optional, use 1/2 tsp fennel seeds instead)

Method:

1. In a small pan, dry-roast all the seeds till they turn golden brown. Cool, then powder finely with a mortar and pestle.

2. Heat the oil in a pan and add the ginger, garlic and chillies. Fry for 30 seconds.

3. Add the tomatoes and stir, then cover and turn the heat down to medium-high, letting the tomatoes cook down to a mushy sauce.

4. Now add the yogurt one tablespoon at a time, stirring all the time to stop it from curdling.

5. When all the yogurt has been used up, add the powdered spices and stir. Then add the beans and salt to taste, stir again.

6. Let the sauce simmer on medium-low till the consistency is as thick as you want. Do not let the mixture boil on high heat.

7. Garnish with fresh coriander leaves and serve hot with rice.

NB: You can fry 1 tsp whole cumin seeds in 1 tsp oil and add that as seasoning to the hot beans, before adding the coriander leaves.

18 comments:

Meeta K. Wolff said...

Yes, first comment! I thought Black-Eyed beans were "Rongi" in Hindi. It is what my mum used to call it. I loved that "Rongi" curry she used to dish up. Boy am i looking forward to my trip to the US this May. I get to see my family and my mum and masi are the best Indian cooks .... ummmm! Do I hear my tummy growling? Well I better get cracking at making lunch .... my entry for the ARF 5 A Day!

sailu said...

Shammi,I use these beans to make cutlets and believe them they taste awesome.I liked the way you used these beans to cook in a yogurt sauce.Cool idea...

Vaishali said...

Shammi,
I thought black-eyed beans were 'Lobhia' in Hindi. 'Chawli' is Marathi. I agree with you, though, that they are called black-eyed beans in English. :)
I've never cooked them with yoghurt before. And Kamarkas. Now I need to go on the lookout for them. This is exciting.

Anonymous said...

Vaishali: First off - you're right! I got my languages mixed up. Black-eyed beans are lobia in Hindi and chawli in Marathi :) My apologies for the mistake!

Re trip to Germany in June... hmm... it'll have to be durnig the last Bank Holiday (august, I think) because I'll be returning from the States only mid-May! :)

Meeta: This has GOT to be some kind of coincidence... when in May are you going to the US, and where? :) I'll be shuttling between NY/DC/Seattle between April 29 and May 16.

Shammi said...

Sailu: I'm gonna have to check your blog to see if you have a recipe for black-eyed bean cutlets!

Anonymous said...

sounds yummy. In fact, I am going to try making this today. I have BBB that I can soak now and they should be ready to cook by dinner.

What is kamarkas??

cheers!

Anonymous said...

Saffron Hut: The answer to your question is here: http://www.tattvasherbs.com/herbfinder/herb_display.php?name=ayurvedic_names&herb=Palasha

:)

Anonymous said...

Hey, that was quick!! I just went downstairs to soak a cup of the BBB! Thanks, Shammi!

Meeta K. Wolff said...

Shammi,

I am headed to San Francisco! May 13 through to June 4. No chance of you making a short stop over in SF eh?

But August is OK if it is beginning of August. Are we really making plans? AHHHH! I am getting so excited and thinking of all the stuff we can dish up! I have to be blog addicted!

Vaishali how does your August look?

BDSN said...

Hey Shammi...

A very mouth watering recipe...Getting the right photograph is very very difficult.i totally agree...

Luv2cook said...

Hey Shammi:

The dish sounds very good :). What did you eat this with?

Lakshmi said...

nice recipe shammi

Vaishali said...

Hi Shammi,
I visited the link for Kamarkas that you have given in the reply to SH's comment. This is some useful stuff. Thanks. I hope I find it in the Indian stores here.
As far as August is concerned, I have no problems. Maybe you come loaded with gifts (you can read cakes) for my birthday. Hee hee hee. Or we could celebrate the Indian Independence Day together.

Anonymous said...

I would understand your ramblings! Black eyed beans look delicious.

Anonymous said...

Thank you so very much for your kind words, Courtney. I'm so touched! :)

SJ said...

Hello!
I came to your post thru a link from Mahanandi, while looking for some recipes on Black eyed Beans.
I liked the idea of Yogurt and decided to try your recipe...and to my amazement it turned out to be one of the best things i have prepared in a long time...the combination is simply great!
Will keep coming. Thanks!

Nupur said...

Shammi, I made this dish for dinner last night, and it was *absolutely* delicious! I literally licked the pot clean. That makes it another of your recipes that has made it straight into my favorites list. Thanks so much for sharing!

Anonymous said...

Hi,

I love to read your recipes. This is my one of the favourite blog.

I have one request. Can you please send some whole wheat bread recipe.

Thanks and Regards,
Shobha