Category Archives: chickpeas, kidney beans and other legumes

Socca with Chickpea Salsa (from Ottolenghi)

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Yotam Ottolenghi’s recipes appeal to me as a scientist- they are precise, use ingredients in ways that I’ve never used before and always deliver. For example- this recipe has 1/2 of a spring onion and 2 slices of lemon diced up small (pith and all). I’ve made socca before- it is a French-Moroccan chickpea crepe. Indians are very familiar with besan or chickpea flour and the alchemy of deliciouness when it is fried. But this recipe finally showed me why people rhapsodize about socca. Now I know what to expect when I finally visit the French riviera. The recipe is based off this Guardian recipe.

For the socca batter- In a 10 inch non stick oven safe pan- add 90 ml of olive oil and 3 finely diced shallots (or half of a large red onion diced) and cook over medium heat stirring every few minutes for 15-20 minutes till golden brown and very soft. Cool for 10 minutes. Whisk 150 g of chickpea flour, 370 ml of water, 1/2 tsp of baking powder together till smooth. Add 100 gm of cooked chickpeas (tinned or pressure cooked for 15 minutes after soaking for 12 hours), 1 tsp of fresh thyme, zest of 1 lemon, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper. Add the cooled oil and onion mixture and let the batter rest for 30 minutes. It will thicken up some.

For the chickpea salsa- To 100 g of cooked chickpeas, add 1 tsp of finely chopped rosemary, 1/2 tbsp of finely chopped parsley, 1/2 a clove of garlic (yes finely chopped or grated), 1/2 a spring onion (also finely chopped), salt, pepper and 60 ml of good olive oil. Squeeze the juice from the lemon you had zested into the bowl. Take another lemon and slice off 2 thin slices from the middle. Remove the seeds and finely chop the 2 lemon slices- pith and all and add to the salsa. Crush the chickpeas slightly so all of the flavors meld together and let it hang out.

Cook the socca-This is slightly tedious and requires trips to the oven and stove and back- this is a restaurant quality dish though.Heat oven to 350F. Wipe down the 10 inch oven proof non stick skillet and heat a tbsp of oil. Add 1/4 of the batter (about a cup or so) to the skillet. Cook stovetop for a minute or two and then in the oven for 5-6 minutes till the top is set and then back on stovetop- flip and cook another 3 minutes till the top is charred and the bottom is crispy and golden brown.

Split into quarters and serve with salsa. This is a truly outstanding dish. The next time- I will use 2 pans to alternate oven and stove to make dinner quicker.

Kadhi Gole

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Kadhi is a yogurt based curry common throughout India. Each family has it’s own kadhi recipe and they are all delicious. The Kadi pakoras from North India, the Sindhi kadhi from the North west. This is a Maharashtrian Konkani dish and a childhood favorite. My grandmother was from the Konkan area of India and this is her recipe. This is a fairly involved recipe- is it worth it? YES, a thousand times yes.

Gole are dumplings made of chana dal. Besan is chickpea flour or chana dal flour. Both chana dal and besan are available on Amazon or at your friendly neighborhood Indian store.

Gole: Soak 1 cup of chana dal in 5-6 cups of water for 6-8 hours. Process to a coarse grind in a food processor with 1 tbsp ginger, 1tsp turmeric, 1tsp of chilli flakes, a pinch of hing (asafetida) and some salt. Taste it- it should taste good. If you add a tadka and raw grated green mango and some coconut to this- it is ambyachi dal- also delicious but that is a differnt recipe. This shouldn’tbe a paste – make inch size balls from the chana dal. These are your gole.

Kadhi: If you are an Indian- skip this part. Make your own kadhi the way you like it. For others- this is my recipe. To 2 cups of yogurt, add 2 tbsp of besan and 2-3 cups of water. Whisk well till there are no lumps. In a pan, heat 2 tbsp of ghee or butter (has to be ghee or butter). Sputter 1 tsp of jeera seeds, add 1 tsp of turmeric and a pinch of asafetida and 2-3 dried red chillies and 5-6 kadipatta leaves (your standard Marathi jeera tadka). Add the besan-yogurt mix and 1 tbsp of ginger. Stir fairly frequently till it starts boiling. Then simmer on low for 15 minutes. This kadhi is excellent on rice.

Add the gole to the boiling kadhi- cover and boil for 10-15 minutes. Don’t disturb the dumplings while they are cooking- they won’t hold their shape if you do.

Make the tadka for topping the gole: This is an essential step. Heat 2-3 tbsp of butter or oil, sputter 1 tsp of mustard seeds (they will crackle and pop), add a pinch of asafetida, 1/2 tsp of turmeric, 2-3 red chillies torn into pieces and 4-6 cloves of garlic very thinly sliced and 1/2 tsp of salt. You want garlic chips but remember these burn very fast. Remove from heat when pale brown.

To eat with roti/parantha/naan or rice- take some kadhi in a bowl with 2-3 gole. Remove the dumplings on your plate and crush them, add the garlic chips in the flavored butter. The gole are eaten seperately from the kadhi.

Cannellini beans and pasta with miso and fennel

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This is a time for luxurious and delicious food. This one is comforting and the sauce comes while the pasta boils. I do like fennel with white beans, the flavor combination works well with the butter and cream. This is a no recipe recipe. Boil water, cook pasta. While that’s going on – make sauce. In 2-3 tbsp of butter, add a tsp of fennel seeds and 1-2 tbsp of chopped garlic and a tsp or so of crushed red pepper flakes. After a few minutes- add a rinsed can of cannellini beans. Cook till the beans brown slightly, add about a 1/4 cup of heavy cream, half a tsp of miso and half a tsp of vegetable base (I use better than bouillon). Add pasta and Parmesan. Enjoy

The best rajma

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Rajma is every North Indian’s favorite comfort food- so tinkering with the recipe is akin to sacrilege. This one is very good though and is probably worth the criticism from all the Indian nanis.

Rick Martinez’s pupusa recipe for BA (which is also on this blog) starts with charring onions till they are almost black and then purée-ing them with pinto beans. This rajma recipe starts the same way. It’s the butter and the charred onion together that gives this 10 minute rajma recipe it’s deep deep flavor. This is a no-recipe recipe.

You have to use pressure cooked (I use my Cuisinart) red kidney beans for this one. The liquid is essential. You also have to pre-soak the beans – you can get the beans soft without soaking in the pressure cooker but they don’t taste anywhere as good.

Heat 2 tbsp of butter- add 1 tsp of cumin seeds and 1 small diced onion on high heat with some salt and red pepper flakes. Stir frequently till onion is charred in places (takes about 5 minutes). Add 2-4 cloves of garlic(minced) and 1 tbsp of tomato paste. Stir for 30 sec or so. Add rajma with liquid. Add 1 tsp of cumin powder and 1 tsp of coriander powder. Boil for 2-3 minutes and taste for salt. Serve on rice!

Chickpea pasta with spinach

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This is a riff off a NYT recipe and is a true no-recipe recipe. It’s creamy, nutritious and delicious. The pasta water, the chickpea water and actual cream all make this a very luxurious dish.

Soak one cup of chickpeas for 8-12 hours and pressure cook for 15 minutes. Strain the chickpeas but keep the water.

In 2 tbsp of butter, add 1 tsp of cumin seeds and 1 tsp of fennel seeds. After they sputter, add the chickpeas and toast on mod-high heat till browned in part.

Add 3-4 cloves of finely chopped garlic and 5-6 oz of spinach. Add salt and pepper and 1/4 cup of heavy cream. Thin out using some of the chickpea water.

Add cooked pasta of choice, add Parmesan cheese. Thin with pasta water if needed. Add red pepper flakes if you wish

Simplest rajma rice : Kidney beans rice bowl

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Rajma (kidney beans) rice bowl: My simplest rajma recipe. In your pressure cooker (electric or otherwise)- sizzle 3-5 cloves of garlic for a minute or two. Add one cup of soaked kidney beans and 3 cups of vegetable stock (I use better than bouillon) and 1 tsp of red pepper flakes. Cook for 15 min on high pressure. Corn: Add frozen corn in a skillet with some butter – cook covered for about 10 minutes till the corn is slightly charred. Top with salt, lots of pepper and 1 tbsp of butter. Make bowl: rice, rajma, corn and pickle.

Cannellini beans with beurre blanc

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This post should be titled- an homage to brown food which is so delicious and so nourishing yet so un-instagrammable that it isn’t even funny 🙂

This is modified from a  recipe that Tejal Rao wrote about in the NYT from a brilliant English chef called Jack Monroe who has a ton of vegan recipes on his website.

Using a rich french sauce to liven up an everyday beans and pasta dish- it is brilliant

Boil 1 15 oz can of drained and rinsed cannellini beans with 4 and half cups of vegetable stock for 15-20 minutes (I used better than bouillon base) . Add 1.5 cups of any small pasta and cook till pasta is slightly more than al dente – this is comfort food, you don’t want super chewy pasta

Meanwhile- make the beurre blanc. Add half white wine and half white vinegar enough to make up 3/4 of a cup. Add to a small saucepan with 5 tbsp butter and 1/2 an onion diced fine (about 3/4 cup). Cook on gentle heat for 15 minutes or so till the onions have softened.

Add to beans, top with copious amounts of black pepper, red pepper flakes and parmesan. This ia comfort food at its finest

Bean and Cheese Pupusas with creamy coleslaw

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This was a very fun and very delicious recipe. Plus- these refried beans are the bomb. I modified this Bon Appetit recipe a little bit- the video in the recipe is very helpful if you are making these for the first time

Pupusas are Salvadorean treats- made from the same masa as tortillas- they are the Salvadorean equivalents of the Indian Kachori- in fact, the refried beans will taste great as a filling for a kachori or a parantha (note to self)

Step1: Make refried beans. Heat 2-3 tbsp of vegetable oil. Add quarters of 1 onion wiht the petals all seperated- char them well at screaming high heat so that almost all the onion petals have some black char on them. Blend the onions and 1 can of pinto beans (14 oz) well.  Add 1 tbsp of cumin seeds to the oil and ad the bean mixture back to pan and stir for 10-15 minutes till thickned – cool and then add 1 cup of grated whole milk low moisture mozarella.

Step 2: Make masa: In a stand mixer, mix 3 cups of masa harina (I used the Bob’s Red mill one) with 2 3/4 cup scalding hot water and 2 tsp kosher salt. Be careful with the speed, the water will splash. Make sure all the masa is hydrated and then rest for 20 minutes or so. Divide into 12 portions and cover with a damp towel

Step 3: Make pupusa: Keep a little oil to lubricate your hands, take some masa- flatten it, add 1-2 tbsp of filling, cover the filling, flatten the pupusas. Rinse, lather, repeat.

Step 4: Cook pupusas: On a very hot pan, cook on either side till browned (takes about 3-4 minutes per side)

Step 5: Serve with salsa (store bought in my case) and coleslaw (my old tried and true recipe is 1/2 cup yogurt and 2-3 tbsp of hot mufaletta pickle- mix and add cabbage- this doesn’t in any way resemble the traditional curdito or any real coleslaw recipe, but it is creamy and tangy and delicious)

 

 

 

Chickpea pasta with tomatoes cinnamon and fennel

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Sauce

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp fennel seeds, 1 inch cinnamon stick, 2 dried red chillies

Add 1/2 an onion, sauté till softened, add 2-3 minced garlic cloves, add a large can of tomatoes puréed

Cook for 20 min, add 1 cup of cooked chickpeas

Toss with pasta, red pepper flakes and feta crumbles

Alu Chana

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This is my version of Alu-Chole

Pressure cook for 15 min on high

1 cup of soaked chickpeas, 2 tea bags, 1 stick of cinnamon, 2 large black elaichis, 8-10 whole peppercorns, 2 cloves, half an onion whole, 1 star anise pod with 2 cups of water and 1 tsp salt

Discard whole spices and onion

In a pan- add 1 tbsp oil, add 1 tsp cumin seeds and 1 red chilli, add 2 chopped russet potatoes (inch sized cubes). When browned a little, add 1 tbsp chopped ginger, 1 tbsp chopped garlic, 1 tsp ajwain seeds, 1 tsp cumin powder, 1 tsp coriander powder, 2 tsp pindi chana masala and 1 14 oz can of whole tomatoes.

Cook for 5 minutes, add the chickpeas, cook for an additional 15 minutes

Add 1 tsp each amchur powder, garam masala and crushed kasoori methi,