Kidney Beans and Spinach with Rice

Rajma, palak aur chawal

This is one of my absolute favorite, meat-less, Indian dishes! Its packed with protein, iron, folate, vitamin C, fibre, spices and herbs. It's also a healthy comfort meal (yes, there is such a thing). The added bonus is that Baby L enjoys all of my Indian cooking, especially this dish. Its a nutritious finger food for babes with no teef.

I prefer to use dried legumes, lentils and beans. Ya, it's annoying to soak them over-night BUT I find that dried beans are packed with much more flavor than the canned ones and less salt, preservatives and goop. Soaking them quickens the cooking time and makes them easier to digest - yep, you guessed it - makes us less gaseous.

I soak the beans over-night in cold water. Remember to dump the old water and add fresh water when boiling. Boiling kills the toxins. Beans tend to triple in size, so remember that next time when you are prepping the night before.

Portions:

1 cup dry kidney beans = 3 cups cooked. I would add 3 cups of water for over-night soaking.

Rinse, boil for at least 10 minutes, and simmer beans for 1 to 2 hours depending on portions and your stove. Beans should mash easily with fingers and melt in your mouth. No bite. Check for tenderness throughout the cooking process. DO NOT add salt or anything to the water when cooking beans, it'll add more time to the cooking time. Boiling for at least 10 minutes ensure toxins are killed. DO NOT cook in the slow cooker, as toxins will not be killed. You can totally use a pressure cooker to speed up cooking time. I wish I had one that worked on my induction stove.

Save the cooked beans for later in the fridge for 3 or 4 days or make extra and freeze for later, up to 6 months!! Add beans to your salad, soup or eat as a snack.

Dry Kidney Bean

I like to incorporate vegetables into all of my meals. Especially because I always have veggies laying around in the fridge or freezer. I prefer eating veggies cooked, more than eating a them cold, like in a salad. I may as well add the extra fibre and nutrients to whatever meal is cooking as Baby L eats with us too.

Before I start my main course, I soak basmati rice for 30 minutes. It quickens the cooking time. I saute cumin seeds in butter and olive oil, add rice, salt and water. I boil for a bit and then cover and simmer for 12 minutes or so, until cooked.

Once my beans are cooked all the way I work on my base. Onions, garlic, ginger and green chillies processed and chopped. I add cumin seeds into the frying pan or wok and let them crackle a bit.

Then I add my onion base and saute until golden brown. Yes, to save time I cook all of my veggies together. You can cook the onions first, then add garlic, chillies and ginger if you like. Whatever is your preference. Next, I add in chopped tomatoes. Depending on my planning, I'll add fresh tomatoes. Freshly chopped, tomatoes on the vine, using my processor. Or, if I forgot to buy tomatoes I'll use canned, unsalted, diced tomatoes. I tend to buy a huge can and freeze half for later.

After adding the tomatoes, I simmer for at least 10 minutes to cook the tomatoes. Next, I add garam masala, turmeric, ground cumin and coriander mix, ground mango powder (amchoor) salt and pepper.  Cook until there is no water left.

What is garam masala? It's mixed ground spices, such as; cumin, black pepper, coriander, cardmom seeds, cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, dry ginger, bay leaf, caraway and mace. It's a package I buy from either Superstore or an Indian store. I keep it in a jar, in my fridge to prevent it from going stale.

Lastly, I add the beans and water (add to your consistency thickness)  and let it simmer for at least 30 minutes. I then add chopped spinach and simmer while the rice is cooking.

Serve over rice, with a little bit of plain yoghurt and enjoy!

Baby L enjoyed it a lot!