Baked Beans

Bacon, Ground Beef or Pork is often added to Baked Beans. However, I skipped all meat and kept my baked beans vegetarian. Hubby loved these beans and asked me if I actually made it from scratch.

Ingredients

1. Red Beans (soaked overnight) – 1.5 cups
2. Diced Onions – 1 medium
3. Diced Green Peppers/Capsicum – 1 medium
4. Red Chilly Powder – 1 tsp (Alter according to your spice tolerance)
5. Spicy Brown Mustard – 1 tbsp
6. Brown Sugar – 4 tbsp (Alter according to your desired level of sweetness)
7. Ketchup – 4 tbsp
8. Vinegar – 2 tsp
9. Black Pepper Powder – 1/2 tsp
10. Bay Leaf – 2 big ones
11. Garlic – 4 cloves
12. Olive Oil – 2 tbsp
13. Salt – to taste
14. Water – as needed

Preparation Method

1. Rinse and drain the soaked beans. Pressure cook the beans in 3-4 cups of water along with bay leaves, garlic and salt to taste. You need to pressure cook the beans for around 20 minutes (5 to 6 whistles) on medium heat so that it becomes tender.
2. Allow the pressure to subside. Open the pan, drain the beans and reserve the liquid. Discard the bay leaves.
3. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a pan and saute onions until translucent.
4. Add the bell peppers and saute for a few minutes.
5. Reduce heat and add red chilly powder and little salt. Saute for a minute.
6. Add the cooked beans to the pan along with 1/2 cup of reserved liquid.
7. Next add mustard, ketchup, brown sugar, black pepper powder and vinegar. Mix everything together and simmer the beans for 15-20 minutes until thick and mushy.
8. Stir the beans while it gets cooked so that it doesn’t stick to the pan. If the beans appear dry, add more of the reserved liquid and simmer it for a few more minutes.

Let me start 2011 with my Ultimate Comfort Food – Kanjiyum Payarum. ‘Kanji’ stands for Rice Gruel in Malayalam and ‘Payaru’ means Beans. When I used to stay with roommates in Chennai, we often used to reach home really late in the evenings after all the dreadful projects at office. That’s when my friends would make Kanjiyum Payarum to avoid the hassle of cooking up an elaborate dinner. It’s absolutely easy to make this one-pot dish. Wash Rice and Moong Beans (Cheru Payaru). Pressure cook it with lots of water and salt to taste. It’s ready in 10 minutes mostly.

Kanjiyum Payarum

Now I make Kanjiyum Payarum, whenever I am sick. That’s the only food I care to eat when I have a nagging headache or any other illness. Unfortunately, my husband dislikes Kanji (Rice Gruel) to the core. Well, I just drain the liquids from the gruel and serve it to him with any other side dish. He doesn’t mind eating Rice and Cheru Payaru (Green Gram/Mung Beans) without the liquids.

I use Parboiled Rice and dried Moong Beans for making this gruel. You can instead use fresh Moong beans or even Moong Bean Sprouts.

Ingredients

1. Parboiled Rice – 1 cup
2. Moon Beans/Green Gram (CheruPayaru) – 1/2 cup
3. Salt – to taste
4. Garlic – 4 or 5 cloves
5. Green Chillies – 2 or 3
6. Water – as needed

Preparation Method

1. Wash Rice and Moong Beans thoroughly.
2. Pressure cook all the ingredients in lots of water along with salt to taste. You need to add lots of water (around 3/4th of the cooker) so that the gruel doesn’t become a gooey paste.
3. I pressure cook it for 2 whistles on medium-high flame. You may need to adjust the cooking time depending on the rice you use.
4. Serve this Gruel with Pickle and Pappadam but it tastes best as such.

Capsicum Dal Curry

Lentils are popular all over India and Dal Curry is considered a comfort food. A simple dal curry is often served with Chappatis or Rice.

Ingredients

1. Split Green Gram Lentils/Moong Dal (Cheru Payaru Parippu) – 1/2 cup
2. Diced Bell Peppers/Capsicum – 1 big
3. Slit Green Chillies – 4
4. Crushed Garlic – 2 or 3 cloves
5. Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp
6. Cumin Powder (Jeera) – 1/2 tsp
7. Red chilly powder – 1/2 tsp
8. Oil – 1 tbsp
9. Water – as needed

For seasoning

1. Oil – 1 tbsp
2. Mustard seeds – 1/4 tsp
3. Sliced Shallots (Kunjulli) – 4
4. Curry Leaves – A few
5. Dried Red Chillies – 4

Preparation Method

1. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pressure cooker and lightly roast the lentils for a few minutes.
2. Add the diced capsicum, slit green chillies, crushed garlic, 1/2 tsp turmeric, 1/2 tsp cumin powder and 1/2 tsp red chilly powder. Saute for a minute or 2.
3. Pour around 3 cups of water along with salt to taste. Mix everythign well.
4. Pressure cook the dal for around 3 whistles on medium flame. Allow it to cool.
5. Heat 1 tbsp oil in another pan and splutter mustard seeds.
6. Saute shallots, red chillies and curry leaves for a few minutes.
7. Pour this seasoning over the cooked dal.
8. Serve this Dal Capscium curry with Rice or Rotis.

Whole Green Gram (Mung Bean) Dosa

Moong Bean (Cheru Payaru) is high in protein and is commonly used in Indian Cuisine. In Kerala, Mung Bean is used for making Cheru Payaru Stew and Mezhkkupuratti. Green Gram Dosa or Pesarattu is native to Andhra Pradesh and is usually served with Ginger Chutney. It is made by soaking and grinding Mung Beans. Addition of rice flour is optional. The batter doesn’t require fermentation. So Green Gram Dosa is an instant Dosa, other than the soaking part.

Preparing Moong Bean (Cheru Payaru) Dosa

Ingredients

1. Moong Bean/Green Gram (CheruPayaru) – 3 cups
2. Green Chillies – 2 or 3
3. Ginger – 1 ” long small piece
4. Garlic – 2 small cloves
5. Curry Leaves – a few
6. Cilantro (Coriander Leaves) – A handful (optional)
7. Rice Flour – 1/4 cup (optional)
8. Salt – to taste
9. Water – as needed

Preparation Method

1. Soak green gram in water overnight or for atleast 6 hours.
2. Drain the moong bean and grind it along with all the other ingredients to form a smooth batter. The consistency should be slightly more than that of normal Dosa batter.
3. If the batter becomes too thin, add a few tablespoons of rice flour to make it thick.
4. Heat a non stick Tava or Griddle and pour a ladle full of batter. Spread the batter in a circular motion using the back of the ladle.
5. Allow the Dosa to cook on medium high heat for a few minutes until it begins to separate from the Tava. Flip over and cook the other side until crisp.
6. Serve the dosas with Ginger Coconut Chutney or any other Chutney of your choice.

Black Chick Peas, Pear & Cucumber Salad

For those of you who are worried about Chick Peas causing Gastric problems, try soaking Chick Peas for 12-15 hours and wash away the foam. After boiling Chickpeas, again rinse it to remove any foam. Alternatively, try sprouting Chick Peas to remove gas.

Ingredients

1. Boiled Bengal Gram/Black Chick Peas/Garbanzo Beans – 1/2 cup
2. Asian Pear (peeled and diced) – 1 big
3. Cucumber(peeled and diced) – 1 big
4. Pepper – to taste
5. Salt – to taste

Preparation Method

• Combine all the ingredients in a bowl. Sprinkle salt and pepper to taste.