Spiced and Pureed Chard with Red Beans - Chard Saag with Beans - Chard Masiyal with Beans

Growing Chard in the cooler months should be easy but for some reason Chard is picky. I sow them late winter in the high-tunnel hoping to harvest in Spring but they seem to wait till the next winter to bear good quality leaves. The heat and the summer bugs don't seem to agree with them. This is the time when there are no local fresh vegetables so I do not complain much. I have used chard to saute as a poriyal/stir fry, with addition of coconut, in sambhar or in a simple dal.

You get the idea, chard leaves can be used just like spinach leaves. My brother on the other hand thinks that to taste the real vegetable you have to cook it by itself so this recipe was born because of that. Nothing exotic just a recipe that has been used with other kinds of greens. Having tried it realization hit that this way of cooking indeed makes chard tastes fantastic.

While just the spiced and pureed chard can be eaten as is, the addition of beans makes it a fancy side dish. Paneer, potates are all good additions. They make a great side dish for any kind of soft Indian breads.

I grew shelling beans because I am fond of fresh shelled beans. I picked up Jacob Turtle Beans one summer and have been in love them ever since. I collect seeds and plant them every year. Hoping to grow a bit more this year. But I have never been disappointed. I prefer to shell them fresh and freeze but some of them which dry out are saved as dried beans. Both taste the same when cooked but with the fresh ones being a bit more special.

I cook the chard in a pressure cooker to speed up the process but it can be cooked on a stove top as well.
Here is the recipe in pictures,

Cook the bean for about 6-10 minutes till fully cooked.
Cut the chard leaves, onions and green chilies.
In a pressure add oil and when hot add cumin powder and pepper powder, onions and green chilies. Saute till the onions start to turn brown. Add tomatoes and saute till it gets soft.
Add chard leaves, salt and saute till it becomes soft.
Puree the chard leaves. Add in the cooked beans and let it cook with the puree for a few minutes.

Goes well with rice or any kind of bread.

Spiced and Pureed Chard with Beans
Preparation Time:10 minutes
Cooking Time:25 minutes
Ingredients

1. 1 cup of fresh or 1/2 cup of dried beans(I used Jacobs Turtle Beans)
2. 3-4 cups of chopped chard leaves (more or less is ok)
3. 1/2 cup of chopped red onions
4. 2-3 green chilies
5. 1 chopped garlic (optional)
6. 2-3 small tomatoes chopped
7. 1/2 tsp of cumin powder
8. 1 tsp of pepper powder
9. salt to taste
10. 2 tsp of oil

Method

1. Set the beans to cook while you get the chard ready. Remove the stems if a bit mature and then cut the leaves into strips.
2. In a pressure cooker heat oil add the cumin and pepper powders and immediately add the onion, garlic if using and green chilies.
3. Saute the onions till it starts to brown ad bit and add the chopped tomatoes and cook till it turns mushy.
4. Now add the chopped chard, mix it in well, add a couple of tbsp of water, salt and cook for 2 whistles or about 10-15 minutes if not using pressure cooker.
5. Once the pressure is released puree the cooked chard. Turn on the heat, now drain the cooked beans and add it to the chard puree. Check for salt and turn off the heat.

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Channa Masala (for Batura)

Chole and Batura has a special place in my heart, this was the first proper Indian meal I ate after coming here to the US. In the US today there is no shortage of Indian food, be it North or South Indian even specialized food like Chettinad, Karaikudi cuisine etc., but when I first got here there was an occasional Indian restaurant in our nearest 50 mile radius and most Americans had never heard of curry. It was exotic food from the land of yogis :)

So when I got here not knowing how to cook, about the 3rd or 4th day when DH suggested we go for out for Chinese and I was excited. With dreams of the Chinese food I knew I was disappointed obviously, this was Chinese food in America not the Indo Chinese back home. No American chop suey in a Chinese restaurant in America and I might have shed a tear or two. It was all very confusing and not very tasty :) Then the next restaurant we tried was Indian obviously. We went into this Indian Restaurant and the first thing that jumped out at me was Channa Batura and I remember it was the best ever. I have been trying to perfect and recreate the taste ever since. On our subsequent visits to this restaurant the Channa and Batura never tasted as good! But of course right?



So here is an easy recipe for a creamy gravy that is perfect for mopping with the batura and it is pretty easy to make. I do not make a paste of the raw onions instead I boil them along with the garlic, ginger and green chilies and then make a paste of it. This makes it easy to cook and does not take as long as the raw onions paste. I also used amla powder instead of cooking the chickpeas with tea bags. I had only loose tea and no tea bags and that was a good thing because the amla powder gave the mild sourness to the gravy.

Recipe in pictures,

Cook the chick peas in an Instant Pot. Add the cut the onions, garlic, ginger and chilies in a sauce with a bit of water.
Once the boiled onions are cooled blend it to a smooth paste.
In a wide mouthed pan, heat oil, season with cumin seeds. Add in the blended onion paste and saute for 6-8 minutes or till you see the oil separating. Add in the spice powders.
Add in the tomato puree, mix and cook for about 8-10.
Add the cooked chickpeas and half way through the cooking process add the coriander leaves and turn of the heat.

Serve with baturas for best taste.

Channa Masala
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 30 minutes
Soaking Time: Overnight
Ingredients

1. 2 cups of dried chickpeas
2. 1 1/2 cups of chopped red onions
3. 4 garlic cloves peeled and chopped
4. 1 inch piece of ginger chopped
5. 4-5 red chilies chopped (I used the fresh ones not dried)
6. 1 cup tomato puree
7. 1/2 tbsp of amla powder
8. 1/2 tbsp coriander powder
9. 1-2 tsp of red chili powder if required
10. 2 tsp of turmeric powder
11. salt to taste
12. seasonings: cumin seeds
13. handful of fresh coriander leaves
14. 1/2 tbsp oil

Method

1. Soak the chickpeas overnight in plenty of water. Discard the soaking water and wash the chickpeas. Now cook the chickpeas with twice the amount of water and turmeric powder in the Instant Pot for 25 minutes. If it is not soaked cook for 45 minutes.
2. In a sauce pan add the onions, chilies, garlic and ginger and about 1/4 cup of water and cook for about 6-8 minutes. Turn off the heat. When cooled blend to a smooth paste.
3. In a wide mouthed pan heat oil, add cumin seeds followed by the blended onion paste.
4. Sauté the paste till the oil starts to seep out for about 8-10 minutes or so.
5. Add the amla powder, coriander, chili powder and give it a mix. Now add the tomato puree and let it cook for another 8-10 minutes or so till the oil separates.
6. Add in the cooked chickpeas with salt with either all of the water or how much you want and continue to cook for another 8-10 minutes. Half way through the cooking add the coriander leaves. Turn off the heat.

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Instant Pot Black Beans - Chipotle Style

I love beans, I always have, not the white chick peas which I got to know better after coming here to the US but kidney beans, black chick peas, field beans, cow peas and others which were common in TamilNadu.

Black Beans is also one that was introduced to me by Chipotle when I purchased a burrito bowl. The slightly tougher texture makes it easy to cook and also perfect in salads. We make burrito bowls often with various combinations of proteins, grilled or roasted vegetables and different kinds of grains. It is always accompanied by Black Beans cooked the Chipotle way slightly watery but the beans still maintaining their shape for the most part. With the advent of the Instant Pot cooking this beans is pretty easy. You don't have to plan a burrito bowl to enjoy a bowl of this delicious beans.



Without an Instant Pot these beans can just as easily be cooked with a pressure cooker.

To the Instant Pot add the black beans, enough water, onions, ginger, garlic, green chilies and put in manual mode and cook for 10 minutes.
Once cooked let the steam subside naturally and open the Instant Pot.
Put the Instant Pot in saute mode and add the spices and coriander leaves. Cook till desired consistency is reached.
Unplug when done.

The beans is an accompaniment for a burrito bowl or for enjoying as is in a bowl.

Instant Pot Black Beans - Chipotle Style
Soaking Time: Overnight
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 10 - 15 minutes
Ingredients

1. 2 cups of Black Beans soaked overnight (if required a handful of Red Kidney Beans)
2. 1/2 cup of chopped onions
3. 2-3 garlic cloves chopped
4. 2-3 green chilies, seeds removed and chopped fine
5. 1 tbsp ginger grated
6. 1 tsp cumin powder
7. 2 tsp of red chili powder
8. salt to taste
9. handful of coriander leaves

Method

1. Wash the soaked black beans in several changes of water.
2. Add the black beans, onions, garlic, ginger, green chilies, along with 4 cups of water (more if you want the beans to be watery).
3. Put the Instant Pot in manual mode and 10 minutes cooking time *.
4. Once the cooking time finishes and it goes to warming mode, leave it till the pressure releases naturally.
5. Now open the Instant Pot and put it in saute mode -normal setting. Once the read out flashes Hot, add in the spice powders, salt and coriander leaves and cook for about 5-6 minutes or till the desired consistency is reached.
   
6. Unplug the Instant Pot and the beans is ready to be served.


7. Note:If using dried beans directly follow the time recommended in the Instant Pot booklet.

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Chili and Turmeric Roasted Purple Eyed Peas

Have you heard of the book "Defense of Food" written by Michael Pollan. If you have not, don't fret you can watch the show based on the book here. I recommend watching the show if you have not already. It makes clear what you already know but reaffirms your belief that vegetables and fruits are good when Michael Pollan says "Eat Food. Not too much. Mostly plants." Another important rule to remember is to use smaller plates and glasses. Serve the vegetables first.

Snack foods are usually a mine field if you want to follow the rule mentioned above because it is loaded with sugar, salt and fat. I personally prefer savory snack foods to sweet ones but they are not much better either when store bought.

The thing is tasty snacks can be made at home without too much effort. Roasted chickpeas are a big fad as we all know. The thing is I have a lot of dried purple eyes peas that were harvested this summer and when I saw this recipe I was more than happy.

I used chili powder, turmeric powder and a tiny bit of curry powder for spices. I guess any spices you prefer like Cajun seasoning or Italian seasoning might work as well.

Canned beans can be used. I prefer using dried and soaked beans. Black/Purple Eyed Peas do not require overnight soaking like the other dried beans, soaking for a couple of hours is sufficient. While I used the oven to do the roasting because I had about 2 cups of beans. If you are using a smaller quantity it can be quickly done in a toaster oven.

I roasted slightly longer than required so in the last 10-15 minutes keep an eye on it.

Soak and cook the purple eyed peas, drain and spread them on kitchen towel to absorb the water.
Prepare the spice paste. Whisk the spice powders together with the oil.
Toss the beans in the spice paste and get them coated.
Line a baking sheet with aluminum, grease and spread the beans and bake in a 375F preheated oven for about 50 -55 minutes till they are roasted to golden brown.

Chili and Turmeric Roasted Purple Eyed Peas
Preparation Time:Less than 10 minutes + 2 hours soaking time
Roasting Time:55-60 minutes
Ingredients

1. 2 cups of dried beans
2. 1 tbsp olive oil
3. 1/2 tbsp chili powder
4. 2 tsp turmeric powder
5. 1 tsp curry powder (optional)
6. 1/2 tsp of salt or to taste

Method

1. Soak the black eyed peas for about couple of hours. Wash the beans and add salt and cook for 1 whistle if using a pressure cooker. Take care not to cook just enough to keep the beans whole. (see Note)
2. Drain the beans and then spread them out in a kitchen towel to absorb any excess water.
3. Preheat the oven to 375F.
4. In a mixing bowl or a wide mouthed deep bowl tale the oil, chili powder, turmeric powder, curry powder and salt. Whisk it together.
5. Toss the beans into the spice paste and gently mix so all the beans are well coated.
6. Line a cookie or baking sheet with foil and grease it with oil. Spread the spice coated beans in a single layer.
7. Bake in a preheated oven for about 55-60 minutes. Check once at 30 minutes and turn the beans around. Check again at 50 to 55 minutes to make sure the beans are ready. It is done when the beans are golden brown. Do not leave it longer than required.
8. Cool and store in air tight container. Should last for couple of weeks.
9. b>Note:If cooking beans in a pressure cooker be careful not to overcook because the purple eyed peas get cooked pretty soon. It can be cooked on stove top in a sauce pan.

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