Beans
Ingredients
Main Ingredients
16 oz. bag of dried beans of choice
1 lb stew meat OPTIONALLY
1 onion
1/2 - 1 pepper of choice
4 cloves of garlic
3 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 Tbsp flour
salt
black pepper
Choice Flavorings
1-2 chicken bouillon cubes (skip for vegan, add pinch of msg if avail.)
14 oz. can diced or peeled whole tomatoes
1/2 Tbsp cumin seeds
1/2 Tbsp fenugreek seeds
sprinkle asafoetida powder
2 tsp ground turmeric
2 tsp ground coriander
1 Tbsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground paprika
sprinkle ground ginger
Process
Note: Flavorings listed are my choice for red kidney beans where I use a red bell pepper. Other variations might be black beans with a poblano and only cumin for flavoring, or chickpeas with no pepper coriander and cumin as flavoring.
Soak beans overnight in cool water, rinse and drain before use
Make your sofrito by processing or blending the onion, garlic and pepper if using
If using now sear then hold on the side
Add oil, whole seeds, and asafoetida powder to a large pot over medium, and heat until seeds start to vibrate in the pan
Add the remaining ground spices and bouillon fry and stir for 20 seconds then add the sofrito, flour, salt, and black pepper, this will sputter at first, but stir until it calms down
Cook the mixture down until the oil begins to separate from the solids, about 10 minutes
Add tomatoes and break up in pot and stir, cook for another few minutes until hot again
Add the drained beans and stir, cook for another few minutes until hot again
Cover with an inch of water, stir, then bring to a boil and taste for seasoning/salt, add more if needed
Turn heat down to low and partially cover with lid, let simmer stirring occasionally and adding more water if needed until beans are tender
if using meat, add back in after beans cook for a little and braise in oven 350 with lid slightly ajar
