Indian Kidney Bean Curry: Rajma Masala

There are various recipes for kidney bean curries in the northern part of the Indian Subcontinent, with red kidney beans commonly used, including in Nepal and Bangladesh (light or dark red type), but brown type pinto beans are used in some places. In the Kashmir region, onion and garlic are not always used by everyone, and they also use Kashmiri ground red pepper, which is very red, but not as hot as regular Indian ground red chili powder. This regular hot Indian red chili powder is generally used elsewhere in India (it is very much like cayenne pepper). If you don't have Kashmiri chili powder, you can use 2/3 teaspoon sweet paprika (not the smoked type common in Spain) and 1/3 teaspoon cayenne pepper as a substitute, but then still add 1/2 to 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or other hot red pepper) in the recipe. I know some folks don't like much heat, but actually this isn't a red hot dish that will cause smoke to billow out of your mouth. A fairly common connection in the various recipes is that the beans are cooked and then some are mashed to varying degrees, and this helps to thicken the curry without any other ingredients being added. 

  

The kidney bean curry is almost always served with a nice portion of rice next to it, and then it is referred to as "Rajma Chawal" (kidney beans and rice), but pickled red onions are another good accompaniment.*  

 

By the way, I've found that this is one of those dishes that improves when the leftovers are put in the refrigerator until the next day; so, the curry is great to serve then too.

 

 

Ingredients (4 to 6 servings):

 

2 cans of kidney beans (14.5 to 16 ounces), rinsed and drained

2 tablespoons vegetable oil or other neutral oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 inch piece ginger, peeled and grated or finely chopped

1 small to medium green chili (a jalapeno chili is fine), chopped

1 1/2 cups chopped red onion

1 1/2 cups tomato puree

1 teaspoon ground turmeric

1 teaspoon Kashmiri chili powder (or 2/3 teaspoon sweet paprika + 1/3 teaspoon cayenne pepper)

1/2 to 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or regular Indian chili powder)

2 teaspoons ground coriander

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 tablespoon fenugreek leaves

2 teaspoons salt 

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro (also known to some as 'coriander') 

1 cup warm water

 

Add 2 tablespoons oil to a pan or skillet (I use a 10 inch diameter skillet) over medium heat; add the chopped red onion and saute until the onions just start to brown a bit. Add the garlic, ginger and green chili, saute a further 1 or 2 minutes (the onion should be softened and with some brown color to it). Add the tomato puree, ground turmeric, chili powders (Kashmiri or the substitute + cayenne pepper), ground coriander, ground cumin, fenugreek leaves and salt; stir to mix everything together well and cook for about 4 or 5 minutes; then add the water and mix everything together well. Add the kidney beans, stirring well. Let the curry come to a boil, then adjust the heat to maintain a nice steady simmer; cook for 8 to 10 minutes, then use a fork or potato masher and mash the mixture, so that about a third to a half of the beans are mashed to some degree (they don't have to be totally mashed), then mix all together well. Add the chopped cilantro (fresh coriander) and mix in and cook another 1 to 2 minutes. Serve with either rice, pickled onions or naan bread (or chapati/roti bread), or go for it and serve with rice, pickled onions and one of the bread types. 

    

* For how to make easy pickled red onions, here is the link: https://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2023/03/indian-style-pickled-red-onions.html

  

 

 

WORD HISTORY:

Soufflé (also souffle)-The main part of this word is related to "bladder" and to "blow" (to move air), both from the Germanic roots of English, and to "inflate," a word English borrowed directly from Latin. "Souffle" is formed of two parts, with the first part going back to Indo European "upo," meaning "up, up from beneath, up from under." The main part goes back to Indo European "bhle(h)," meaning "to blow." This gave Old Italic "flao" meaning "to blow" (with the  'b' of Indo European rendered as 'f' in Italic), and this gave Latin "flare" with the meanings "to blow, to breathe." These forms gave Latin "sufflare" meaning "to blow up with air, to inflate," and this passed into Old French as "souffler" (initially 'sofler?') meaning "to blow up, to inflate, to blow out (exhale);" thus, the figurative "to whisper." This gave French the noun "soufflé" from the participle form of "souffler" and essentially meaning "that which is puffed up," and used as a culinary term for "a dish with beaten egg whites that are folded into other ingredients, and which then make the dish 'puff up' when baked." English borrowed the word from French, circa 1815.

Kenyan Kidney Bean Stew: Maharagwe

Some people make this as a soup (more liquid), while others limit the liquid content somewhat and make this as a stew. It is often served with "ugali," a very thick kind of porridge of white cornmeal and water (it seems a few add some salt, and even fewer add butter or oil). I use a 2 to 1 ration of water to cornmeal, but I've seen recipes that use 2 1/2 or 3 to 1 ratio, but on the other hand, I've also seen a couple of recipes with a slightly less than 2 to 1 ratio. The cornmeal and water is cooked and stirred until the mixture is no longer fluid and essentially you can stand a spoon up in it (it requires LOTS of stirring). In this way it is very much like some recipes for Italian polenta or American cornmeal mush used for frying, and both of these are also made from cornmeal, although often yellow cornmeal. There are many names for this basic cornmeal dish across Africa, with "fufu," "nsima," "nshima" and "pap" being just a few of the names.  

Ingredients (5 to 6 servings):

 

2/3 cup chopped white onion

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/2 inch piece ginger, peeled and grated

1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper

2 tablespoons vegetable oil + 3 tablespoons water

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 1/2 teaspoons ground turmeric

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 medium jalapeno or serrano chili pepper, chopped

1 can diced tomatoes (14.5 ounces) with juice

2 cans (15 ounces each) kidney beans, drained

1 tablespoon honey

1 teaspoon salt

1 can coconut milk (14 to 15 ounces)

1/2 to 1 cup water

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro (also called coriander by some)

 

In a heavy bottom pan or pot, add the oil over medium heat, and when it's hot, add the onion and saute for about 2 minutes, then add the garlic and ginger and saute another minute. Now add the 3 tablespoons of water followed by the chopped red bell pepper and the chopped jalapeno or serrano chili pepper. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes, then remove the pan from the heat and add the dry spices (ground coriander, ground turmeric, ground cumin, ground cardamom, ground black pepper), stirring to mix, then add the diced tomatoes with juice. Put the pan back onto the heat and let cook until the vegetables are all softened, stirring often. Add the drained kidney beans, honey and salt; cook for 3 to 4 minutes, then add the coconut milk and 1/2 cup water, and stir to mix. Let the stew come to a simmer (adjust the heat to maintain a steady simmer, not a full boil). Simmer the stew for 6 to 7 minutes, and add the other 1/2 cup of water if the stew is too thick (if you want more of a soup, add the amount of water to make the consistency you want), return to a simmer and cook for another 8 to 10 minutes. Add the chopped cilantro (coriander) and stir. Serve hot.     

 

 

WORD HISTORY:

Anvil-This is a compound word, with the second part of the word related to "felt," the noun for a type of fabric, which is from the Germanic roots of English, to "filter," a word with a Germanic base that was borrowed and expanded by Latin and then borrowed by English from Latin, with Latin-based French reinforcement, to the main body of "appeal," a Latin derived word borrowed by English via French, and to the second part of "compel, also Latin-derived and borrowed by English via French. The first part of "anvil" goes back to Indo European "an/(h)an/(h)aen," meaning "on, onto, above." This gave Old Germanic "ana," meaning "on, onto, upon." The second part of "anvil" goes back to the Indo European root "pel" (there were several forms of "pel," with varied meanings), with the idea of "beat, hit, beat down;" thus also, "compress." This gave Old Germanic "filtan/feltan," meaning "to beat, to hit, to strike," and gave the West Germanic compound form "anafalt(a)/anafilt(a)," meaning "a place to beat metal into various forms." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "anfilt(e)/anfealt," with the same meaning, and this then became "anfilt/anvelt," before the modern form "anvil." Forms in the other Germanic languages: German had "Anafalz," and Low German had "anfilts, and Dutch had "anavilt" (also "anevilt?"). NOTE: Modern German has "Amboss," Low German has "Ambolt/Ambeld," Dutch has "aambeeld," West Frisian has "ambyld" (also "aambyld"), Danish has "ambolt." These all came from other forms of "anvil," with these forms going back to the Old Germanic ancestor of "bolt." (The German form "Amboss" is spelled with double s because of a sound shift in the high Germanic dialects long ago that made many 't' sounds into 's' or 'ss;' for example: English "water," but German "Wasser," English "kettle," but German "Kessel," English "vat," but German "Fass.")      

Colombian Red Beans: Frijoles Rojos Colombianos

You can use dried beans and then soak them overnight, but it is much easier to use canned kidney beans, a VERY common food product in the United States, and in many other countries too. There are variations for this dish; and in fact, some people serve fried ripened plantains* on the side, rather than using plantains in the actual beans. I likely checked about 12 to 15 recipes, and all but 3 or 4 had no meat, with one of those using smoked pork, and the 2 or 3 others using chorizo (sausage).

Ingredients:

3 cans (15.5 to 16 ounces each) light red kidney beans (drained and rinsed)
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
3 garlic cloves, chopped
3 Roma tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/2 cup shredded carrot
1 green plantain, peeled and chopped 
2 packets Sazón Goya with annatto **
1 teaspoon ground cumin
3 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2/3 teaspoon salt
cubed avocado sprinkled with a little lemon juice for a garnish
green onion, chopped, garnish

Put the chopped plantain into a pan with some water over medium heat. Cook the plantain until softened. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Reduce heat to low and add the onion, bell pepper and carrot. Saute for about 3 minutes, then add the garlic and saute further until the vegetables are softened. Add the tomatoes and cook just a couple of more minutes. Add the drained and rinsed beans, the cumin, the Sazón Goya with annatto, the cooked chopped plantain and the black pepper; mix together and add the chicken broth, stir well again. Increase heat to medium until it begins to simmer. Adjust heat to just maintain a simmer and cook for about 8 to 10 minutes. Add the chopped cilantro and the salt and stir. Serve the beans in bowls, adding some pieces of chopped avocado and some chopped green onion on top, and serving some rice along side.  

* The ripened plantains, which usually have a blackened peel or a peel with black spots, are peeled, sliced and sweetened with sugar (often brown sugar) and fried in some oil.

** Sazón Goya is a Latino seasoning that is easily obtainable in the Latino section of the supermarket or any Latino market. I bought a small box of 8 packets for about $1.75. There are different types, but the one with coriander and annatto is the one you need. Annatto is a seasoning and food coloring product from the seeds of the achiote tree. It is commonly used in dishes from the Caribbean and Central and South America.

WORD HISTORY:
More (2)-English has a couple words of this spelling, but this is the noun, which was long the English word for "carrot," until replaced as the main word by that borrowed word, "carrot." It goes back to Indo European "murk/mrk," which meant, "edible root." This gave Old Germanic "murhon," ^ with the more specific meaning "carrot," but also, "parsnip." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "moru," with those same meanings. This then became "more" (likely pronounced as if, "mor-eh"/"mor-ah"). "Carrot" began to overtake it in the early 1500s. It is still used as a dialect word in parts of the UK. Low German and Dutch both had "more," but it was overtaken by "wortel," a word related to English "root" (likewise with West Frisian "woartel" ^^). German still has "Möhre," but it shares the meaning with "Karotte," also borrowed by German, and both forms are commonly used.    

^ This may have been a West Germanic survival from Old Germanic, as I could not find any forms in the North Germanic languages or in Old Norse from centuries ago, except as a borrowing.

^^ Low German and Dutch "wortel" and West Frisian "woartel" (German has "Wurzel") are related to Old English "wyrtwala," which meant "root, lower part of a plant." Old English "wyrt" itself meant, "herb plant," which were also used to flavor old forms of beer, and the term is still associated in English with beer making to this very day, as well as with certain plants like, "Saint John's Wort."