Creamy Indian Black Beans – Another Dal Makhani
I rounded off the intense week with these magical black beans. Creamy and well seasoned, I call this another dal makhani. Creamy lentils, or in this case black beans equal dal makhani.
Calm and the Creamy Indian Black Bean Story
This is my first time working with black beans cooked the Indian way. A Dal Makhani of sorts, made from regular black beans. The idea of using black beans is inspired by something that I read in Madhur Jaffrey’s book. I had picked it up or was skimming it in the library. I know, after all these years, she is still the one. Inspiring and making things happen, just what a classic is about.
Texture and Flavors of this Black Bean Dal Makhani
The texture of this dish was tighter and thicker almost by design. All resulting in a comforting dish that is perfect for these rainy almost spring evenings. The husband has a minor surgery, to reduce his eye pressure. All coming together to demand more comfort food. Cozy meals, even better as leftovers make for the perfect kind of good weeknight meals.
Speaking of staying focused, much and I love the idea of sharing loads and loads of wonderful recipes with you, I have a very distracted process, about writing posts on this blog. Maybe because, it is that one activity that I do on my own terms, without fuss, fanfare and pressure. I start, and let my mind wander, I peruse all kinds of things and then I meander and find my way back to writing.
After our dinner, I had some leftover, stay tuned to see what I did with them. For today, I shall leave you with these beans, cook up a indulgent potful to add warmth and brightness to these cool pre-spring days.
A vegan version of this dish is right here and a slow cooker version is here.
This recipe for black beans is inspired by the classic Indian black lentil recipe, found in restaurants called Dal Makhani. Other than using everyday black beans, I have lightened the recipe significantly and developed it for a slow cooker, where it happily cooks into slow cooked perfection. Note: If you do not have a slow cooker, you can do this on the stove top in a heavy bottomed pot with a tight fitting lid.
Ingredients
- 11/2 cups of dried black beans
- 2 to 3 tablespoons of olive oil
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic (about 4 cloves)
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
- 2 onions, finely diced
- 1 tablespoon freshly ground cumin
- 11/2 teaspoons freshly ground coriander
- 11/2 teaspoons salt or to taste
- 1 teaspoon red cayenne powder or to taste
- 4 tomatoes, diced or 1 cup canned chopped tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon dried fenugreek leaves (optional)
- 3 tablespoons sour cream
- 2 to 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro
- Diced or sliced red onions for serving
Instructions
- Place the black beans in plenty of water and soak for 2 to 3 hours or overnight. Drain and set aside.
- If your slow cooker has a saute function, turn it on and add the olive oil or you can do this in a skillet over the stove.
- Add in the onions and cook for about five minutes, add in the ginger and the garlic and saute until the onions are soft and golden.
- Add in the cumin, coriander, salt, red cayenne pepper and cook for a minute.
- Add in the tomatoes and cook for two more minutes. If using a skillet move the mixture to the slow cooker. Once the tomatoes are soft and pulpy, add this mixture to the slow cooker, add in the black beans with 3 cups of water and cook on low for 4 hours.
- Remove the cover, stir in the fenugreek leaves, sour cream and cilantro and serve.
Notes
Note: You do want a fairly thick gravy for this dish, if you end up with a thin sauce, please remove to the stove top and thicken for about ½ an hour before adding in the sour cream.
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