Flageolet Beans Cooked with Garlic Pickle
Flageolet Beans in Garlic Pickle
Mamta Gupta
This recipe came about because I had a packet of flageolet beans lying around for a while. I had soaked them the previous night but did not feel like making a 'proper' curry. So I cooked them in garlic pickle that happened to be sitting on my kitchen top (I often add a little bit of pickle to my vegetable bhajies). It is quite a tasty dish and very easy to make. You can experiment with other Indian pickles to make it.
Serves 4-6
Flageolet Beans are small, kidney shaped beans that are usually light green but can also be white, black, yellow or red. They have slightly buttery taste.
Ingredients
200-250 gm. flageolet beans, soaked overnight (8-10 hours)
2 medium sized onions, peeled
A small piece of ginger, peeled, optional
2-3 tbsp. mustard oil*
1 level tsp. cumin or mustard seeds
2 heaped tbsp. garlic pickle in oil (Indian hot pickle)
A handful of coriander leaves, washed and chopped, optional
1/2 tsp.Garam Masala, optional
*Mustard oil should always be heated to smoking point first and allowed to cool completely, before adding it to the pickle.
Instructions
Place beans and double the water in a pressure cooker and boil for 8-10 minutes. If you do not have a pressure cooker, boil briskly for about an hour, until tender. Wait for pressure cooker to cool before opening. Keep aside.
Place onions and ginger in a food processor and chop finely. You can chop finely by hand.
Heat oil in a pan and add cumin/mustard seeds. When they splutter, add onions and ginger. Fry until onions are turning brown.
Add garlic pickle and stir fry for a few seconds.
Add boiled beans and 1 cup of water. Bring to boil and simmer briskly for about 10 minutes.
Sprinkle a little garam masala and coriander leaves if you wish. Serve hot with naans
