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Post by Deleted on Dec 14, 2011 19:10:46 GMT
Oh, now you've got me fantasizing about beans again, although the end result with probably be as simple as navy bean & bacon soup or red beans & rice (with lots of pork belly, obviously).
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Post by auntieannie on Apr 4, 2012 14:40:11 GMT
Gringa, the recipe you posted in the OP... can you describe the "black beans" please. because I bought some black (urid) lentils. I've had the urid dal before, which is delicious and as dal is de-hulled (and sometimes split) and I have eaten the cooked black lentils, but never cooked them myself before.
or are black beans kind of kidney shaped/big?
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Post by lola on Apr 6, 2012 5:46:35 GMT
Hi, auntieannie. What we in US think of black beans are not lentil shaped. They are, how shall we say, bean shaped, and roughly the same size dried as what we call navy, pinto:
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Post by lola on Apr 6, 2012 6:01:20 GMT
I made curried dal 2 days ago, and it's gotten even better by today.
Cooked red dal till soft the same time I microwaved 3 large potatoes also till soft. Didn't peel them, though most would. Heated oil in large skillet added dried mustard and cumin seeds, ~ 2 tsp each and let them sizzle a minute. Added diced onions, stir fried till soft. Added potatoes and smashed them in skillet, stirred around a bit. Added the dal, a can of diced tomatoes, some vindaloo and a little of what Penzey's sells as "Maharajah" curry powders. A little salt and pepper. Let it cook a bit.
There seem to be lots of ways to do this dish, but this was quick, easy, and we already had all the ingredients.
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Post by Don Cuevas on Apr 6, 2012 8:20:48 GMT
A couple of days ago, I attempted to make Frijoles Charros, using dried frijoles Flor de Mayo. After much fussing and attention, they came out coarse and unappetizing. The main problem for my taste are the coarse skins.
We ended up putting them in small containers and freezing them. (After all, they aren't totally inedible, but I didn't want to serve them to our guests.)
I needed frijoles charros as part of a barbecue rib meal, so in desperation, I bought 3 cans of La Costeña brand frijoles de la olla. I fried up some chopped onion and 3 cloves of chopped garlic in some bacon fat, added a fair pinch of ground cumin and some Mexican orégano. Then two medium sized Roma type tomatoes in small dice. And fried bacon ends. I nearly forget to mention the bacon. The recipe suggests bacon or chorizo, but the chorizo we have is very picante as well as verde. So bacon was a better choice.
Then in went the beans. Unsure as to how soupy they'd be, I'd first drained them, but the amount of liquid seemed about right, so it all went in.
After a brief simmer, (these beans were already soft, out of the can.), I added a roasted, peeled and seeded Chile Poblano, in strips. It could have been dice instead. Another brief simmer, and finished with a handful of chopped cilantro.
Several guests commented on how good they were. IMO. they were very good, although cooked quite a bit softer than I would prefer.
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Post by lola on Apr 6, 2012 9:24:27 GMT
Once when working in Espanola NM I brought refried beans to a pot luck with my authentic hispanic coworkers. A couple of them wanted my secret, but I was always too embarrassed to admit I'd made them with canned pinto beans and a lot of lard.
I recently read a food section newspaper interview with bean expert Crescent Dragonwagon. She said that if the dried beans were too old that you could never get them tender. They just break into shards. I'd never realized that; had always thought beans were one of those things you could put in the old survival stash just in case.
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Post by auntieannie on Apr 6, 2012 10:24:07 GMT
thanks for the explanation, lola! that's what I expected. I did soak and then cook some of my urid/urad/black gram lentils yesterday and thankfully the distinctive taste of these lentils was there. and my how gorgeous they are once soaked! they are green! these are the ones I got: www.spicesofindia.co.uk/acatalog/Indian-Food-TRS-Urid-Whole.html
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Post by Deleted on Apr 20, 2012 11:29:12 GMT
I need to make some dal again, but it is so incredibly difficult not to make too much at once. I must investigate my stock of dry beans when I get home. If necessary, an Indo-Pakistani supermarket is just up the street.
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Post by auntieannie on Apr 21, 2012 9:34:08 GMT
you can always freeze the left overs... or turn them into a salad the next day, or some such!
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