Any yummy recipes using dry beans?

jensong84
jensong84 Posts: 16
in Recipes
I'd really like to incorporate beans into our diets more, but it seems every time I try lately I fail. For both cost and health reasons I'd like to stick to dry beans. I've had a lot of issues not getting to the proper soft/mushy texture, but with tons of research I think I've narrowed down my issues there (main reason poor bean quality). But it seems every dish I try has zero flavor. I don't get it cause normally I do just fine in the kitchen. But beans are my nemesis apparently. My husband is Haitian and I would love to be able to incorporate some of his favorite dishes from home, but in a healthy way. I keep trying and they all seem to fail.

So does anyone have any tips and tricks? Any tried and true amazingly delish beans recipes? TIA!!

Replies

  • musycnlyrics
    musycnlyrics Posts: 323 Member
    I like my beans spicy (all varieties!)

    So I prepare black beans like this:

    Cook in pot with veggie/chicken broth, black pepper, jalapeno peppers (or your pepper of choice) a little bit of onion, green pepper and spices of choice

    (I know my recipe is a little vague, but I'm a "toss it all in the pot and season to taste" kinda cook)

    I usually dont fall short with beans because I LOVE spices (especially curry, cumin, pepper, cayenne etc) and I am relentless with tasting and adding and tasting until its right...sadly, beans are an all day event for me unless I use canned (usually canned low-so black beans, rinsed throughly, spiced to high heaven and blended into soup or mixed with rice)
  • taunto
    taunto Posts: 6,420 Member
    I'll link some of my recipes that I post on my blog but always make sure you soak the dry beans over night in lots of water. I just buy the regular grocery store beans so dunno about the quality but I never have problems. The good news is that dry beans are cheap enough that you can afford to practice, practice and practice :)

    Lobia (Indian curried Kidney beans)

    Shared by my sister-in-Law. Very healthy low fat, low carb and high protein dish. Not sure if its Indian or Pakistani dis



    Ingredients

    1 cup Kidney beans (soaked overnight, or atleast an hour). See note for canned
    1 medium onion (Finely chopped)
    1 tsp red chilli pepper powder (or cayan pepper powder if you got it)
    1/4 tsp Turmeric (easily available in an indian store. Big bag costs like $1)
    2 tsp grounded coriander powder
    1 tsp Garam Masala (easily available in an indian store. Big bag costs like $1)
    2 medium tomatoes (Finely chopped)
    2 tbsp olive oil
    some coriander for garnish
    salt



    Recipe

    Cook the soaked kidney bean in the soaking water forroughly 15 minutes. Set aside the cooked kidney beans.Donot add water.

    In oil, sautee some onions till its golden red in color. Add chilli pepper powder, garasm masala, salt, turmeric, coriander powder and fry the spices with the onion for about 30 seconds.

    Add tomatoes. Fry it some more so all the spices, onions and tomatoes makes a thick mixture. Add the kidney beans and add some water if needed to cover the kidney beans in water. Try not to add too much water.

    Cook for about 30 minutes. Delicious and healthy kidney beans are ready. Chow it down with some white basmati rice or some good pita bread!



    Note: You can use canned kidney beans if you like in which case rise out all of the canned water and wash the beans thoroughly and skip the cooking kidney beans seperately part



    Nutritional facts for entire dish

    Calories: 608
    Carbs: 109g
    Fiber: 61g
    Fat: 27g
    Protein: 39
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
    If yuor food has no flavor it's a lack of seasoning and nothing to do with the beans. Spices, onions and garlic are your friends.
  • rvelamuri
    rvelamuri Posts: 1 Member
    Zillion recipes and each time they work perfect. http://cooks.ndtv.com/food/beans
  • MzLaLa29
    MzLaLa29 Posts: 258 Member
    my husband buys the frozen beans and makes them in the rice cooker. mmm yummy. if you still prefer dry beans you could try a small crock pot or pressure cooker. My dry beans NEVER turn out well texture wise
  • Cornblossom
    Cornblossom Posts: 7
    Bump. I want to try taunto's recipe.
  • auroranflash
    auroranflash Posts: 3,569 Member
    Good luck with your bean war.
  • jensong84
    jensong84 Posts: 16
    I'll link some of my recipes that I post on my blog but always make sure you soak the dry beans over night in lots of water. I just buy the regular grocery store beans so dunno about the quality but I never have problems. The good news is that dry beans are cheap enough that you can afford to practice, practice and practice :)

    Lobia (Indian curried Kidney beans)

    Shared by my sister-in-Law. Very healthy low fat, low carb and high protein dish. Not sure if its Indian or Pakistani dis



    Ingredients

    1 cup Kidney beans (soaked overnight, or atleast an hour). See note for canned
    1 medium onion (Finely chopped)
    1 tsp red chilli pepper powder (or cayan pepper powder if you got it)
    1/4 tsp Turmeric (easily available in an indian store. Big bag costs like $1)
    2 tsp grounded coriander powder
    1 tsp Garam Masala (easily available in an indian store. Big bag costs like $1)
    2 medium tomatoes (Finely chopped)
    2 tbsp olive oil
    some coriander for garnish
    salt



    Recipe

    Cook the soaked kidney bean in the soaking water forroughly 15 minutes. Set aside the cooked kidney beans.Donot add water.

    In oil, sautee some onions till its golden red in color. Add chilli pepper powder, garasm masala, salt, turmeric, coriander powder and fry the spices with the onion for about 30 seconds.

    Add tomatoes. Fry it some more so all the spices, onions and tomatoes makes a thick mixture. Add the kidney beans and add some water if needed to cover the kidney beans in water. Try not to add too much water.

    Cook for about 30 minutes. Delicious and healthy kidney beans are ready. Chow it down with some white basmati rice or some good pita bread!



    Note: You can use canned kidney beans if you like in which case rise out all of the canned water and wash the beans thoroughly and skip the cooking kidney beans seperately part



    Nutritional facts for entire dish

    Calories: 608
    Carbs: 109g
    Fiber: 61g
    Fat: 27g
    Protein: 39

    Is that one cup of dry beans or soaked beans? That does sound tastey and I actually happen to have everything on hand except tomatoes.
  • jensong84
    jensong84 Posts: 16
    I like my beans spicy (all varieties!)

    So I prepare black beans like this:

    Cook in pot with veggie/chicken broth, black pepper, jalapeno peppers (or your pepper of choice) a little bit of onion, green pepper and spices of choice

    (I know my recipe is a little vague, but I'm a "toss it all in the pot and season to taste" kinda cook)

    I usually dont fall short with beans because I LOVE spices (especially curry, cumin, pepper, cayenne etc) and I am relentless with tasting and adding and tasting until its right...sadly, beans are an all day event for me unless I use canned (usually canned low-so black beans, rinsed throughly, spiced to high heaven and blended into soup or mixed with rice)

    That does sound good! My husband loves spicey, but the kids wouldn't be able to choke it down. I'll have to try that on a night when they are eating something else.
  • taunto
    taunto Posts: 6,420 Member

    Is that one cup of dry beans or soaked beans? That does sound tastey and I actually happen to have everything on hand except tomatoes.

    One cup after soaked. If you like your food a bit mild in terms of spiceness, you can use the measurement for pre-soaked. and adjust the veggies and salt accordingly but keep the spices the same amount.
  • jensong84
    jensong84 Posts: 16
    If yuor food has no flavor it's a lack of seasoning and nothing to do with the beans. Spices, onions and garlic are your friends.

    I'm not going to entirely agree with this. I know seasoning is part of it, and in the past I have been able to create some amazing bean dishes. But they aren't exactly healthy and I've typically used canned beans. The beans I've been buying lately are from the bulk bins at Winco. Apparently if not stored properly or stored too long they become difficult to cook and won't retain flavor well. The dinner I made last night had lots of onion, garlic, and some other seasonings, black beans and chicken broth. Sat in the crockpot for 8 hours (after an overnight soak). It had no flavor at all. And the texture wasn't nice. I don't know if it was the recipe or the beans (the flavor that is), but I figured I'd come here and ask for some beans recipes that are healthy and have lots of flavor. Trying to open up my beans making possibilities. :)
  • jensong84
    jensong84 Posts: 16

    Is that one cup of dry beans or soaked beans? That does sound tastey and I actually happen to have everything on hand except tomatoes.

    One cup after soaked. If you like your food a bit mild in terms of spiceness, you can use the measurement for pre-soaked. and adjust the veggies and salt accordingly but keep the spices the same amount.

    Ok thanks! Since I'm looking for more flavor I'll start with the original recipe then go from there.
  • jensong84
    jensong84 Posts: 16
    http://whatscookingamerica.net/Vegetables/driedbeantip.htm

    ^^^ I have found a ton of information on that site. They also suggest that overnight soaking is not recommended and talk about why. It seems I found that somewhere else too, but don't have that page saved. I'm seriously considering getting a pressure cooker though to save time and have a better guarantee of results. But first I need to get some better beans.

    Anyhow, please keep sharing the recipes! I would also love an excellent bean burger recipe. I love black bean burgers in restaurants, but the recipes I've tried haven't turned out.

    I swear I am really typically good in the kitchen. There's a reason why people around me get fat ;) It's just these darn beans! lol
  • missionskinnynow
    missionskinnynow Posts: 88 Member
    Indian vegetarian food has a ton of bean recipes ! Try these

    http://www.sailusfood.com/2013/06/06/rajma-masala-recipe/
    http://www.chow.com/recipes/30267-chole-chana-masala
    http://norecipes.com/blog/masoor-dal/
    http://www.food.com/recipe/punjabi-dal-makhani-301613

    Let me know if you want more.!
  • ki4yxo
    ki4yxo Posts: 709 Member
    Dry beans + pressure cooker = awesome!

    Black eyed peas no need to presoak.
    Use bacon (precooked,) some chicken stock,
    water, season to taste. 11 minutes later and they
    are perfect!

    Black beans:

    1 pound of black beans
    can of diced tomatoes
    1 onion
    5 cloves of garlic
    6 cups of water (keeps the sodium down)
    season to taste.

    Presoak beans by bringing them up to 15 psi
    for 2 minutes. Remove from heat, and let stand
    1 hour. Release any pressure, add all other
    ingredients. bring up to pressure for 10 minutes,
    and done. (quite tasty as well!)

    Up next I'm going to do red kidney beans for chili.
    (just to cut back on the sodium)
  • archoo_letsdothis
    archoo_letsdothis Posts: 90 Member
    I have never used canned beans, so I cant compare. I either soak dry beans over night, or I cover it with water and nuke fore 5 mins and let it soak for 5-6 hrs till I cook it . When I dont soak it over night, I let it cook a little longer in my pressure cooker. If it has been soaking all night, 20 mins in med heat yields yummy melt in the mouth beans.

    I season it before pressure cooking and then them add to recipes . You can make chili, minestrone soup and stews . Sometimes, I refrigerate the extra and use in salads, soups or wraps.
  • buxfan
    buxfan Posts: 12 Member
    My tip for getting the beans done is bringing them to a rolling boil, then turn down to medium high for about 30 minutes, turn them off, cover and leave them soaking in the hot water for about an hour. Then add your seasonings and turn back on to low medium and let simmer for an hour or two; they will come out soft with lots of infused flavor because the bean will soften up before you add the spices and then will more easily absorb the spices. I also continue to taste and season until I have it "right." Hope you get lots of great recipes here!
  • bluelena
    bluelena Posts: 304 Member
    My tip for getting the beans done is bringing them to a rolling boil, then turn down to medium high for about 30 minutes, turn them off, cover and leave them soaking in the hot water for about an hour. Then add your seasonings and turn back on to low medium and let simmer for an hour or two; they will come out soft with lots of infused flavor because the bean will soften up before you add the spices and then will more easily absorb the spices. I also continue to taste and season until I have it "right." Hope you get lots of great recipes here!

    Bump
  • xmysterix
    xmysterix Posts: 114 Member
    I "quick soak" my beans, which is basically just pre-cooking them a bit. Then I cook until tender (can be hours) salting halfway through the cooking time. Then I freeze up a truckload of them in 2-4 cup batches (in their cooking water) so I don't have to do this every time I want beans :D Cooking them in their soak water and salting midway give all the flavor you need.
  • jensong84
    jensong84 Posts: 16
    I "quick soak" my beans, which is basically just pre-cooking them a bit. Then I cook until tender (can be hours) salting halfway through the cooking time. Then I freeze up a truckload of them in 2-4 cup batches (in their cooking water) so I don't have to do this every time I want beans :D Cooking them in their soak water and salting midway give all the flavor you need.

    That's an excellent idea!! I'm all about freezing my food so this would be perfect! :D

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