The Indian Bean Dish Better Than Chana Masala

By Rainbow Plant Life · 180 min

Ingredients

Instructions

1. The night before, soak the beans in a few inches of water with 1½ tablespoons kosher salt for 8–12 hours at room temperature.
2. Drain and rinse the beans. Put them in a large pan with 9 cups (2.1 L) water, the baking soda if using, and 1 tsp oil. Bring to a boil, skimming off the thick foam, then partially cover and boil for 10 minutes.
3. Lower to a very gentle simmer. Add 2 tsp kosher salt, 1 cinnamon stick and 2 bay leaves, and cook uncovered until the beans mash easily but are not mushy: about 40–45 minutes with baking soda, or about 70 minutes without. Top up with fresh water if it gets low.
4. Drain the beans over a bowl, saving the liquid, and discard the spices. Measure out 4½ cups (1.1 L) of liquid, topping up with water if short, and return the beans to the pan.
5. Finely dice the onion, de-stem and slit the serrano(s) if using, blend the garlic and ginger to a coarse paste and stir in the tomato paste, blend the fresh tomatoes until smooth, and mix the coriander, chili powder, cumin, turmeric and asafetida (if using) in a small bowl.
6. Heat a large pan over medium, add 3 tbsp oil, then the cinnamon stick, bay leaves and black cardamom (if using) and stir 30–45 seconds. Add the cumin seeds and sizzle 10 seconds.
7. Add the onion, serrano(s) and a big pinch of salt and cook 12–15 minutes until deeply browned, adding a splash of water if uneven. Add the garlic-ginger-tomato paste mix and stir almost constantly for 90 seconds.
8. Add the fresh tomato purée, scraping up the pan, with 1 tsp kosher salt and pepper. Simmer rapidly about 10 minutes, stirring now and then, until a thick dark red paste forms.
9. Stir in the ground spices and a big splash of water, stir 1 minute until thick, then take off the heat.
10. Add the masala to the beans and toss over medium heat for 1 minute. Add the reserved 4½ cups of liquid, bring to a boil, then cover, lower the heat and simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
11. Meanwhile, cut the garlic and ginger into matchsticks and crush the fenugreek leaves, then mix them with the garam masala and ½ tsp chili powder.
12. Uncover and simmer rapidly 10 minutes until thick and velvety. If you skipped baking soda, mash about 10% of the beans against the pot side to thicken.
13. Off the heat, remove the bay leaves, cinnamon, serrano and cardamom. Stir in the cilantro and a few squeezes of lemon.
14. Heat 2 tbsp oil or butter in a cold small pan over medium. When shimmering or melted, add the garlic and ginger matchsticks and stir 1–2 minutes until the ginger frizzles at the edges. Add the fenugreek mix and stir 20–30 seconds, then pour immediately over the beans.
15. Taste and adjust with salt and lemon. Serve with rice or flatbread. It thickens as it rests, so loosen with water as needed.

Summarized from Rainbow Plant Life's video. Watch it for the details.

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