Daal Maharani
A tasty and healthy mix of lentils and beans, Daal Maharani (Dal Makhani) is a recipe from North India. This is a richer, creamier daal than others (e.g. the simple Indian daal and can be eaten with naan/roti and a pickle on the side.
Bean Salad
A simple and easy bean salad, dressed in olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Try substituting crisp fried bacon or smoked salmon in place of ham. Improvise using different Mediterranean ingredients such as black olives, feta cheese and anchovies.
Aghani noodles with lentils, beans, ground meat and yogurt
This is a Persian recipe (‘Ash-e Reshteh’) that I modified – very similar to the ash I sampled at an Afghan restaurant. ‘Ash-e’ means soup in Farsi but as you can see by the photograph above that mine is a drier version (albeit there is a fair amount of soup at the bottom to spoon over the noodles if you prefer). Persian noodles (Reshteh) are available in Middle Eastern food shops although I have used flat egg noodles from the grocery store (kosher section) with equal success. I sometimes substitute whole milk yogurt for sour cream if it is not on hand. This dish tastes better made a day ahead.
Punjabi Cholle
I love chickpeas and can eat them just plain boiled. This is a very popular North Indian style preparation from Punjab, and is usually served with deep fried bread or ‘bhature’ . I’ve had the best versions of this dish at rural dhabbas or trucker stops in the North, and still recall its spicy deliciousness balanced with the cool lassi that washed my throat every now and then.
Red kidney beans Punjabi style
Fibre, iron, magnesium and more – a cup of these can provide one with half of the daily fiber requirement. Beans are often blamed for intestinal gas which is why you must use ginger liberally when cooking these beans as this recipe does. Serve with either naan or rice and a yogurt relish on the side