Low Calorie Red Kidney Bean dip

Low Calorie Red Kidney Bean dip 

There are times when you thank the Creator for giving you so many culinary options. You want to not fry have low calorie healthy food well its all out there all you need to do is try a little bit.

I often read articles on healthy dip. You see I love snacking especially when reading a book or watching a movie and these two hobbies take up all my free time so when I went on a low calorie healthy diet it was difficult to snack. There is always that apple you can munch on or the almonds but I am sure many of you would relate to that want to dip something in a delicious dip for complete satisfaction.

I remembered having seen Red Kidney Bean dip as a healthy dip. I checked again and that is where it posed a problem. I live in Calcutta in India and Avocado is not one of the local fruits you get here and my principle is to go as local as possible - saves money and its readily available. So I created a very basic recipe and well I would say I am all happy because I did not really create a scientific machine. I just used the usual basic ingredients but in a very healthy way.

Before I give the recipe I have to say that 1 serving of kidney beans equals to half a cup of cooked beans and that has 86 calories even when cooked with salt. I added tomatoes and onions and so that makes it a low calorie dip.

So here you go with the recipe :-

1 small cup (which holds 200ml liquid) of dry red kidney beans soaked overnight
3 cups of water
Salt as per taste
2 to 3 medium sized tomatoes
3 medium sized onions
4 cloves of garlic (the big cloves ) else use  use 6 to 7 cloves
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper or as hot as you want it to be
1 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp Olive oil
1/2 tsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

Simply soak the kidney beans overnight. Now cook them in a pressure cooker to save fuel  and quickening the process . Put the pressure cooker on low heat and let the whistle build up very slowly. This makes sure you cook it well without wasting fuel . Now peel chop drizzle olive oil and bake the tomatoes, onion and garlic at 220 C preheated oven for 60 minutes.

Once the bans are well cooked spread them out to cool them and then once you have baked the vegetables simply cool everything add them to the blender with the kidney beans, oregano, salt , cayenne pepper and blend away . Add 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil and the squeeze of lemon juice and enjoy 1/2 cup of this deliciousness without feeling guilty. 1/2 cup = 1 serving = approximately 116 calorie. Serve it with baked tortillas or baked papads (dried lentil discs) or if you have stale chapati dry roast it till its crisp and it makes for a healthy snack.

P.S. I have to mention a very special lady who runs this beautiful blog which gives you plenty of ideas on healthy food. Do check her blog Simply Vegetarian

Meaty Beans

Meaty Beans 

My long lost comfort food in a far away country. Well lest just say as close to my comfort food as possible. So the more I read the more I am amazed by the beautiful culinary connection that binds together this "wide wide wide as the ocean" world.

I really dislike how the average media disrespects the culinary deliciousness of most cuisines. So India automatically means the land of curries, America means the land of burgers and the cliches are overwhelmingly sad. Look a bit deep and you will be amazed what each cuisine has to offer and once in a while its connection with another country far far away will delight and amaze you.

So it is only recently  that I did read about the famous 'Southern Red Bean and rice" of Southern America. My first thought was amazement at the connection that it has with India's own Rajma Chawal. Well of course the Indian one is spicy and robust , the Southern variety less spicy  meaty and comfortingly  juicy from all that meat. And then I looked back without realization and found myself fondly remembering those dinners that my 'Baba' (Father , how amazing that the Afgans call their fathers baba as well) would cook. You see he would make this fantastic dish with red kidney beans and mutton (goat's meat) or chicken and those were fantastic, of course he did use tomatoes and as a rule of our family very little spice compared to most Indian palates. Then I made the mistake of talking about ti in school and boy oh boy was I teased mercilessly. You see the land of the five rivers were "rajma" (red kidney bean)  originated cannot think of this meaty business and here I was filled with reminiscence of the past. The moment I read about it I knew I had to make it . Over the years I trained my palate to appreciate all kinds of food spicy, non-spicy and well can actually enjoy all of them.

A quick glance through recipes made me realize I had to make the creole seasoning but well did not have oregano and thyme at hand and so followed "deepsouthdish's" recipe which called for no local seasoning. Made a few changes such as using only a bit of dry sausages we get down here in Calcutta. Omitted the bacon and sued chicken stock. Well I love bacon but I hate tyres round the waist wink wink. Left out the celery since "Baba" does not like the taste, sprinkled some on mine. Used yellow bell pepper instead of green one but the result was a comforting meal and the need to soon make the creole and cajun seasoning and using bacon for next time's preparation. You can always omit sausages and use  chicken in case of dietary restrictions.

So this is how I made it

1 cup red kidney beans "Rajma" soaked overnight and cooked in 3 cups of water in a pressure cooker
1 medium onion
1 tsp homemade garlic chili paste it was hot so you can always reduce the amount
Half an yellow bell pepper diced finely
1/2 a tsp dried basil leaves
About 350ml of chicken stock
200gm or it could have been 170gm of spicy pork sausage , feel free to change it as per dietary restrictions
Oil to brush pan
2 medium sized bay leaves
1 tsp celery leaves chopped finely

So begin a day ahead. Soak your beans at night with triple the amount of water and in the morning cook it in a pressure cooker till well cooked. If using for dinner you can soak early in the morning and cook at night.
Now brush the pan with oil and saute sausages chopped from before . Take them out add the finely sliced onion and diced bell pepper, cover and lower heat. This cooks it faster and requires no extra oil. since I used dried sausage it did not produce too much oil. when onions are well sauteed add the garlic chili paste , basil and 2 bay leaves. Add the beans drained of it's  water and chicken stock and bring to boil and then cover and lower heat add the sausages in the last 15 minutes of cooking or well you can also keep them from the start . In the meantime cook your rice. I used Basmati rice which takes about 15 minutes of cooking. The beans are cooked all along with the rice. Make a bed of rice add the beans and enjoy a hearty delicious meal. Since my father is not too fond of celery I used freshly chopped celery for my dinner and omitted its use while preparation.