Kidney beans, also known as rajma, are a staple food commonly used in Indian and Western dishes. Generally, red beans are processed into soup, chili, curry, lettuce, and various rice-based dishes. Because kidney beans are very rich in protein and vitamins, you can use them instead of meat or eat them straight. Want to learn how to process red beans properly? Try reading this article!
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Part 1 of 2: Processing Dried Red Beans
Step 1. Soak the dried kidney beans in a pan of cold water for 8-12 hours
Remember, dried red beans must first be soaked before being boiled and processed into various dishes. For best results, soak the beans in a pot of cold water overnight at room temperature.
- It's a good idea to sort and rinse the beans first to make sure no dust, sediment, or gravel gets submerged in them. Use a colander or basket with holes to make cleaning the nuts easier.
- If not soaked and cooked properly, the phytohaemagglutinin or lectin content in kidney beans can trigger digestive disorders if eaten. To avoid this possibility, beans should be boiled for at least 30 minutes in boiling water before processing or eating.
- If you don't have time to soak the beans overnight, try this more practical method. First of all, you need to boil the dried red beans first. Then, turn off the stove and let the beans soak for 2-3 hours. After that, discard the boiled water and process the beans as usual.
Step 2. Choose a cooking method
One of the most common ways to process kidney beans is to boil them in a pot of clean water on the stove for several hours. However, in fact you can also use a variety of other ways you want.
- A very practical traditional way to process peanuts is to boil them in a pressure cooker. To do this, the beans only need to be soaked as usual and then processed according to the instructions in your pressure cooker manual.
- Red beans packaged in cans do not need to be boiled first. In other words, you can immediately process it into a variety of recipes that you want.
Step 3. Boil the beans over low heat for 1-2 hours
After soaking, rinse the beans under running tap water until the surface is completely clean. Then, put the beans in a saucepan and pour clean water until the beans are submerged at a distance of about 2.5-5 cm from the surface of the water. Then, cover the pot and bring the water to a boil. Once the water boils, reduce the heat and remove the lid from the pot, then continue the process of boiling the beans. If possible, don't move the pan so that each pea is evenly cooked.
- Boil the beans covered, but leave a small gap for the steam to escape from the pan, if you want a pot of red beans that are very soft. However, boil the beans open if you want a crispier texture.
- Check the beans for doneness after 45 minutes. Take some nuts and try pressing them with your fingers or biting them. The texture of the beans should be very soft and tender after boiling for a while. Once the texture is to your liking, turn off the heat.
- Stir the beans periodically to ensure that they cook more evenly, and ensure that the beans remain submerged in the water until they are fully cooked.
- Peanuts boiled over high heat for a short time will still cook, but are very soft and break easily when compared to beans boiled over low heat for a long time. If you want, you can boil the beans as long as you want until they get the texture you want. After all, mushy nuts are also delicious eaten as a dip, or made into curries and various other dishes.
Step 4. Take the foam that floats on the surface of the water periodically
While the kidney beans are cooking, you will most likely notice a reddish-gray foam forming on the surface of the water. The foam is a lectin that comes out of the beans, and should always be scooped up with a spoon or drained through a sieve so that the boiling water is completely clear.
Step 5. Add salt and various other spices when the texture of the beans is almost completely softened
Remember, adding salt early runs the risk of prolonging the boiling time of the beans (as in some varieties of beans), or even preventing the beans from fully ripening and softening (as in the case of garbanzo beans).
- You can add aromatic vegetable chunks whenever you want. If your recipe includes ingredients such as onions, garlic, carrots, or other vegetables, you can add all of them early in the boiling process to make them soft. If you don't like the texture of vegetables that are too soft, you can add them before the boiling process ends.
- Generally, chunks of thick pork leg or bone are also commonly added to red bean preparations to enrich the taste. This method is commonly applied to the red bean rice recipe which you can read about in the next section.
Step 6. Strain the boiled water, if necessary
Sometimes, each kidney bean will require a different boiling time to ripen. That's why, people often add a lot of water to the pot to make sure the beans cook evenly. As a result, you will usually find boiling water remaining at the bottom of the pot when the beans are cooked.
- Generally, you can use 750 ml of water to boil 250 grams of dried kidney beans. Theoretically, this recipe should allow the beans to cook well without leaving any boiling water at the bottom of the pan.
- However, in fact, boiled peanuts can also be stored instead of being thrown away, and then reprocessed into sauce. That's why, some recipes will ask you to save the boiling water for the beans.
Part 2 of 2: Cooking Red Beans
Step 1. Make red bean rice
The combination of rice and kidney beans is a typical Cajun dish that is slightly spicy in taste, but very easy to make without spending a fortune. Plus, you can add your favorite ingredients without worrying about ruining the taste! To make classic red bean rice, you will need:
- Sauté chopped 1 small red onion, 2 garlic cloves, 2 celery sticks, and chopped paprika in a saucepan with a little olive oil. Then, add about 500 grams of cooked red beans to it. If you want, you can also pour the stir-fried spices directly into the pot containing the red beans that are being cooked.
- Then, pour 625 ml of water, 250 grams of white rice, and one piece of pork leg (if desired). Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce heat and continue cooking for 20 minutes without covering the pot. Wait until the rice is cooked. After the rice is cooked, immediately season it with salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, and hot sauce according to taste. Garnish the surface with chopped cilantro before serving!
Step 2. Make the red bean lettuce
Red beans are actually a very delicious food when processed into cold lettuce. Besides eating it straight, you can also serve it as a side dish at various barbecue events! After the red beans are cooked, try processing them by following the following recipe:
- Mix 250 grams of red beans with 250 grams of garbanzo beans, 250 grams of black beans, 250 grams of chopped paprika, and 125 grams of chopped green onions.
- Then, coat the nuts with 3 tbsp. red wine vinegar, 2 tbsp. olive oil, 1 tsp. sugar, and salt and pepper to taste. Let the lettuce sit in the refrigerator overnight, then stir until all ingredients are well combined before serving chilled.
- If you'd like, you can substitute the olive oil for any oil that's commonly used on lettuce, such as Italian lettuce sauce.
Step 3. Cook red beans into curry rajma
Mix red beans with sautéed onions, garlic, and other vegetables that are no less aromatic as the basis for this delicious Indian dish. In fact, rajma curry is one of the staple dishes in India, which is often served with bread or flatbread. After the red beans are cooked, in a separate skillet:
- Sauté the chopped white onion, three cloves of garlic, and grated 2.5 cm of ginger in a little ghee. Then, add chopped three small tomatoes, 1 tsp. cumin seeds, 1 tbsp. coriander powder, tsp. turmeric powder, and 1 tsp. chili powder.
- Add the red beans to the pan with the tomato paste. Then, add 500-750 ml of plain water or boiled peanut water to thicken the sauce. No need to cover the pot, then cook the curry rajma on low heat for 30-40 minutes. Season the curry with salt, pepper and 1 tsp. masala salt. Once cooked, you can decorate the surface of the karu with chopped coriander leaves and lime juice, then serve it with rice, bread, or naan.
Step 4. Process the red beans into chilies
In the United States (except in the state of Texas), the easiest way to cook kidney beans is to turn them into chiles or a Spanish dish made from a mixture of red beans, chilies, meat, and other delicious ingredients. After all, red beans can be combined perfectly with various flavors of chili, you know! To make a basic chili recipe:
- Fry 500 grams of low-fat ground beef in a saucepan. Once the surface is browned, add the chopped 1 onion, chopped 3 garlic cloves, and 3-4 tbsp. chili powder. Then, pour 750 ml to 1 liter of water and 500 grams of kidney beans into a saucepan. Cook the chili over low heat covered for 1-2 hours, then season with salt, pepper and hot sauce to taste.
- Other additives that add to the chile's delicacy include garbanzo, black beans, corn, and macaroni. Once cooked, delicious chiles are served with tortillas, cornbread and baked potatoes.
Step 5. Process kidney beans into soup
All kinds of standard vegetable soup can be enriched with the addition of red beans. If you want to use up the contents of your fridge and kitchen cupboards, try turning all the leftovers into a delicious vegetable soup! To make classic red bean soup, try the following recipe:
In a saucepan, saute chopped onion and garlic in a little olive oil. Then, add 1-2 pieces of carrot sticks, and 225 grams of white potato pieces. After that, pour 500-750 ml of chicken stock/vegetable stock/water, and bring the soup to a boil over low heat. Add any vegetables you like, such as string beans, whether packaged, frozen, or even fresh, and 250 grams of kidney beans. Season with chopped basil, salt and pepper to taste
Step 6. Eat red beans as a side dish
Season the beans with salt and a pinch of cayenne pepper and serve as a side dish or a separate side dish. Remember, kidney beans are very rich in vitamin C, folate, fiber, potassium, and protein!
