We enjoyed this dish with a side of lightly steamed broccoli and carrots, which were a nice sweet side with the flavorful stew. Before settling with my version I was happy to find Nupur’s lovely and thorough blog post about khichdi, and closely read through quite a few kitchari recipes. Heikki loved this dish and commented that kids would probably enjoy it as well – before he even knew that it’s often the first solid food introduced to children in India!

This is what I used (serves 3-4):

• 2 dl brown basmati rice, soaked for 2 hours (unsoaked cooks longer)
• 1 and 1/2 dl green  mung beans, soaked overnight
• 1 or 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh ginger
• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds, ground
• 1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
• 2 teaspoons each: ground coriander and cumin
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• pinch of asafoetida
• 6-8 dl water, and maybe more as needed
• sea salt to taste
• 2 tablespoons of vegan margarine
• 1 tablespoon of tamarind paste or lemon juice

I first heated the oil and fried the mustard seeds until they started to pop. Then I added the chopped ginger and fried it for a few seconds, followed with fennel, coriander, cumin and asafoetida, which I fried just until fragrant, being careful not to burn. Now, I added the rice and the beans along with about 6 dl of hot water and the turmeric, brought to boil, then lowered the heat and let the stew simmer, covered, for about 30 minutes. I added a little bit of water as needed, but not too much – I didn’t want this to be a soupy stew.

When the rice was soft, I removed the pot from heat, and added in the margarine, tamarind paste, and salt to taste. I stirred the stew briskly with a ladle for a few minutes to mash some of the beans and make it a bit creamier, and then it was ready to be served.

This stew made a nice lunch with a few slices of rye bread. If it was cooked in a regular stove-top pot, the black beans would need to soak overnight, and the cooking time would also be considerably longer – but the stew would be just as good I’m sure.

Here’s what I used:

• 4 dl dried black beans
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 2-3 cloves garlic, sliced
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed dried chili
• 1 teaspoon smoked Spanish paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 l water (boiling)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1-2 tablespoons of lime juice

First, I fried the onion and the garlic in the olive oil in the pressure cooker. I rinsed the black beans carefully, and then added them to the cooker with the boiling water. I also added the seasonings except for the salt, black pepper, and lime juice. Adding salt before cooking can make the beans’ skins a bit chewy, and prolongs cooking time.

Now I brought the cooker to high pressure, pressure-cooked the beans for 25 minutes, and released the pressure. I stirred in the salt, black pepper, and lime juice, adjusting the amounts a little bit for perfect balance, and our lunch was ready to be served.

We served the croquettes with steamed cauliflower, a mix of brown rice and quinoa, and a tomato sauce seasoned with sage. Simple flavors of the accompaniments combined really well with the more complex black bean croquettes.

Black Bean Croquettes:

• 4 dl cooked black beans
• 1 dl sunflower seeds, lightly toasted
• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 big cloves garlic, pressed
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander seeds
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon pink peppercorns
• 4 tablespoons spelt flour
• 1 dl sesame seeds
• canola oil for frying

To make the dough, I placed all the ingredients except for spelt flour and sesame seeds in a bowl, and mixed them with our immersion blender until smooth. Then I mixed in the spelt flour with a fork. Now, I formed the dough into 17 small croquettes with the help of our measuring tablespoon, dipping it in cold water in between each croquette, and then rolled them in sesame seeds to cover.

Heikki heated the canola oil in a frying pan on medium-high heat, and then fried the croquettes in two batches, for a few minutes on each side, until they had browned. Then we drained them on a piece of paper towel to get rid of excess oil.

Tomato Sage Sauce:

• 2 dl tomato sauce (passata type)
• 1 dl oat cream
• 1 teaspoon canola oil
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, pressed
• 1/2 teaspoon dried sage
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 3/4 to 1 teaspoon salt
• freshly ground black pepper to taste

Heikki fried the onion in the oil until translucent, then added the rest of the ingredients except for black pepper, and let the sauce simmer for about 30 minutes. Then I puréed it with our immersion blender, adjusted the saltiness, and seasoned it with freshly ground black pepper.

This is the only picture we have of the soup, and the actual food is hardly visible. What can be seen is that we cooked it on the wood stove at the cottage, next to the rutabaga cubes that we fried at the same time. Aesthetically, this dish really is just dark brown, thick, and mushy, so I actually think the photo still reveals more than a picture of a bowl would have been capable of.

We served this soup as a starter for the Christmas dinner, and it came out pretty much like the one our hospitable hosts Noris and Israel cooked for us in Habana; thick and filled with the deep flavor of black beans, with an added smokiness from smoked red paprika.

This is what we used for the soup:

• 1 big onion, cubed
• 10 cloves garlic, sliced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 l water
• 1 l black beans, soaked overnight (400 g dry beans)
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 red bell pepper, cubed
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 2 bay leaves
• ½ teaspoon dried crushed chili
• ½ teaspoon dried oregano
• 1-2 teaspoons salt
• lemon wedges and fresh cilantro to serve

First, we rinsed the beans and let them soak overnight, covered with plenty of cold water. Then we fried the onions and garlic in the olive oil until they were translucent, being careful not to burn them. On medium heat, this should take about 7 minutes. Then we added the red bell pepper to the soup pot, fried it for a few minutes, and added the rest of the ingredients, except for salt. It’s best to let the beans soften before adding salt, because it can make their skins a little chewy.

Now, we brought the soup to a brisk boil, let it bubble for some 15 minutes, and then lowered the heat to let it simmer gently for about 3 hours. After about an hour or so, I added the salt. Since we cooked it a day ahead, we refrigerated the soup and reheated it the next day before dinner. The taste of the soup benefits from the long simmering time and gets even better when reheated. Nevertheless, if the cook is really hungry, the soup should be ready to eat after an hour and a half of simmering.

We served the soup with lemon wedges so that everyone could squeeze fresh lemon juice in their soup. There was also a bowl full of chopped cilantro on the table, so that each diner could sprinkle their bowls with as much of it as they liked.

There were four of us at the Christmas dinner, and this recipe left us with a lot of leftover soup for the remaining holidays.

It’s pretty hard to find smoked chipotle chilis in Helsinki, in fact I’ve never seen them, so I just used a cheap Pirkka-brand sauce called “Meksikolainen kastike (The Mexican Sauce) – salsa chilpotle”. It is actually imported from Mexico, and is pretty chipotley, but I guess real chipotle chilis would make the chili even better – and add a lot of heat!

On Sunday, I baked a seitan log, crumbled it in an electric shredder, and stored the crumbles in the fridge for future use. Now, I could just measure out 2 dl of crumbled seitan to make this chili. In case there’s no seitan log in sight, textured soy protein bits would be a good substitute.

Chipotle Seitan and Bean Chili:

• 500 g tomato sauce (or crushed tomatoes)
• 2 dl crumbled seitan log
• 380 g package cooked mixed beans, rinsed well
• 2 red onions, finely cubed
• 4 cloves garlic, sliced
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 2-3 tablespoons salsa chipotle
• 1 tablespoon wheat flour

First, I fried the onion and the garlic on medium heat until they had softened, for about 10 minutes. Then I added the rest of the ingredients except wheat flour to the pan, and stirred until the sauce started bubbling. I covered the pan and let it simmer for about half an hour.

Now, I tasted the sauce and adjusted the saltiness, and then sprinkled the wheat flour over the pan. Flour thickens the sauce, which makes filling the tortillas easier. I stirred the chili with a wooden fork until all of the flour was incorporated, and kept on stirring until it started to bubble again. Now, I set the temperature on low heat, covered the pan, and let it a brew up for an hour or so, until it was dinner time. I garnished the chili with frozen parsley, but chopped cilantro would have been even better.

Cumin Yogurt Sauce:

• 2 dl plain unsweetened soy yogurt
• 1 green bell pepper, finely cubed
• 1 big clove garlic, pressed or finely grated
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin (jeera)
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon lime juice
• freshly ground black pepper
• finely sliced red onion for garnishing purposes

First I took aside a teaspoonful of green bell pepper cubes for garnish. Then I mixed everything up, and garnished with the onion slices and bell pepper cubes. Now, I refrigerated the yogurt sauce for 30 minutes or so.

Then we filled our soft corn tortillas with a pile of seitan stew, yogurt sauce, and cubed cucumbers. This recipe makes enough to fill 8 tortillas.

For the “duck”:

• 1 can mock duck (wheat gluten)

• 1 tablespoon cornstarch

Other ingredients:

• 1 red bell pepper

• 2 medium sized carrots

• 1 onion

• 3 cloves garlic, minced

• 3 tablespoons fresh ginger, minced

• 1/2 teaspoon chili flakes

The Sauce:

• 2 dl vegetarian broth

• 1 tablespoon black bean garlic sauce (from the Asian market)

• 2 tablespoons sherry

• 1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce

• 1 teaspoon sugar

Thickening:

• 1 teaspoon cornstarch dissolved in 1 tablespoon water

First, I boiled some water to make the vegetable stock, and mixed it with the other sauce ingredients. Then we cut the red bell peppers, carrots, and onions in long strips, and minced the garlic and the ginger.

I thoroughly rinsed the mock duck under hot and cold water to get rid of the brine, and then squeezed it with my hands to remove most of the liquids absorbed. Then I prepared the mock duck for frying by first cutting it in small pieces and then coating it with the corn starch. Now I heated the wok pan with 2 tablespoons of oil very hot, and browned the duck in it. Then I poured in the onions, and fried them until a little softened, maybe 2 minutes. Now, I added the vegetables, ginger, garlic, and chili powder, and quickly fried them for a few minutes, whisking them around the pan constantly.

When the veggies were still crispy, I added the sauce, which got bubbly right away, and I could now drip the cornstarch-water solution evenly in the pan. It thickens the sauce in just a few seconds, so I made sure to stir everything quickly to coat each piece of food with the sauce, and it was ready to serve!

What I used for the spread:

• 380 g or 1 pack of black beans in brine, rinsed (about 3 dl cooked beans)

• 100 g cashew nuts

• 1/2 dl water

• 4 sun dried tomatoes in oil

• 1 clove garlic

• 1/2 tablespoon lime juice

• 1 teaspoon Sambal Oelek chili paste

• 1/2 teaspoon smoke salt (or salt and a few drops of liquid smoke, which I’ve bought at Behnford’s in Helsinki)

I toasted the cashews on dry frying pan until a little browned. This releases flavor, and toasted nuts don’t cause allergic reactions to me like raw nuts do. Then I crushed them in a blender with the water, until they were smooth and buttery. Now I added the rest of the ingredients and mixed until the spread was smooth – very easy and very delicious.