Black Bean Chili With Toasted Spices

Winter has officially come to Canada and this warming black bean chili with brown rice is an ideal dish to help with the December blues. Dry-toasted spices, along with the surprising addition of fennel, give this pot a unique and delicious smoky pungency. Best of all, one large bowl is a meal unto itself.

This is my entry to Running with Tweezers' Chili Cook-off.

Black bean chili with toasted spices

1 cup dried black beans
1/2 cup brown rice
1-inch piece fresh ginger, minced
2 large jalapeños, seeded and minced
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon whole cumin seeds
4 sun-dried tomatoes
1 large tomato, chopped finely
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon yellow mustard seeds
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
fresh ground black pepper

Soak the beans in water overnight in 2 2/3 cups water with a little yogurt whey or lemon juice added, and soak the brown rice in a separate pan or bowl in 1 cup of water.

Bring the beans to a boil in a medium saucepan. Reduce the heat to low, add the ginger, jalapeños, half of the fresh cilantro and the bay leaf, and cover. Simmer for 1 1/2 hours or until the beans are soft but not falling apart.

Meanwhile, bring the rice to a boil in a small saucepan, reduce heat to low and cover, cooking for half an hour. Fluff with a fork and set aside.

While the rice and beans are cooking, soak the sun-dried tomatoes in hot water for 20-30 minutes. Drain and chop. About one hour into the cooking time for the beans, place the cumin seeds in another small saucepan over medium heat and toast for a couple of minutes until the seeds darken. Stir in the tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, chili powder and oregano. Turn the heat up slightly to bring the sauce to a gentle boil, then reduce the heat to low and let simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

When the beans are cooked, remove from the heat and use a masher or hand-blender to coarsely purée one-quarter to one-third of the cooked beans. Stir in the tomato sauce, rice and salt, and simmer for 10 minutes.

Put the mustard seeds in a small saucepan over medium heat, cover with a lid, and toast, shaking the pan, until the seeds begin to pop. Quickly toss in the fennel seeds, cover again, and continue to toast until the mustard seeds stop popping. Pour into the beans and season the chili with black pepper.

Garnish each serving with the remaining cilantro. Serves 4 to 6.

Chickpea, Quinoa and Mushroom Croquettes

I'm always on the lookout for nutty flavour and crunchy texture and this recipe for Chickpea, Quinoa and Mushroom Croquettes from Pig in the Kitchen turned out to be as satisfying as it sounded and looked. Composed of a grain, legume and vegetables, theses croquettes are a meal onto themselves. Consider serving them with a chutney or tomato based sauce or as a vegetarian burger. I served them alongside Butter Paneer Masala.

I happened across Pig's blog shortly after starting Lisa's Kitchen via a google search for I can't remember what, but I've become a regular reader ever since. Her writing is inspired and witty, and her pictures are sure to stimulate your appetite even if you aren't hungry. Featured are tasty and healthy recipes that are dairy, egg and soya-free, including many gluten-free choices, so if you suffer from food allergies, be sure to stop by Pig in the Kitchen. Thankfully, I don't suffer from food allergies and among the modifications I have made are using eggs instead of egg substitute.

Chickpea, quinoa and mushroom croquettes

Croquettes:

2/3 cup dried chickpeas
1/2 cup quinoa
pinch of saffron threads, crushed
3 tablespoons olive oil
8 white mushrooms, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
1 large jalapeño, chopped
3 medium carrots, grated
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
2 teaspoons sea salt
4 tablespoons rice flour

Coating:

2/3 cup quinoa
6 dried red chillies
1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
2 teaspoons black peppercorns
2 eggs, well beaten

Scrub and rinse the quinoa for the croquettes under cold running water in a strainer. Cover with water in a bowl and soak overnight. At the same time, soak the chickpeas in water overnight in a saucepan with a little yogurt whey or lemon juice.

Bring the chickpeas to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and cover. Simmer for 1 1/2 hours or until the chickpeas are soft. Drain and put into a large bowl. Mash thoroughly with a potato masher until they become a dry paste. Set aside.

Meanwhile, drain the quinoa. Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil. When hot, add the crushed saffron threads and quinoa, reduce heat to low and cover. Simmer for 15 minutes. Drain the quinoa well, pressing with a spoon to remove as much water as possible, and add to the chickpeas.

While the quinoa is cooking, put the olive oil, mushrooms, garlic, parsley and jalapeño into a blender or food processor and process until blended.

Add the mushroom paste to the chickpeas and quinoa in the large mixing bowl and stir in the carrots, sesame seeds, cumin, coriander and salt. Stir in the rice flour one tablespoon at a time. Form into burger-sized patties with your hands.

Prepare the coating by briefly grinding the dry quinoa with the red chillies, salt and pepper in a food processor or mortar and pestle to make a coarse powder with many of the quinoa grains left unpulverized. Pour into a bowl for turning the croquettes. Dip each croquette into a bowl containing the beaten eggs, shake off the excess, and transfer to the quinoa coating bowl. Pick up gently, shake off the excess coating, and transfer to a plate.

Heat a quarter-inch of olive oil in a frying pan over slightly less than medium heat and pre-heat the oven to 175°. When hot, add as many croquettes as will fit in the pan, cover, and fry for 5 minutes or until the bottom side is browned. Flip over and cover again, frying for a few more minutes until the other side is browned. Remove and drain on paper towel. Keep warm on an oven-safe plate in the preheated oven until all the croquettes are cooked.

Repeat the frying process, adding more olive oil if necessary, until all the croquettes are fried. Serve hot, or re-heat on a grill or covered with foil wrap in a warm oven. Makes about 12 burger-sized croquettes.

Double Chocolate Cookies

Holiday baking is quite new to me – it’s not something we do here in Brazil, but from the moment I started reading foodblogs – and then blogging – I thought that it would be a lovely tradition for me to adopt.Last year I made a couple of cookies and some truffles to give as gifts and it was such a great experience that I intend to do that again this year. And the next. And the next.I saved these

Mung Beans with Carrots and Cashews

Lucy from Nourish Me's re-working of a "revolting" cookbook recipe for mung beans to create what she calls an "inauthentic dal" looked to me so wholesome, attractive and tasty that I figured nothing could be wrong with adding my own little tweaks to make it even more inauthentic!

Apart from making Lucy's wonderful recipe just a little spicier — my trademark, I suppose — I fried up the garlic, ginger, dried red chilli and curry leave spicing to draw out their flavours in a bit of oil before cooking with the mung beans, and fried the carrots and cashews a little as well to preserve some of the crispness of the carrots while they're being cooked and, well, because I love the fragrance and character of fried cashews. The result, much like Lucy's, is a light, warming and nourishing dal that's so easy to digest it's a pleasure going back for seconds and thirds. Thank you, Lucy!

Mung beans with carrots and cashews

1 1/2 cups dried mung beans
1 tablespoon olive oil
6 cloves garlic, minced or crushed
1-inch piece of ginger, minced
4 medium carrots, chopped
1/2 cup raw cashews, chopped
4 dried hot red chillies
8-10 curry leaves
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 14 oz. can of coconut milk
2 cups fresh baby spinach leaves, packed
1 teaspoon sea salt
juice of 1 lime
1 hot green chilli, thinly sliced for garnish

Rinse the mung beans under cold running water in a strainer. Soak overnight in a large bowl with 5 cups of cold water with a little yogurt whey or lemon juice added to break down the enzyme inhibitors and phytates that block the absorption of the beans' essential minerals and proteins.

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. When hot, add the garlic and ginger and stir-fry for 1 minute. Toss in the carrots and continue to fry, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes. Add the cashews and fry for another 5 minutes, or until they just start to change colour.

Toss in the dried chillies and curry leaves and stir for 30 more seconds before pouring in the beans along with their soaking liquid, as well as the turmeric, cayenne and brown sugar. Raise the heat and bring to a boil. As soon as it is boiling, reduce the heat to low, stir in the coconut milk, and cover. Simmer for 45 minutes to an hour, stirring occasionally, until the beans are soft and tender.

Add the spinach and simmer for another 10 minutes to wilt the leaves. Just before serving, stir in the salt and lime juice. Garnish each serving with green chillies.

Serves 6 to 8.

Lime honey madeleines

These delicate madeleines are a simple homage to a friend of mine who lives on the other side of the planet. She’s a tremendously talented cook/baker and I have used many of her recipes here.A generous and sensitive friend, who sent, all the way from Japan, a box addressed to Brazil – a box full of beautiful and adorable things. And these were among the gifts:It took me forever to first use the

Vegetarian Stove-Top Calabacitas

Calabacitas is a traditional Pueblo Indian squash and chili pepper casserole that's become very popular in its many spicy American Southwest variations. Often baked and usually made with chicken or beef, this colourful vegetarian version uses pinto beans to add heartiness and protein, and cooks on top of the stove in just 20 minutes. While it makes a wonderful vegetable side dish for any Southwest or Mexican style dinner, I like to serve it up as a quick and filling breakfast wake-me-upper, although the beans should be cooked the night before if you're going to do this to speed up the morning preparation.

This calabacitas can be found by many to be quite hot, so if you're serving guests with a gentle palette, you can omit the chile powder. Serve with warm corn tortillas and sour cream.

Vegetarian Stove-Top Calabacitas

Recipe by Lisa Turner Cuisine: American Southwest Published on December 3, 2007 A vegetarian stove-top version of a traditional Pueblo Indian baked squash and chili pepper casserole — colorful, hearty and spicy, this can be served for breakfast, lunch or dinner Print this recipe Ingredients: 1/2 cup dried pinto beans 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 large onion, chopped 1 cup chopped jalapeños 1 tablespoon tomato paste 1/2 teaspoon chili powder 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano 1 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste 2 medium zucchinis, diced 2 cups corn, fresh or frozen and defrosted 2 large cloves garlic, minced or crushed 1 cup fresh grated Cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese fresh ground black pepper Instructions: Rinse the beans and soak the beans overnight covered in several inches of cold water with a little yogurt whey or lemon juice added. Drain and rinse, then add to a medium saucepan and cover with several inches of fresh water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and cover. Simmer for 1 hour or until the beans are tender but not falling apart. Heat a large frying pan or wok over medium heat for a couple of minutes. When the pan is hot, add the olive oil, wait a few seconds, then swirl around the pan. Add the onion, jalapeños, tomato paste, chili powder, oregano and salt. Fry, stirring frequently, for about 10 minutes or until the onions are very soft. Add the beans, zucchini, corn, and garlic and continue to cook, stirring gently to avoid breaking the beans, for about 5 more minutes until the zucchini is just tender (avoid overcooking). Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the cheese until it melts. Add black pepper to taste. Serve with lime wedges or jalapeño slices as garnish. Makes 4 - 6 servings

Spicy Fried Rice

This is a very easy and tasty rice dish that would compliment any Indian meal or any other meal that you would serve with rice. I suggest you serve it with Chana Masala or Moong Dal and a vegetable dish.

Spicy Fried Rice

1 cup of basmati rice
2 cups of water
1 medium onion, chopped
1 - 2 tablespoons of oil, or a combination of butter and oil
1 inch piece of ginger, finely chopped
1 small garlic clove, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon of sea salt
1 teaspoon of cumin seeds
3 whole cloves
3 whole green cardamoms
1 inch piece of cinnamon stick
4 - 5 peppercorns

Rinse the rice well under warm water. Soak in the water for at least 30 minutes. Drain, reserving the soaking liquid and let air dry for abut 20 minutes.

In a medium pot, heat the oil. When hot, add the onion and stir and fry until it begins to brown. Add the ginger, garlic and salt to the pot, and stir and fry for another few minutes. Remove a few tablespoons of the onion mixture for garnishing and set aside.

Next, add the rice, cumin seeds, cloves, cardamoms, cinnamon stick and peppercorns to the pot. Stir and fry for a few minutes. Add the water, bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low cover with a tight fitting lid. Cook until the water is absorbed, about 15 - 20 minutes.

Remove from the heat, let sit, covered, for 5 minutes, fluff with a fork and serve with bits of fried onion sprinkled on top along with a few threads of saffron.