Indian Style Bean Salad

Recipe: Indian Style Bean Salad

Indian Style Bean Salad consists of three different beans with a green chutney as the dressing. Other salad ingredients are added to make it wholesome, nutritious and filling. Enjoy it as a light meal option or as a side dish. This spicy, easy to make, flavourful salad is suitable for vegans and is gluten free too.

For this weekend Sneha who blogs at Sneha’s Recipes suggested the theme “Cook With Dried Beans, Black, Red or Pinto Beans”. Truth be told, when I lived in Kenya, beans were soaked and cooked for all bean dishes. Settled in Canada and for quick cooking, I tend to rely on canned ones. I use a fair share of chickpeas, black beans, kidney beans and mostly they come out of a can. Several times I soaked kidney beans for my rajma recipe and the beans didn’t cook well. So it is easier to open a can.  But I do soak and make moong, urad, lentils, black eyed peas as they usually cook well. So for theme I decided to soak the beans and use them for my salad recipe.

This recipe was first posted on 18/04/2013. Updating this post with better write up, photos and adding a dressing.

More About Indian Style Bean Salad

• Use a mixture of beans of your choice. Can add moong, masoor (lentils), brown chickpeas, dried peas, butter beans, etc.
• Add raw mango, pomegranate, guava if you like.
• Don’t want to add green chutney as a dressing? Then opt for tamarind chutney. I would recommend trying this salad with Tomato Onion Chutney.
• If you don’t want to add any chutneys then drizzle some fresh lemon juice and add some chaat masala.  In that case, add chopped green chilli to the salad.
• Add other salad ingredients like avocado, broccoli, shredded cabbage, beetroot, carrot, etc.
• May use canned beans. I do when I need to prep the salad in a jiffy.

Some Useful Tips For Soaking & Cooking Any Type Of Beans

• Always soak beans before cooking. Soaking them reduces cooking time. Beans contain complex sugars called oligosaccharides. When beans are soaked in water, it breaks down the complex sugars which in turn makes the beans more digestible and doesn’t cause bloating of the stomach or much flatulence.
• Soaking beans also means that the hydrated beans cook evenly without bursting open.
• Levels of  lectins and phytates which are anti nutrients are reduced when beans are soaked.

Don’t Use Soaking Water

Never use soaking water for cooking the beans. It contains dirt and gas producing compounds.

Enough Water

• Always use enough water to soak the beans. Less water will result in less hydrated beans. Usually I double the amount of water or use the rule of water being about 3 inches above the level of the beans.
• Wash soaked beans to remove any dust.

Soaking Time Varies

Not all beans require long soaking time. Beans like moong, lentils need only 1-2 hours. Tougher beans like chickpeas, kidney, black beans, pinto, lima, butter beans, etc are best soaked for 6-8 hours or overnight. Split beans or dals as we call them in Hindi, require only 30-60 minutes.

Freezing Cooked Beans

Soaked and cooked beans stay in the freezer for at least 6 months. However, I prefer to use them up within 3 months. Cool the beans and store in an airtight container or a sturdy ziplock bag.

Best Way To Cook The Beans

• When beans are cooked in a saucepan over the stove, it takes longer and more water is required for the beans to cook. Also you need to keep an eye when the beans are cooking, to prevent spillage, to check that water has not evaporated, and constant checking to see if the beans are done or not.
• I much prefer using a pressure cooker or the Instant Pot. If you are using a pressure cooker, depending on the type of beans usually 3 whistles over medium heat is enough to cook the soaked beans. Lentils, moong, take less time unless you need mushy beans. Allow the pressure to release naturally before opening the pressure cooker.
• In the Instant Pot I usually pressure cook at Normal Low for 10-12 minutes. I then allow the pressure to reduce naturally and then open the lid.
• If you are using the beans for a curry, soup or stew go ahead and use the water or bean broth. It is full of nutrients. Whenever a recipe does not call for any liquid like this salad recipe, I save the bean broth for my curries, soups.

Adding Baking Soda Or Not

If the dried beans are a little old (more near to expiry date), I add a pinch of baking soda before cooking them. This helps the beans to cook well. However, if you need whole beans then don’t add as they usually cause the beans to split up during cooking. A better alternative is to add salt.

Some Recipes With Beans You May Like To Check Out

AVOCADO, BEAN & MANGO SALAD

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MAHARAGE YA NAZI/ KIDNEY BEANS IN COCONUT MILK

Maharage ya nazi/ kidney beans in coconut milk is a popular Swahili dish which is made from kidney beans, very simple spices, tomatoes and coconut milk. In the Kiswahili language maharage is red kidney beans and nazi is coconut. 

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RAJMA MASALA | RED KIDNEY BEAN CURRY

Rajma Masala or simply known as Rajma is a popular North Indian curry dish which is usually enjoyed with rice. Healthy, filling and rich in protein, it is comfort food for so many.

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BEAN BURGERS

These Bean burgers with some Tex Mex flavours are so hearty, filling, flavourful and healthy too. You can bake, pan fry or grill the bean patties. Enjoy them with buns or simply with a salad and guacamole. After trying out this simple bean burger recipe you'll stop buying those flavourless frozen ones.

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LOBIA PANEER SALAD | BLACK EYED PEA PANEER SALAD

Lobia Paneer Salad is an Indian style, protein rich, healthy, filling and delicious salad. Easy to make, this black eyed beans or cow peas salad is a versatile one. Add any choice of vegetables and additional proteins to it. Enjoy it as a side dish or as a light nourishing meal.

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GITHERI

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HUEVOS RANCHEROS - MEXICAN STYLE BREAKFAST

Huevos Rancheros - Mexican Style Breakfast is a wholesome, filling, typical breakfast served at Mexican Farms. It basically eggs served on a corn tortilla, with refried beans or rice and a salsa. It is also known as Ranchers' Eggs.

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Recipes With Beans By Members Of Sunday Funday

Ingredients Required For Indian Style Bean Salad & Green Chutney Dressing

FOR THE INDIAN STYLE BEAN SALAD

Dried Pinto Beans

I took ½ cup dried pinto beans as I usually cook extra and keep them in the freezer or fridge to use for other recipes. For the salad I will use half quantity. In case you use canned beans then you need ½ cup. Soak the beans in warm water overnight. I usually add double quantity water. Therefore used 1 cup water to soak the pinto beans. Best to soak them for 6-8 hours or overnight.

Dried Chickpeas

Again I took ½ cup dried chickpeas. The rest I will save for another recipe. If you decide to use canned chickpeas then you will need ½ cup. Soaked the dried chickpeas in 1 cup of warm water for 6-8 hours or overnight. Can use either kabuki (white) or brown chickpeas.

Dried Black Eyed Peas/Beans

Measured ½ cup dried black eyed beans/peas or lobia. Used half quantity and saved the rest.

Tomato

I cut about 10 baby tomatoes into halves. You can use one large or 2 medium ones too. Scoop out the pulp and dice the tomato.

Cucumber

I like to use English or Persian cucumber as they are seedless and don’t need to peel it. We need about 1 cup diced cucumber. Can add more or less according to what you prefer.

Red Onion

Peel and finely chopped, we need about ¼ cup.

Bell Pepper

I added only ¼ cup diced bell pepper. You can add more. Use any colour of your choice.

Sweet Corn

Fresh, frozen or canned. We will add about ½ cup. If you are using fresh or frozen then you need to steam the corn.

Fresh Coriander

We will need about 2 cups of roughly chopped fresh coriander or cilantro. Wash the coriander. Also add the tender stalks. They are full of flavour.

Fresh Mint

We need about 15-20 fresh mint leaves.

Lemon Juice

One tablespoon of fresh lemon or lime juice.

Green Chilli

Add according to your taste. Generally 1-2 chillis are used. I added only ½ as the chillis I got are very hot.

Ginger

Half an inch slice is enough. Peel the ginger and chop it up roughly.

Salt

Add little salt. Taste the chutney before add ingredients more. Usually ½ tsp is enough.

Jaggery |Brown Sugar

Add some to balance the flavours. I added 1 tsp jaggery powder. If you have jaggery lumps, add a tiny piece. Or add some brown sugar.

Cumin Powder

Adds flavour. We need about ½ tsp. Easily available in most supermarkets and Indian stores.