Sometimes when I am in a rush and still longing for an Indian dal, I take the simple way out and use canned beans—black, great northern, cannellini, or any other beans I like. Today we can get organic canned beans of excellent quality, and it barely takes 15 minutes to cook them. Even the liquid in the can tastes good, so I do not have to throw it away. Serve these with rice or Indian flatbreads.
Recipe information
Yield
serves 2¿3
Ingredients
Preparation
Pour the oil into a small pan and set over medium-high heat. When hot, put in the asafetida and cumin. Let the cumin seeds sizzle for 5 seconds. Add the onions and turn heat to medium. Stir and cook the onions until they have browned a bit. Add the tomatoes and stir a few times. Now add the cayenne and turmeric. Stir once or twice and add the contents of the can (beans and liquid, if organic, otherwise just the beans and the same amount of water as liquid) as well as about 4 tablespoons water. Stir and bring to a simmer. Cover, turn heat to low, and simmer gently for 10 minutes. Add as much salt as needed.
