legumi che passione: il riepilogo / My Legume Love Affair - Fifth Helping: the roundup

Hosting the fifth edition of MLLA, created and orchestrated by Susan, The Well-Seasoned Cook was, as I had anticipated, a lot of fun. Throughout the past month, I have received submissions from around the world, variations (savory or sweet) on the theme of legumes.

Hosting an event means having the pleasure of collecting and then sharing the collection, of savoring in solitude and then inviting everybody to the final banquet.

This will be a rich meal, so my suggestion is that you make yourself comfortable before starting on a journey of flavors, colors, traditions and culinary creativity.

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We start in India, with Sunshinemom of Tongue Ticklers, who brings us Porulvilangai Urundai / Hidden Treasure Ball.

"Beware though - you have to have healthy teeth to bite into these laddoos! They are rock hard as they were made to last!"

I know that this will tickle your curiosity. However, consider yourself warned.

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We remain in India, in the company of Bombay Foodie Simran and her Punjabi Chhole.

"You aren't a Punjabi if you can't make great chhole" is another enticing statement: read on the discover that "there are two ways to make chhole."

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Jayashree of My Experiments With Food remembers that the first time she tasted rajma, in Delhi: "It was served with rice and tasted absolutely, positively divine."

Ever since then, she's been on a quest. For the occasion, she shares with us her current version of Rajma with methi leaves (photo on the right).

Vella payaru, black eyed beans or karamani cooked with jaggery [unrefined sugar] (photo on the left) is a dish from her childhood. "This often made an appearance whenever we were hungry and wanted something in the evenings and during navaratri."

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We fly to the US to meet Sweatha of TastyCurryLeaf, who offers us two dishes.

First, we have Falafel, a Middle Eastern dish "similar to the South Indian vada in that it is made by soaking and grinding uncooked chickpeas/fava beans along with parsley, spices and baking soda."

Then, we have Bean and Pasta Soup, a dish from my homeland. "Though the recipe is simple,it is hearty and filling." Just what we need on a cold evening to warm up body and soul.

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Shibani of Any One Can Cook introduces us to Dal Panchratan- a Muglai affair, "a great combination of five dals (lentils) cooked and seasoned with spices."

"So now even if we can’t ever live like the Maharajas, at least we can try and cook a meal fit for one." Well said!

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[Click the image to view the cookbook]

We remain in lentil-land with Rami of One Page Cookbooks, who offers us 1001 Simple Pappu, simplified lentil stews cooked in Andhra.

"Ten bases are combined with ten different additives and ten different flavouring to create a thousand different pappu varieties."

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Another take on lentils, again from India, compliments of Lubna Karim of Kitchen Flavors: a Carrot And Lentil Soup that looks good and is good for us.

And then we are offered Cabbage And Chana Dal Curry. "The thick flavour of cabbage when combined with pleasant tasting Chana dal or Bengal gram with little tadka gives the result an aromatic and yummy curry which goes hand in hand with piping hot rotis."

"Last but not least add your 'love' to make the dish YUMMY."

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We travel to Australia to meet Johanna of Green Gourmet Giraffe, who shares with us her Vegetable and Chickpea Rogan Josh.

"Such a treat to have a home made rogan josh sauce and be able to fill it with lots of lovely vegetables ad legumes!"

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A giant step on the map brings us to Canada, where Sarah of What Smells So Good?  has prepared Black-Eyed Babycakes "the fluffiest muffins ever, nutty and spicy and full of appley goodness, with a secret ingredient: the humble black-eyed pea."

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More chickpeas, thanks to Bharti of Veggie Foodist and her Sindhi Chutney Masala Chole (garbanzo beans in cilantro sauce).

"We usually make chole in a heavy caramelized onion gravy but this one calls for a cilantro based gravy that is unique to Sindhi cooking."

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Back on the other side of the world, in France, to be precise, where Priyasuresh of Priya's Easy N Tasty Recipes tells us how to prepare Sprouted Lentils Gravy.

Are you wondering how to use it? "Serve hot with rice, chappathis, parathas!!!!"

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A journey east brings us to China, where PJ of Seduce Your Tastebuds has prepared a Black Bean Salad for one.

Black is her favorite color, so it was easy to choose black beans for this recipe.

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Aparna of My Diverse Kitchen made Indira's Lentil and Almond Burger Patties/Cutlets and tells us that  "cutlets, as we refer to patties in India, are a popular tea time snack... These spicy little pan-fried (sometimes deep fried) crisp rounds, which are soft on the inside, are best eaten warm and usually served with tomato ketchup."

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Back home to California to Taste With the Eyes Lori Lynn's Yellow Eye Heirloom Beans With Garlicky Salsa Verde and Cotija Cheese.

"Cotija cheese is a hard cow's milk cheese named after the town of Cotija, Mexico where it originated. This cheese is delicious grated over warm beans."

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We remain in the US to meet Mandira of Ahaar, who shares with us the Mixed Lentil Fritters her mother made "on a cold day as a side for lunch."

They were "filled with cilantro flavor, had a chilli kick that hits at the base of the throat and went well with kichuri :)"

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California and Singapore is where we can find tigerfish of teczcape - an escape to food, who offers us an easy recipe for Indian spicy chickpeas.

"I find beans and peas such easy ingredients to deal with, esp. when I am swarmed at work and have no time to cook anything."

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We travel again to India to visit Sra of When My Soup Came Alive. She introduces us to The Color Purple of Kashmiri Black Beans.

Sra bought the colorful beans "on recent trip to Delhi and the shopkeeper could only tell me they are special Kashmiri beans. They were glossy and appeared black." However, soaking revealed their true color.

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Indosungod of Daily Musings brings us not one but Two Chickpeas White and Black and Two Curries.

"The first of the gravies here is the traditional Channa Masala with white chickpeas. The second is a gravy with black channa but using cabbage to create the gravy."

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Amy from Tart Reform made Three Bean Cassoulet. She doesn't know "whether to call it a stew or a solid entree, but whatever it was, it was good!"

She ate it "with a crusty roll and a spoon as utensils and loved every moment if it."

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We are still in the US, in the company of Usha of My Spicy Kitchen who shares with us Chana Dal Khichdi.

It is "a quick and easy recipe that can be served anytime of the day... It can be served with omelet or pachi pulusu. Pachi pulusu is raw tamarind water seasoned with fresh roasted green chilies, onions and ginger chopped, and tempered with mustard, cumin, garlic and turmeric."

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We fly to the UK to meet Michelle, the Greedy Gourmet (and also 20-month old Gabriel, with whom she shares her office), who offers us Spiced Chickpea, Carrot, Raisin & Cashew Rice Pilaf.

"Personally I enjoyed a generous dollop of plain yoghurt with this vegetarian meal."

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Back to the US, where Rachel of The Crispy Cook has prepared Green Bean Bhajis.

She has been making these "Indian oven-baked delights with various kinds of vegetables, including thawed (and squeezed out) packages of our garden string beans, diced par-boiled potatoes, blanched cauliflower and even blanched Brussels Sprout halves, and they are always winners."

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Over the border to Canada, where Christine of Kits Chow shares with us her enthusiasm for newly-discovered Persian cuisine, which uses herbs and spices in a way that she finds appealing.

She made Aash-e-sholeh-ghalamkar. Aash means soup in Farsi and this is a very rich, stew-like soup.

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Alison of Eat Cheap, Eat Well, Eat Up! has the following message for us: Soup's On! The soup in question is Tuscan White Bean Soup, her "riff on a classic Italian dish."

"For a light supper, serve with crusty bread and a green salad."

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We remain in Italy (not physically, but gastronomically) with Cinzia of Bread and Cherries and her rendition of another classic Italian dish, Pasta e Fagioli.

Though she is traveling, she did not want to miss our event and as a result we have the recipe for pasta e fagioli typical of her region, Campania (where the city of Napoli, is located).

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We travel to Trinidad to meet Sarina Nicole of TriniGourmet, who offers us her take on Falafel.

"Tahini sauce is ultimately the purest of soul mates when it comes to dressing these fried balls of ground chickpeas."

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Back to the US, where Susan, The Well-Seasoned Cook and the founder of the wonderful My Legume Love Affair event, shares with us her recipe for Congris (Cuban Red Beans and Rice), "one of several Cuban variations of many Caribbean rice and bean recipes, congris (Spanish for "with gray") translates colloquially to dirty rice."

"Even better the second day."

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In a cookbook from WWI time, Manuela of Baking History  found inspiration for Peanut Butter Quick Bread. Peanuts are among her favorite legumes, both in sweet and savory dishes.

"It is good to have with a steaming cup of dark and thick hot chocolate, or to make wonderful jelly sandwiches."

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Simona of briciole (that would be me) saw some fagiolina del Lago Trasimeno in a store in Perugia (her home town in Italy). She had never tasted it, so she had to get some.

Quickly cooked and simply seasoned, the small beans were "a big hit at dinner."

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And now the announcement of the winner of a copy of Frozen Desserts by Caroline Liddell and Robin Weir. I decided to use a random integer generator and, as you can see in the screen shot, the program gave me number 16. The 16th person to submit an entry (minus the host, the organizer and previous winners) was Sra of When My Soup Came Alive. Congratulations to the winner!

Thanks again to all who have participated! Let the legume celebration continue in December, with Suganya of Tasty Palettes as our host.

Comments

[Lubna]

Wow awesome roundup. Thanks a ton for the gr8 info you attached with the recipe. Three cheers for your energy... Congrats sra dear on winning.

[lenny]

Mi accomodo anche io a questo meraviglioso e ricco banchetto finale: i legumi sono una fonte inesauribile di benessere ed è interessante scoprire in quanti modi possono essere gustati

[burcu]

delicious recipes. Great round up, Simona.

[Lisa]

So many beautiful bean dishes! So many wonderful Indian dishes! Two things I love, together in one event and post. I really enjoyed your descriptive blurbs, as well; they were great previews and fun to read. I must tag this post to delicious right away.

[Paz]

everything looks so good here. i'm glad i ate before stopping by here. it's not a good idea to stop by here on an empty stomach. ;-)

paz

[Lori Lynn @ Taste With The Eyes]

YAY Simona! Terrific round-up. I enjoyed traveling around the world and eating beans. I am off to read more about the specific recipes. I am soaking some Anasazi beans right now, and haven't decided what to do with them. I'm sure to get inspiration visiting these excellent contributors. Thank you!

[maryann]

What a nice collection of recipes, Simona! Thanks for all your well wishes..I appreciate them very much :)

[Christine]

This is a great round-up. So many wonderful, leguminous recipes!

[indosungod]

what a delicious array of recipes with beans and ofcourse a very neat roundup.

[CurryLeaf]

Awesome Round up.Loved the entries and the round up was terrific.It was very attractive to read how you summed up each and every entry.

[Simona Carini]

Thanks everybody for the kind words. I agree that it is a very nice selection of recipes.

[PJ]

Delicious roundup Simona..Enjoyed reading the intro for each entry..

[bakinghistory]

Thank you Simona for hosting and the lovely roundup. So many great recipes to enjoy legumes!

[Cinzia]

Hi everybody. Wow I discovered so many interesting ways of cooking with legumes and different types of beans. I was particularly attracted by Sarah's Black-Eyed Babycakes; Aparna's lentil and almond cutlets (WOW), and Mandira's lentil fritters. Susan's congris also sounds fantastic. Yeah but really what a beautiful selection of recipes. I am happy to participate!

[Simona Carini]

Thanks, PJ.

You are welcome, bakinghistory.

A beautiful selection, indeed, Cinzia.