This is a very hearty dish, full of nutrients. We celebrate a special day in August called Janai Purnima, when every Nepalese household makes sure to cook this dish in their kitchen. Mixed dried beans need to be soaked overnight or at least for 8 hours. It is great as a very healthy, nutritious and filling lunch or dinner.

Ingredients

  • 300g of dried mixed beans, soaked and drained
  • 4 tblsp mustard or vegetable oil
  • 1tbsp ajwain seeds
  • 1tsp turmeric powder
  • 0.5 tsp asafoetida powder (optional)
  • 3-4 rooster potatoes peeled and halved or quartered (need big cubes)
  • 1 tsp salt or to your taste
  • 2 ripe tomatoes, chopped into small pieces
  • 2 tblsp peeled and crushed ginger
  • 1 tblsp plain masala (cumin and coriander)
  • 0.5 tsp garam masala
  • handful of fresh chopped coriander

Method

This is a very hearty dish, full of nutrients. We celebrate a special day in August called Janai Purnima, when every Nepalese household makes sure to cook this dish in their kitchen. Mixed dried beans need to be soaked overnight or at least for 8 hours. It is great as a very healthy, nutritious and filling lunch or dinner.

  1. Soak the beans overnight or at least for 8 hours in plenty of cold or hot water.
  2. Heat oil in a large heavy based pot and once it starts to smoke fry the ajwain seeds for 5 seconds and add potatoes, turmeric powder, asafoetida powder and salt.
  3. After cooking the potatoes for a minute or so, add the drained and soaked beans, plain masala and tomatoes and cook for another minute or two.
  4. Add 3-4 cups of boiling water, cover and cook for about 45 minutes to an hour on a medium heat or until all beans are fully cooked and soft.
  5. Once the dish is cooked, add ginger and garam masala and add a little more water to ensure the dish has a thick, broth-like consistency. Taste for seasoning. Finish the dish with fresh coriander.

Note:

I use a mix of mung beans, peas, soya beans, brown chickpeas, red kidney beans, rose beans, black eyed beans, black lentils and butter beans. But you can mix any beans available to you. Try to mix at least 4-5 different beans. Traditionally, we use nine different varieties of beans and pulses for this dish.