In an effort to eat healthy, slim down for the summer, and feel energized, I have been cooking a lot of lean meals recently. While my lunches are homemade sandwiches, I try to make higher-protein dinners. One such dinner that I tried (SUCCESSFULLY!) to make this week is my all-time-favorite pink bean stew recipe ("mashta-shorba," as we call it in our family) that my grandmother, mom, and aunt all mastered! Their versions were so good that I was always too scared to try it out myself...I mean, what is worse then making one of your favorite family dishes and ruining it? Okay, there are a lot worse things than that, but it would still be pretty sad...
Well, as I am in a rather "ballsy" mood this month, I called my aunt, got the recipe from her, and bravely forged ahead. And thank goodness I did! The stew came out great, it's packed with a ton of protein, and it has been lunch/dinner for Dr. Love and I for days now! So good, so healthy, so inexpensive to make, so easy to make, but this recipe is time-consuming!!! I mean a whole 5-6 hours of cooking with stirring every 30 or so minutes. It is worth it though, and I hope you enjoy the recipe as much as I do!
Pink beans...soaked overnight and rinsed thoroughly.
Large yellow onion...sliced.
Onion slices...sauteed.
Onion, bean, bulgar, turmeric, black pepper, red pepper, and water...slowly simmering.
Potatoes and jalapenos added.
Ingredients
- One Pack of Uncooked Pink Beans (If you can't find these at your grocery store, you can swap in pinto beans)
- One Ladle full of Bulgar (AKA: cracked wheat grain)
- Two Russet Potatoes
- One Large Yellow Onion
- Two Jalapeno Peppers
- Turmeric (I think I put in a little less than a teaspoons worth)
- Salt (to taste)
- Black Pepper (About half a teaspoon)
- A pinch of Red Cayenne Pepper (I use this red pepper mix that my grandmother made a loooooong time ago...it's the best...)
1. Soak pink beans in a bowl filled with water overnight;
2. In the morning, rinse beans several times with fresh water;
3. Cut onion into slices and sauté in a large pot with canola oil (on Medium works best on my stove) until onions are soft/caramelized (I added a dash of brown sugar to my onions to bring out their sweetness);
4. Once the onions have softened and started to lightly brown, lower heat from Medium to Low, pour pink beans, turmeric, black pepper, red pepper, and bulgar in pot;
5. Then pour enough filtered water over the contents of the pot so that you have 2 inches of water on top of it all. This part was tricky for me, as a lot of the stuff floats/rises as soon as you pour the water over it, so it's hard to tell how high the water is. I would say, err in the direction of less water, and just watch it as it cooks. You can always add more water during the cooking process (although, that will slow down the cooking, unless you pre-heat the water you're adding), but it's really annoying to have to take a bunch of tasty/spice-filled water out at the end when you realize you added way too much (happened to this girl here).
6. Now you just give it all a mix, and let the contents of the pot cook (You'll see small bubbles, anything more means your heat is too high. That is bad, because you could end up burning the beans at the bottom of the pot, so you want to make sure the heat is just right), for the next 5 hours.
7. During that time, you will need to stir the stew every 30 or so minutes...this part is a pain, but it is worth it!
8. After 5 hours, peel your potatoes, chop them in half, and toss them and your jalapenos into the pot. Once the potatoes and jalapenos are in the pot, there should be enough liquid remaining in the pot to cover the top of the potatoes.
9. At this point, you can add salt to taste...I added less than I really though was necessary at first (just to be safe), and added more once the stew was done and I could give it a taste test.
10. Let beans cook for another hour after you add potatoes, jalapenos, and salt.
11. At 6 hours, you are done and ready to eat!!!
Final product on left. I made a tomato, avocado, red onion, lemon juice, olive oil, black pepper, and salt salad on side.
Hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do, and that it kick starts your protein-powered, bikini-ready, summertime fun!
In the meantime, have a great weekend!!!
x
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