Chickpeas and lentils are the staple legumes of India, but red beans are cooked from time to time and, typically, done in an extremely flavorful manner. You can add meat to this preparation, which is already quite a bit like chili. Like Dal with Butter and Cream (page 433), this is excellent with some butter (and cream, if you like) stirred in toward the end of cooking. Make it entirely in advance if you like; it will keep, refrigerated, for a couple of days. Serve with rice. Other legumes you can prepare this way: chickpeas, black beans.

　　

Ingredients

makes 6 to 8 servings

　　1 pound dried red beans, any kind, rinsed and picked over

　　1/2 teaspoon cayenne, or to taste

　　2 tablespoons corn, grapeseed, or other neutral oil

　　1 tablespoon peeled and minced fresh ginger

　　1 tablespoon minced garlic

　　1 teaspoon fennel seeds

　　1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

　　Pinch of ground cloves

　　1 tablespoon ground cardamom

　　1 bay leaf

　　1 teaspoon ground turmeric

　　2 cups chopped tomatoes (canned are fine)

　　Salt to taste

　　1 tablespoon garam masala (page 594) or curry powder, preferably homemade (pages 592–593), or to taste

　　

Step 1

If time allows, soak dried beans for several hours or overnight, then drain. (If not, proceed, but expect cooking times to be somewhat longer.) Place the drained beans in a large pot with water to cover and the cayenne and cook until they are just about tender; this will take 1 to 2 hours, depending on their freshness and whether you soaked them. Continue to cook while you proceed to step 2.

　　

Step 2

Put the oil in a wide skillet or flameproof casserole over medium heat. Add the ginger, garlic, fennel, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, bay leaf, and turmeric and cook, stirring, for about a minute. Add the tomatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, until they break up a bit, 5 minutes or so.

　　

Step 3

Drain the beans, reserving a little of their cooking liquid, and add them to the tomato sauce, along with a large pinch of salt. Continue to cook until the beans are fully tender, probably less than 15 minutes longer, adding a little of the bean-cooking liquid if necessary.When the beans are done, add the garam masala, taste and adjust the seasoning, and serve.

　　The Best Recipes in the World by Mark Bittman. © 2005 by Mark Bittman. Published by Broadway Books. All Rights Reserved.MARK BITTMAN is the author of the blockbuster The Best Recipes in the World (Broadway, 2005) and the classic bestseller How to Cook Everything, which has sold more than one million copies. He is also the coauthor, with Jean-Georges Vongerichten, of Simple to Spectacular and Jean-Georges: Cooking at Home with a Four-Star Chef. Mr. Bittman is a prolific writer, makes frequent appearances on radio and television, and is the host of The Best Recipes in the World, a 13-part series on public television. He lives in New York and Connecticut.