Vegan Double Beans Stew

After our 3 month long (semi) holiday, I had pretty mixed feelings about getting back home. On the one hand I wanted my super relaxing, veganlicious, creativity filled vacation to go on forever and ever. But on the other, I was really beginning to miss mom, dad and sis and had had enough of admiring our adorable little doll of a baby niece on the web cam... I wanted to meet her already!

I'd gotten too used to the lazy days of housekeeping services so it wasn't easy getting back to a dusty house with plenty to clean (not to mention unpack). My very thoughtful mommy had brought her maid over to our place the day before we arrived to do a quick sweep and mop but a 3 month old layer of dust takes much more than that to go away.

Soon after we got home, I took full advantage of my jet lag and started my days disgustingly early so as to get work done and out of the way a little at a time. The kitchen was the first point of attack of course; and then the rest of the house followed. Fortunately, my maid returned to work within a few days and made things easier for me.

It took a bit of effort to switch from vacation mode to reality mode. Thankfully Deepavali was the weekend following our return to Bangalore so it helped make the transition nicer. Having missed all the other festivals through August and September, it felt good to be celebrating this one with family.

Finally all the excitement is over and I've settled back into my regular routine. And you know what that means for all of you, my faithful blog readers. :)

Thank you for waiting so patiently until I got back into the swing of things. Here's something I whipped up on Monday night.

Vegan Double Bean Stew

1 Cup dry Red Double Beans - quick soaked, rinsed and cooked until tender
1 medium Onion - sliced
2 large Tomatoes - diced
1 small Capsicum - diced
handful Cilantro - chopped
Fresh Green Chillies
Olive Oil
Omum (Oregano) Seeds
Nutritional Yeast
Agave Nectar
Dried Herbs - dill, chives etc..
Salt (preferable Black Salt or Sea Salt)
Pepper
Tamarind Paste or Lemon

Drain the cooked beans and reserve the cooking liquid.

Blend a large ladle full of the cooked beans with the tomatoes, capsicum (green bell pepper), cilantro, a piece of onion, green chillies, salt, nutritional yeast and a little bit of olive oil until creamy. Use some of the reserved bean broth if required.

Heat a few spoons of oil in a pan (for about 30 seconds) and sprinkle some omum seeds; they should crackle immediately. Add the sliced onion and stir fry till tender and slightly browned.

Add the cooked beans and the blended creamy mixture and bring to a boil. Lower the flame and simmer for a few minutes. Add more of the reserved bean broth until you're satisfied with the consistency. Stir in some tamarind paste (if using) and let everything simmer for another minute or so. Taste and adjust the salt. Turn off the flame and let it sit for a minute.

If you're using lemon, squeeze the juice into the stew now. Add freshly crushed pepper and mix well. Drizzle on some agave nectar and sprinkle the dried herbs over the stew.

Serve with brown rice or enjoy as it is! :)