Dal comes from the Sanskrit word to split. Indians use the word dal to refer to dozens of varieties of dried split peas, beans, lentils and other pulses (meaning the dried seed of legumes such as lentils, beans and peas). Dal is the name of spicy, aromatic side dishes made with curry, onions, tomatoes and seasonings which are generally eaten with rice or bread and a dairy like yogurt to provide non-meat protein.
Dal is an everyday dish in India. Indian Masoor dal is made with salmon-colored, round, delicately flavored split lentils that turn a mellow shade of yellow when cooked. Moong dal (or mung daal) is a hulled, split version of the mung bean that is used to make bean sprouts and is very popular in North India. Chana dal is similar to split yellow peas, but has a sweeter, meatier taste, and can be found in Indian and Pakistani markets. Dal can also be soaked and ground to make the fritters or pancakes called dosas.
What does "a hill of beans" mean?
What does "a hill of beans" mean?
A "hill of beans" is how much the problems of three little people are worth in this crazy, mixed-up world (or so Bogart computed at the end of Casablanca). In other words, a "hill of beans" amounts to very little or nothing.
The original use of the phrase apparently dates to a farming manual published in 1858. The manual's author, J.J. Thomas, instructed the reader on the cultivation of lima beans: "A strong wire is stretched from the tops of posts placed at a distance from each other; and to this wire two diverging cords from each hill of beans are attached."
Later, as wordsmith Michael Quinion noted, someone (probably a bean farmer) was sufficiently seized by the worthlessness of beans to apply the phrase "figuratively to the illogical idea that if one bean was worthless, a whole hill of them would be even more so."
Reference: More on "hill of beans" at Michael Quinion's World Wide Words.
Recipe: Lima Beans With Yogurt And Basil (Cookthink)
Recipe: White Bean And Escarole Soup (Cookthink)
Légume is the French word for vegetable. But if you remove the accent, the English word legume refers to thousands of plant species -- including beans, peas, lentils, soybeans and peanuts -- whose seed pods split when they ripen. Dried legume seeds are called pulses. Legumes are a high source of protein and have been a staple at mealtimes around the world for thousands of years.
Recipe: Soybeans With Yogurt And Basil (Cookthink)
Reference: Cannelini beans vs. Great Northern beans vs. Navy beans (Cookthink)
Cooking dried beans is one of the easiest and most rewarding kitchen tasks. Canned beans are convenient but are usually loaded with salt, making home-cooked beans healthier. And while it's true that it takes longer to cook beans than to open a can, cooking beans requires only about 5 minutes of active time.
You can soak beans overnight in cold water or soak them for an hour in boiling water if you're pressed for time. Legumes such as lentils and split peas do not need to be soaked at all before cooking, just quickly rinsed to clean off any dust.
Otherwise, any bean that would ordinarily need to be soaked overnight can get the quick-soak treatment, including lima beans, chickpeas, black beans, white beans, red beans, pinto beans, cranberry beans, navy beans, kidney beans, fava beans, pigeon peas and mung beans.
To cook beans, cover them with water and simmer slowly for about 1 1/2 hours, or until cooked. Adding cured pork or aromatics like bay leaves, peppercorns, parsley stems and vegetables such as carrots and onions to the cooking liquid adds flavor and character to a pot of beans.
Black turtle beans, (usually just called black beans), are a high-protein, high-fiber legume especially popular in South American and Latin cooking. The beans are cultivated all over South and Central America, and an important part of national dishes such as feijoada from Brazil and Moros y Christianos from Cuba.
Like many beans and pulses, black beans have a meaty texture that holds up well in soups, rice dishes and as a filling for burritos and quesadillas. The flavor of black beans is reminiscent of mushrooms and adds earthy notes to a dish.
Black beans are usually a bit smaller than other types of cultivated legumes, like lima or kidney beans. As they cook, they develop a deep purple color.
Is black bean sauce made from black beans?
Is black bean sauce made from black beans?
Despite its name, black bean sauce is not made from black beans.
Instead, black bean sauce is made from dried, fermented soybeans, which turn a dark brownish-black during the curing process -- hence the name.
Used as a condiment in stir-frys and Asian cuisine or as a flavoring agent for sauces, black bean sauce is extremely flavorful (and salty).
Cooking with dried beans requires a little forethought; before cooking, they must be soaked for at least an hour in boiling water or between four and eight hours in cold water. Then, they take at least an hour to cook.
On the other hand, they're inexpensive and can be seasoned in a multitude of ways during cooking. (Think ham hocks, fresh herbs and aromatic vegetables.) Plus, the texture of cooked dried beans is firmer and more substantial than typical canned beans.
Still, we keep our pantry stocked so that we always have ready-to-eat canned beans to add protein and texture to weeknight pastas, salads, soups, stews, chilis and burritos. Be sure to select a good brand to ensure that the beans have a firm texture, clean flavor and no added salt. (Inferior canned beans tend to be mushy and loaded with sodium.)
What's the difference between a complete protein and an incomplete protein?
What's the difference between a complete protein and an incomplete protein?
A food can be called a complete protein when it has sufficient amounts of the nine essential amino acids.
Animal proteins are complete protein sources. But vegetarians who get their protein from fruits, vegetables, nuts, grains and legumes -- many of which are incomplete proteins -- should be mindful to redress the balance.
A simple way to do this is to eat some beans with your rice, which together create the equivalent of a complete protein. This practice of "protein combining" is an easy way to make sure you're getting enough protein, although the notion that rice and beans have to be eaten in the same meal has been widely debunked.
You can also incorporate non-animal complete protein sources such as soy, quinoa, buckwheat and spirulina into your diet.
what you should know
Though you can interchange them with just about any other bean, there's something distinctive about black beans.
Is it black beans' meaty texture? Their earthy flavor? The shock of dark, shiny color they bring to a dish? Whatever it is, black beans just seem more substantial —less like filler and more like something to be chewed and savored.
complete me Like other legumes, black beans are high in complex carbohydrates and fiber, and low in fat. With rice (or some other grain), black beans form a complete protein.
canned vs. dry While we love the flavor and texture of long-cooked dry beans, we always have canned beans in the pantry and gladly use them when time is an issue. (Remember to always rinse canned beans.)
national treasure Because they're so cheap to grow and so easy to process and store, black beans serve as the backbone to several "national dishes", including Cuba's moros y cristianos and Brazil's feijoada.
misnomer Despite the name, black bean sauce is not made using black beans.
what you need
We did some back-of-the-napkin figuring and concluded that this Le Creuset soup pot is what we use most often when cooking beans.
Heirloom bean expert Steve Sando covers dips, spreads, soups, salads and salsas in his new book Heirloom Beans.
To get your hands on some heirloom beans, order them directly from Sando's Napa-based Rancho Gordo.
what you do
Basic black beans go well with just about anything but are as delicious on their own.
What black bean dip and a cold Michelada lack in elegance, they compensate for in flavor.
Domenica Marchetti makes one of our favorite bean soups, a smoky and inky black bean and ham bone soup.
Our hands down, all-time favorite way to use black beans? In burritos.
We like to go Spanish with black beans and rice by adding chorizo and peppers.
But it's hard to top the rice-and-bean chemistry at work in the Cuban national dish of moros y cristianos.
Speaking of national dishes, Brazilian feijoada is the ultimate version of pork and beans.
Featured recipe: Black beans add fiber and protein to these gluten-free fudge brownies.
