Fried Beans with Onions
A hearty, aromatic dish with layers of flavor — and plenty going for it! The only tricky part is the long soak the beans need. But even that's easy to work around if you soak them ahead of time, the night before.
Cooking method
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Step 1:
So, to make this dish you'll need: red beans soaked in water ahead of time, onion, sunflower oil, khmeli-suneli seasoning (a Georgian herb blend), salt, and ground hot pepper. The beans should be well soaked and swollen — their skins may even split, though that's not essential and depends on the variety. This time I soaked mine for a full fourteen hours!
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Step 2:
Peel the onion and chop it into small dice. Heat the sunflower oil in a skillet and fry the onion until golden.
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Step 3:
Drain the red beans in a colander and let the soaking water run off. Add the beans to the skillet with the onion. Fry the beans for seven minutes over medium heat.
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Step 4:
Salt the dish to taste and add the khmeli-suneli seasoning. Don't be shy with it — this Georgian blend pairs wonderfully with beans, especially red ones.
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Step 5:
Add water to the skillet and turn the heat down to low. Simmer the beans, covered, for half an hour, stirring occasionally. Either way, the beans should turn soft enough to break apart with a spatula. Add a splash of boiling water during cooking if needed.
- Beans are the kind of thing that need soaking and a fairly long simmer. But don't let that put you off, because the result is well worth it! This budget-friendly, very filling dish of beans and onions goes beautifully with any sauce made from ripe tomatoes. Along with a handful of others, bean dishes are practically a staple during fasting periods. This one is also great for vegetarians, since beans are a treasure trove of B vitamins. Besides the khmeli-suneli, you can add a clove of garlic grated on a fine grater — it gives the finished dish a wonderful aroma and a whole new dimension of flavor. And the khmeli-suneli is easy to swap for any other blend of dried herbs you like. Beans are fertile ground for experimenting. If you don't have red beans on hand, go ahead and use white ones. The method is exactly the same, and the two varieties really don't taste any different. Enjoy!
Caloric content of the products possible in the composition of the dish
- Hop-suneli - 417 kcal/100g
- Salt - 0 kcal/100g
- Onion - 41 kcal/100g
- Sunflower oil - 898 kcal/100g
- Refined sunflower oil - 899 kcal/100g
- Ground hot pepper - 21 kcal/100g
- Red beans - 93 kcal/100g
