How To Prepare Beans in Three Different Ways (Plain, Stewed and Beans Soup

Beans are a highly nutritious meal that comes in various sizes and colours. It can also be prepared in many different ways. All unique and delicious. Here are three different ways to prepare beans that you can try today.

White or plain beans.

White or plain beans can be enjoyed as an accompaniment with food like rice, dodo(fried plantain), yam etc, all served with stew or as a base for many other beans recipes.

Ingredients

• Three cups of beans.

• Salt.

Preparation

1. Cleaning beans. Beans are notorious for coming packaged together with small stones and debris, even pre-packaged dried beans are no exception. So you want to clean them properly before cooking.

   How to clean beans.

   Nothing kills your appetite faster than when you have to chew on stones while eating beans. Here are two ways to ensure your beans is debris free.

   Method 1.

   Pour the beans into a tray and spread out the beans. Doing this would let you see stones and debris mixed with the beans.

   You can either start picking up the beans in a bowl leaving the debris behind or start swiping the debris to a corner of the tray and the beans in the opposite direction. Whichever you choose will leave you with stone-free beans.

   Method 2.

   Pour the beans into a big bowl and add a lot of water. Scoop up some beans, keeping a little space between your fingers( open enough to let debris and stones pass through but close enough to let the scooped beans remain in your hand.) and swirl your hand across in the water for a few seconds.

   This will let any debris you picked up together with the beans fall back into the water and you will be left with clean beans.

   Place this in another bowl and repeat this process until all the beans come out clean. To be extra sure, you should repeat the entire process.

2. Soak the beans overnight.

   Soaking your beans is optional. While some people like beans that were soaked before cooking, others cannot stand them. So this step is up to you. More often than not I soak my beans before cooking because it gets ready faster and has a texture that is difficult to get without soaking.

3. Wash the beans and put them in a pot.

   Use à big enough pot because you will need to cook the beans with a lot of water. Pour enough water to cover the beans and then some.

Cooking directions.

1. Turn your stove to medium heat and place the pot of beans on the fire. Bring to boil and allow to Cook for about five minutes. Bring down the pot and pour the beans into a sieve. Strain out all water and place it back into the pot. Why?

   Doing this is believed to help get rid of any chemicals that might have been used while storing the beans. It is believed to help relieve the slight heartburn some people feel just after eating beans. Removing the first water when you start cooking is optional, you can continue the process without doing this.

2. Add water to the beans and cook on low heat. Add enough water. Let the water you use be double the amount of beans in the pot. This much water combined with the low heat would let your beans Cook faster and give you the perfect texture.

3. Allow your beans to simmer for about an hour and check to see if it is almost ready. Add salt and cover for about 15 minutes or until you are satisfied and your white beans are ready. Serve with rice, dodo, yam all mixed with stew.

Note. If you want to serve as an accompaniment to other foods, it is best cooked until most of the water is dried out. If your beans are ready but still contain a lot of water, pour it into a sieve and strain out. Then put it back on the fire for about a minute l. If you are preparing as a base to other beans recipes, then leave plenty of water at this stage.

Stewed beans. (Nigerian/African Style)

Stewed beans is a particular favourite in many Nigerian/African homes. It is so delicious, you don't want to miss it.

Ingrédients

• Beans( as cooked above) - 3 cups.

• Cooking oil, (vegetable, sunflower, soya etc) or palm oil.

• Crayfish. (optional)

• Tomato (optional)

• Four small scotch bonnets.

• Ground chilli pepper ( half tablespoon. Use more if desired)

• 1 large onion (chopped.)

• Salt

• 1 or two cubes of seasoning of your choice.

Preparation.

Blend the tomato, scotch bonnets, onion and crayfish with as little water as possible and set aside.

Cooking directions.

1. Place a dry pot on the stove, set to medium heat and add your vegetable or palm oil. If you are using vegetable oil, allow the oil to heat up enough that it sizzles when you add a pinch of salt or some chopped onion into it.

   If you are using palm oil, leave it on fire a bit longer before adding anything. Allow the oil to turn from a cloudy red to a light brown, then add your chopped onion.

2. Add your chopped onion and allow to fry until the colour turns a golden brown.

   Immediately add the tomato, pepper, onion and crayfish mix you earlier blended and stir well with a spatula.

3. Allow frying for about 5 minutes while stirring occasionally. After 5 minutes add salt and any seasoning of your choice.

   Leave to fry until all the water you used for blending has evaporated. Take off the stove and mix well with your beans.

4. Place the Beans on fire and Cook at medium heat. Check to see if there is enough water left in your beans from when you earlier cooked them. If it is them cover and leave to boil.

If your beans are a little dry, you can add a bit more water. Not too much, you want to have a nice enough broth but don't want to end up with watery beans.

5. Allow to boil for 5 minutes and check to see if you need to adjust your seasoning. If you don't, then stir the content of the pot and leave it to boil for another 10 to 15 minutes. And your stewed beans are ready.

Serve and eat with bread, dodo(fried plantain), yam, etc.

Note. When you start stewing the beans, stir at intervals. This prevents the beans from sticking to the end of your pot. Also always use a spatula.

Bean soup. ( Nigerian/African style)

Once your beans are ready, making bean soup is very easy to prepare yet delicious.

Ingrédients

• Beans( Cooked as no 1 above), 3 cups

• Palm oil 1/2 cup

• Chilli pepper

• Dry fish.

• Grains of Selim - 1 medium size.

• Crayfish(ground)

• Salt.

• I cube of any seasoning of your choice.

Preparation.

Pound the grains of Selim slightly until it opens up and take out all seeds. Note that taking out the seed is optional because I have seen people use it whole.

I take the seeds out because when used whole it comes with a bitter taste that I am not a fan of.

So take out the seeds and pound together with the crayfish until smooth. Clean and wash your fish. Then cut into small pieces.

Cooking directions.

1. Place your pot of beans( already cooked) on the stove at medium heat make sure you have enough water left in the beans. You don't want it dry.
2. Allow to boil then add all ingredients ( chilli, fish, grains of Selim, crayfish and palm oil) except your salt and Maggi cube. Stir and cover.

You must add your palm oil early, so it cooks properly. Palm oil that is not properly cooked will leave you with a sticky, funny taste. You don't want that.

1. After ten minutes, check for Salt. Add more if needed and add your Maggi cube.
2. Leave to boil for another ten to fifteen minutes. Your beans soup is ready. Before serving, stir well to ensure all the content of your pot mixes well and you are not left out of any goodies when you take a scoop.

Note. Do not Cook until dry. These beans need to have enough soup in them. you can eat it with any swallow of your choice. Eba, Semo, Nshima, Ugali etc.

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