A wholesome and healthy meal by itself. A versatile dish which can either be eaten as a salad or a main course with accompaniments.
Assemble all your ingredients and it hardly takes any time to put this together. I use leftover rice for this. Living in an Indian household we all have rajma-chawal (red kidney beans curry and rice) very often. I like to soak and boil some extra red beans and rice and make this the next day. If you’re doing the same, then save the beans after boiling it.
Mix the ingredients for the dressing. This is olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, sugar and freshly ground black pepper.
Whisk it together to form an emulsion.
Chop your coriander and mint fresh, just before adding it to the dressing. That way it retains all of its flavour.
Add the bell peppers and spring onions (white and greens).
Finally, add the rice and beans. Take a bigger bowl than required for you ingredients. This is important so that you can mix the dressing well.
Chill it in the refrigerator before serving. It tastes best that way!
Rice Bean Salad from The Daily Gourmet Cookbook by Radhicka Agarwaal
Ingredients:
1 cup rice
½ cup red kidney beans (rajma)
1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, finely chopped
1 green bell pepper, finely chopped
1 small cucumber, finely chopped
1 spring onion, finely chopped
For dressing:
4 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp garlic, minced
4 tbsp coriander leaves, chopped
1 tbsp mint leaves, torn
Salt
Pepper
1 tsp sugar, powdered
Method:
Wash and soak the beans overnight. Drain the water and put the beans in a medium sauce pan. Cover it completely with fresh water. Put it on medium heat and bring it to a boil. Lower the heat and let it simmer for 50-60 minutes or till the beans are completely cooked. Drain and keep aside. Alternatively, you can pressure-cook them to boil.
Wash and soak the rice for 20-30 minutes. Drain the water and put the rice a medium saucepan. Add 2 cups of water and cook on low heat until all the water is absorbed and the rice is cooked. Remove and leave to cool.
In a large bowl take lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, garlic, mint, coriander, sugar, salt and pepper. Whisk it well and add the cucumber, spring onions, red, yellow and green pepper.
Fluff up the rice with a fork to separate the grains. Add the rice and cooked beans to the bowl. Toss well and serve chilled.
Tip: You can use any variety of rice like basmati, short grained rice or brown rice.