A quick break from the travel posts to share with you one of my favourite quick meals. This is my ‘go to’ meal for when I’m exhausted and can’t be bothered to make what my mum would class as ‘proper food’! No judgement here – I know that baked beans are in no way a traditional ingredient in Gujarati cooking but it tastes delicious!
Ingredients:
- 1 can of baked beans
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp thel (sunflower oil)
- 1 tsp rai (black mustard seeds)
- 1 tsp jeeru (cumin)
- 1 heaped tsp dhana jeeru (ground coriander and cumin)
- ½ tsp hardar (turmeric)
- ½ tsp lal chutney (red chilli powder), to taste
Method:
- Put a small pan on a high heat and add the thel. When it’s hot, add the rai (they’ll pop so have the lid of the pan ready to cover as soon as you put them in). Once you hear the rai popping, add the jeeru.
- Cook for a minute then add in your onions and garlic, stirring until softened
- Add the dhana jeeru, hardar, lal chutney and beans and stir well. You can also add nimak (salt) to taste but I normally find that the beans already have enough in.
- Turn the heat down and let the shak simmer for 5 minutes.
- Serve with whatever you fancy! I normally have it with pitta bread or toast or heat up some frozen rotli… Of course nothing beats fresh rotli but I normally only make this when I’m in a rush!
Yes I know it sounds bizarre, but Baked Beans Nu Shak is so yummy (unless you’re not a fan of baked beans, in which case you should probably stay clear…) My papa used to cook this when we were little if mum was out for the evening (either that or Chinese takeaway!)