Indian Red Beans with Butternut Squash

This dish smells so good on the stove, especially if you cook the onions in coconut oil. I was looking for dishes that used red beans and was inspired by eriserry, commonly eaten in Kerala (South India).  I was following an Indian recipe, but my dish turned out to be more of an interpretation of eriserry due to some misunderstandings of ingredients.   

The Indian recipe I was following called for van payar, which is Indian for red cow peas or red moong dal.  Seeing the word "red" made me think small, red beans would be a good substitute. However, when I had time to do a little research on eriserry, I found out that moong dal are skinned & split mung beans and red cow peas are the same as adzuki beans. Regular cow peas are the same as black eyed peas.  Both the red cow peas and moong dal break down in cooking, unlike red beans. 

Moong Dal

Squash for eriserry is supposed to be cooked in a pressure cooker.  I thought that the squash pieces were supposed to remain intact, so I cubed then roasted them. If I roasted the squash whole, it would have produced the the effect of pressure cooking.  My last misunderstanding was regarding coconut. Eriserry's gravy (different from Western gravy) hinges on combining the mashed squash with shredded coconut.  I thought substituting dried coconut would be fine because I didn't know where to get fresh coconut. Unfortunately dried coconut does not give the same body to the dish as fresh.

Discovering the reasons for ingredients and cooking methods was very helpful, and I hope to make authentic eriserry eventually. . .  when I locate some frozen coconut. Nevertheless, my interpretation of eriserry was delicious and definitely something to make again.

Nutrition Highlight: Yellow Onions

Onions form the basis of many Indian dishes and lend to the complex flavor of a dish when they're sautéed, roasted, or caramelized. They also do wonders for your body.

Do you want to detox? 
Onions have sulfur compounds, which latch onto heavy metals and escort them from the body. To reap the sulfur benefits, studies recommend eating 1/2 a cup of raw onion a day.

Do you want a healthy heart?
Onions increase HDL (good kind) cholesterol which is responsible for removing LDL cholesterol (bad kind) from your body.  HDL is your body's maintenance machine and keeps your endothelium healthy. The endothelium is the inner walls of blood vessels. If your endothelium is damaged, you're at greater risk of heart attacks.

Are you worried about cavities? 
Onions are anti-bacterial and will fight pathogens, such as those which cause dental cavities.

Have you heard of quercitin?
Onions are the richest source of this flavonoid which:

• Fights asthma and hay fever.
• Raises HDL and thus prevents atherosclerosis, the plaque buildup that leads to heart attacks.
• Fights cancer.

Cooking hasn't shown to have a negative affect on quercitin, according to a study on PubMed.  Quercitin is concentrated in the skin and outer layers of onion.

Cooking Tip

Roast squash whole for a bit.

Roasting the squash whole for a bit will make it slightly softer and facilitate chopping.  Roast about 5 minutes, then check to see if it's ready to chop.

Indian Butternut Squash & Red Beans
Printable Recipe

1 T coconut oil (or olive oil)
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp cayenne powder (heat is not too much)

4-5 curry leaves
1 medium onion (or 3/4 large), sliced thin (I used yellow)

4 cloves garlic, sliced thin
1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut dried or frozen

1 tsp salt 

1 cup coconut milk

1 cup dry small red beans (3 c cooked)
3 cups butternut squash peeled and chopped (can substitute sweet potatoes), save seeds to roast

cooked farro or brown rice

white fish

Do in advance:

Soak beans overnight, then cook in a slow cooker on high for 4 1/2 -5 hours, or cook on the stove for 1-1 1/2 hours.

Roast squash cubes at 400º for 20-25 min. 

Roast seeds:
After separating seeds from squash fibers, let them dry in the oven for 10 minutes, then take out and put in a bowl. Toss in 1/2 tsp olive olive, some cumin and salt, then roast for 13-15 min. at 400º.

In a 12” frying pan, heat the oil and add the mustard seeds and cumin seeds and let them splutter for 30 sec. Now add the turmeric powder, cayenne and curry leaves and the onion and garlic and stir occasionally until the onions are translucent and starting to turn brown (5-10 min).

Add the shredded coconut and sauté until the coconut turns golden.

Add the cooked beans & squash and stir well to combine. Reduce the heat to low and add the coconut milk and let it simmer for about 10 mins. To avoid curdling, do not let it come to a boil after adding the coconut milk.

If serving with fish, I find it easy to just poach a fillet in the microwave with a little water for about 2 minutes.  Sprinkle with garam masala or cracked pepper and some lemon juice when ready to serve.

Serve the beans and squash hot with rice, farro, or naan.  Goes well with tender, white fish, like tilapia. Makes 6, 1 c servings to be had as a side or 4 entrée servings.