Rice + Beans Meal Prep

Instructions

Prep

1. The night before (or, at least 6 hrs before), soak kidney beans in plenty of water.
2. To an instant pot, add the soaked beans, bay leaf, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, oil, ginger garlic paste, salt, chili powder, and turmeric. If you don’t have whole spices, substitute for 1tsp garam masala.
3. Add 4.5 cups of water, seal, and cook on Bean Mode (30 minutes, high pressure).
4. While that cooks, prepare the other ingredients. Dice the onion and jalapeno.
5. Thoroughly rinse the sweet potato, and trim off any dirty patches or spuds. Dice into small pieces to cook quickly.
1. For optimal cooking, soak the sweet potato in cold water before cooking. This helps remove extra starch, and keeps the potatos crispy.

Rajma Masala

1. Heat oil in a pot.
2. Add onion and green chili, as well as 1/4 tsp turmeric and 1/4 tsp salt. Cook for 10 minutes.
3. Add ginger garlic paste, and stir well. Cook for 10 minutes.
4. By this point, the rajma should be cooked. Release the pressure on the instant pot, and check for doneness. You should be able to squish the bean between your fingers.
5. Add crushed tomato, and the remaining ground spices. Cook for 10 minutes.
6. Add the cooked kidney beans, and as much liquid as you’d like (I added all of it). Cook on medium-low for 10 minutes.
7. Once the curry is bubbling, add salt if needed. Garnish with a squeeze of lime and handful of chopped cilantro.

Sweet Potato Fry

1. Heat oil in a wide bottom skillet.
2. To the oil, add whole spices and hing. Toast for 30-45 seconds.
3. Add the sweet potato, making sure to dry off extra moisture. Stir every few minutes or so, and saute for 15 minutes.
4. Add ground spices, and continue to fry until at the desired texture. Add more oil if needed.
5. I ended up cooking the fry for 30 more minutes, stirring ocassionally.
6. Before turning off the heat, add salt if needed (up to 3/4 tsp).