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Beans/Legumes


Terms

  • dal: generally refers to split beans
  • sabut == whole
  • moong == mung
  • bangal == bengal

Names and descriptions

  • mung bean, green mung, green gram
    • whole bean, hull is green
  • green mung dal, split green gram
    • split bean with hull, hull is green and bean is yellow or orange.
  • mung dal, small yellow lentil
    • split hulled bean, bean is yellow or orange
  • masoor dal, red lentil
    • split hulled bean, bean is red
  • red gram dal, toor dal, split pigeon peas, tuvar dal, arhar dal
    • split and hulled, bean is yellow or gold
  • whole urad dal, black matpe bean, black gram, whole black lentil, kali/kaali dal, maa ki dal
    • whole bean, hull is black
  • urad dal, split matpe bean, split black gram, split black lentil
    • split hulled bean, bean is white
  • brown chickpeas, kala chana, bengal gram, desi chickpeas
    • whole bean, hull is brown
  • chickpeas, garbanzo beans, chana, chole, kabuli chana
    • whole hulled bean, bean is yellow
  • split chickpeas, chana dal, split bengal gram, split desi chickpeas
    • split hulled bean, bean is yellow
  • black-eyed peas, lobia, cow pea, chawli, raungi
  • horse gram, kulthi bean, hurali, madras gram
  • puy lentils, french lentils
  • cranberry, borlotti, roman, romano, saluggia, gadhra, rosecoco
  • mayocoba, peruano, canario, canary
    • Thin skinned
    • Substitutes: cannellini or great northern beans
    • Suggestions: Soups, refried beans, pot beans, dips
  • scarlet runner, fire bean, mammoth, red giant, and scarlet emperor
    • Best soaked first

Cooking

  • Always rinse beans before soaking and cooking.
  • Dried beans can double in volume and weight after soaking and/or cooking.
  • Always add salt when cooking. Cooking without salt will cause more beans to split.
  • Cooked beans can sit in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Soaking

  • Don't soak thin skinned beans like:
    • black beans
    • black-eyed peas
    • lentils
    • pinto beans
  • Older beans benifit more from soaking.
  • Soaking beans softens the seed coat (skin), leaches out minerals, and reduces subsequent flatulence.
  • Salt the soaking water with 1 tablespoon of kosher salt per quart of water. Beans soaked in unsalted water will absorb more water and are more likely to split while cooking.
  • Soak from 4 and to 8 hours. If soaking for more than 8 hours, do so in the fridge to prevent fermentation. Don't soak for more than 24 hours.
  • Rinse the beans after soaking.
  • If you don't have time for a longer soak do a quick soak. Cover the dried beans with ample salted water, bring to a boil, remove from heat, let stand for 1 hour, then drain and rinse.

Stovetop

  • Add salt halfway through the cooking.
  • Skim the surface of foam as needed.
  • Cook till the beans are tender and no trace of firmess or graininess exists.
  • Add fresh water to the pot if the level drops too low.

Pressure Cooker

  • Always add salt, 1-2 tsp per lb of beans. If adding broth or salty fat, use less salt.
  • Use x3-x4 parts water. Erring on the side of more water is ok and since it will just become bean broth.
  • Use high pressure and Natural Release
  • In most cases you can skip soaking if you're using a pressure cooker.
  • If the beans are still toothy, you can continue cooking them on the stove fore 20 more minutes.
Beans Dry Cook Time (minutes) Soaked Cook Time (minutes)
Black 20-25 6-8
Black-Eyed Peas 10-15 4-5
Cannellini 35 10
Chickpeas 40 15
Domingo Rojo 25
French/Green/Brown Lentils 10
Red Split Lentils 5
Pinto 25-30 8-10
Red Kidney 25-30 8-10
Yellow Indian Woman, Cranberry 35
Mayocoba 20-25
Scarlet Runner
10 (or 20 /w QR)

Dry, Cooked, and Canned Equivalents

  • Canned beans are just dried beans that have been soaked and cooked in the can.
  • A 15 oz can of beans generally contains about 1.5 cups (9 oz) of beans.
  • If a recipe calls for cooked beans and you want to use dried, use half the specified amount.
Bean Dry Weight Cooked Equivalent
Black 1 lb 2 lb, 5 oz (7.0 cups)
Black-Eyed Peas 1 lb 2 lb, 13 oz (6.5 cups)
Cannellini 1 lb 2 lb, 8 oz (6.5 cups)
Chickpeas 1 lb 3 lb, 4 oz (7.0 cups)
Pinto 1 lb 2 lb, 5 oz (6.5 cups)
Red Kidney 1 lb 2 lb, 7 oz (6.5 cups)

Rancho Gordo Beans