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Rice Dishes - Bean Rice

Bean Rice is a more recent addition to the Keralean cuisine, this dish has come about from the influences of Malayalees having lived abroad and been influenced by different cultures. It is also a take on the traditional meal children are given when the mother just heats all the particular curries the child likes and rolls it into the rice and them makes little rice balls from them (adjusting the ratio of rice to curry to moderate the heat of the chillies). This way the mother also ensures that the child does not ingest any fish bones or spices which may effect a child.

Ingredients

2 cups cooked rice [choru]
2 tbsps vegetable oil [yenna]
1 tsp mustard [kadugu] seeds
1 tsp cumin [jeeraghum] seeds
2 dried chillies [o-nun-giya molagu] torn in two
2 stalks curry leaves [kariyeppala] stripped of the stalk and torn in two
½ a medium onion [ooli] chopped
2 segments of medium garlic [veluth-ooli] chopped
¼ tsp tumeric powder [munya podi] (optional)
1 tin of butter beans or mixed beans drained and washed
Lime [narangya] – to taste (about 1½ tbsps full)
Salt [oopu] – to taste

Preparation

Take the cooked rice and heat so that its warm.
In a separate saucepan heat the oil until hot (but not smoky).  With the lid of the saucepan ready to hand, throw in the mustard seeds and place the lid on the saucepan quickly to prevent any popping seeds hitting anyone.
Wait until the mustard seeds have popped, then quickly add the curry leaves, chopped onion, chopped garlic, dried chillies and cumin seeds.  Stir rapidly to prevent burning.  Turn down the heat and saute the onions until lightly browned.

Add the tumeric, stir a few times and then add the beans.  Add a little water to the beans to prevent burning/sticking to the pan, and let the beans cook for about 5 minutes with the pan covered.  Then fold the rice in a little at a time, ensuring that all the rice and beans get mixed throughly.

Add salt to taste.