Recipe for Indian-Style Tarbais Beans with Eggplant and Basmati Rice with Lemon by Silvia Santucci

For the Beans, soak the beans overnight in two and a half times their volume of cold water. Discard the water, then pour the beans into a saucepan and cover them with fresh water. Blanch the beans by allowing them to cook over low heat for 50 minutes. Then drain them and set aside in a bowl.

For the eggplants, prepare the eggplants alongside the beans. Wash them, cut them in half lengthwise, then into slices about 1 cm thick to create half-moons. (Cut the larger half-moons in half.) Arrange the eggplant slices in a large bowl, cover them with cold water, and add a tablespoon of coarse salt.

Let the eggplants drain for at least 30 minutes to remove the bitterness.

After this time, drain the eggplants, discarding the water, and pat them dry with a clean cloth to remove excess moisture. Heat oil in a skillet and fry the eggplants on both sides until they are golden brown. Drain on paper towels, season with salt, and toss.

For the Indian-style Beans Peel and remove the germ from the garlic cloves, chop them finely, and set aside in a bowl. Peel and finely chop the onion, and add it to the garlic. In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat, then add the fenugreek and fennel seeds.

As soon as they start to sizzle, add the chopped garlic and onion, and sauté for a few minutes until the onion becomes translucent. Add the tomato pulp, ground chili, and curry. Mix, then add the beans and salt to taste. Cover the pot and let the beans simmer in the sauce for 20 minutes.

After this time, add the slices of eggplant and continue cooking for about 20 minutes, until the beans are tender and the eggplant is very soft. Add water during cooking if the sauce becomes too thick.

For the rice, steam the rice in a pressure cooker. Once cooked, add the zest and juice of the lemon, stir quickly, and keep warm.

To finish, sprinkle the beans and eggplants with fresh coriander and serve with rice. This dish can be enjoyed warm as well as cold. Fenugreek and curry can easily be found in Indian grocery stores.