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Firinda
Firinda: western Ugandan beans boiled very soft and mashed into a thick stew with onion and tomato
Firinda comes from Ankole and Kigezi in western Uganda, where beans are the backbone of daily meals, eaten at lunch with matooke, millet bread or sweet potatoes. Red beans are boiled until completely soft, then mashed and cooked down with fried onion and tomato into a thick, smooth stew that hugs whatever is beside it. The usual mistake is skimping on the cooking: firinda only gets its creamy texture when the beans are really soft, and dried red beans must be boiled hard for 10 minutes before the long simmer. Pressure cooker option: after the hard boil, cook for 25 minutes at pressure. Chef's tip: mash only two-thirds of the beans and leave the rest whole, for a stew that is creamy but still has some bite.
- Total time
- 100 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
- 10 ½ oz dried red beans (red kidney or sugar beans)soaked overnight
- 6 ¼ cups water
- 3 tbsp sunflower oil
- 2 onionschopped
- 3 tomatoeschopped
- 1 ¼ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 fresh chilli (optional)chopped
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Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Drain the 10 ½ oz dried red beans (red kidney or sugar beans), put them in a large pot with the 6 ¼ cups water and boil hard for 10 minutes.
15 minStep 2: Lower the heat, partly cover and simmer for 60–70 minutes, topping up with water, until the beans are so soft they crush easily between your fingers. Drain, keeping a mugful of the liquid.
70 minStep 3: Mash about two-thirds of the beans with a potato masher. Wipe out the pot.
3 minStep 4: Heat 3 tbsp sunflower oil in the pot and fry 2 onions for 7 minutes until golden. Add 3 tomatoes and 1 fresh chilli and cook for 5 minutes until soft.
12 minStep 5: Stir in all the beans, 1 ¼ tsp salt, ½ tsp black pepper and enough reserved liquid to make a thick stew. Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring so it doesn't catch, until it is thick enough to hold its shape on a spoon.
5 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 370 kcal
- Protein
- 19 g
- Carbs
- 47 g
- Fat
- 11 g
- Fibre
- 17 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does firinda take?
- About 100 minutes in total: 10 minutes to prepare and 90 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of onions?
- 2 shallots per onion.
- What can I use instead of tomatoes?
- Tinned chopped tomatoes: a 400g tin for about 6 tomatoes (in cooked dishes, not salads).
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