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Ibihaza
Pumpkin and beans
Ibihaza: Rwandan pumpkin and beans cooked soft with onion
After the harvest in the Rwandan countryside, great orange pumpkins pile up beside the houses, and ibihaza is the simple, generous way they are eaten: chunks of pumpkin cooked with beans and onion until the pumpkin half dissolves into a sweet, velvety sauce around the beans. A spoonful of oil and some salt is all the seasoning it needs, though some cooks add a green chilli or a few amaranth leaves. It is served at the midday meal with boiled plantain, rice or ugali, or simply on its own in a bowl. Do not stir too often once the pumpkin goes in, or it turns to mush before the beans are coated. Chef's tip: choose a dense, deep-orange pumpkin or butternut squash; watery pale pumpkins give a thin, bland pot.
- Total time
- 60 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 onionsliced
- 1 tomatochopped
- 1 ¾ lb pumpkinpeeled and deseeded weight, in 4 cm chunks; or butternut squash
- 1 lb cooked red kidney beanstwo 400 g tins, drained, or home-boiled
- 1 ¼ cups water
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 green chilli (optional)pierced
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Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Heat 3 tbsp vegetable oil in a wide pot over a medium heat and fry 1 onion until soft and just turning golden.
7 minStep 2: Add 1 tomato and cook until it softens into the onion.
3 minStep 3: Add 1 ¾ lb pumpkin, 1 ¼ cups water, 1 tsp salt and 1 green chilli if using. Cover and simmer over a medium-low heat until the pumpkin is tender at the edges but still holds its shape.
20 minStep 4: Gently fold in 1 lb cooked red kidney beans, cover and cook until some of the pumpkin collapses into a thick orange sauce around the beans. Shake the pot rather than stirring.
12 minStep 5: Uncover for the last few minutes if it is watery, until the sauce coats the beans. Taste for salt and serve warm.
3 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 290 kcal
- Protein
- 11 g
- Carbs
- 41 g
- Fat
- 11 g
- Fibre
- 12 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does ibihaza take?
- About 60 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 45 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.
- What can I use instead of onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
- What can I use instead of tomato?
- Tinned chopped tomatoes: a 400g tin for about 6 tomatoes (in cooked dishes, not salads).
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