Kwati, a vegetarian recipe from Nepal

Name: Kwati
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 60 min
Total time: 80 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Nepal
Ingredients: 400 g mixed dried nine-bean blend; 2 onions, chopped; 4 garlic cloves; 1 tbsp grated ginger; 3 tbsp mustard oil; 1 tsp caraway seeds; 1 tsp ground turmeric; 1 tsp ground cumin; 1 tsp chilli powder; 1 tsp ajwain; 2 tsp salt; 1 handful coriander

Method

Soak the pulses for 12 hours, drain, then wrap them in a damp cloth for 2 to 3 days until sprouts appear.
Rinse the sprouted beans and simmer them in 1.5 litres of salted water for 40 minutes.
Heat the mustard oil and pop the caraway and ajwain in it.
Add the onion, garlic and ginger, and let them colour for 10 minutes.
Stir in the turmeric, cumin and chilli, then pour in a ladle of stock to stop the spices cooking further.
Tip the mixture back into the pan and simmer uncovered for 20 minutes.
Crush a few beans against the side to thicken, season with salt and cover with coriander.

Sprouting turns hard seeds into digestible food and raises their vitamin C content. Families in the Kathmandu valley start soaking several days before the festival.

The techniques this recipe uses

Drain and rinse
Canning liquid clouds a sauce and salts it blind: rinse until the water runs clear.
Reduce
Uncovered, water leaves and flavour concentrates. It is done when the sauce coats the back of a spoon.

Frequently asked questions

What if my pulses refuse to sprout?

Two causes dominate: old seeds that will never germinate, and a cloth that is either too dry or soaking wet. The cloth should feel damp without the beans sitting in water, and they need rinsing daily. If nothing happens, soak twelve hours longer and cook them unsprouted; the stew is still good, only denser.

Can I make this with fewer than nine pulses?

Yes, what matters is mixing beans of different sizes and textures, peas, beans and lentils together. Choose varieties with similar cooking times, though, or the small lentils collapse while the big beans stay hard. Five or six work perfectly well.

What can I use instead of mustard oil?

A neutral oil works, but you lose the characteristic pungency. You can recover some of it by popping half a teaspoon of mustard seeds in the neutral oil before the caraway. If you do use mustard oil, heat it until it just smokes before adding the spices, which softens its raw harshness.

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Kwati

Method

The techniques this recipe uses

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