Garam Masala Beans and Rice

My friend chocokat sent me some Rancho Gordo beans for my birthday! I was so excited to try them! They have the most beautiful beans
Adapted from this recipe on the Rancho Gordo website. The recipe is super vague and expects you to have some knowledge so I have adapted it and written it down in a way that any old girl could whip it up.

1 Cup of Cargamanto Cranberry Beans
First things- rinse your beans and then soak them. Soak them for around 6-8 hours. Do this in the morning and your beans will be ready to cook by late afternoon. The dish will take at least 2 hours to cook so don't wait too long or the family will get hungry.

Ingredients:
as I said earlier- 1 cup of beans (rinsed and soaked for 6 hours)
1/2 cup white onion, diced
1/2 cup carrot, diced
1/4 cup celery, diced
3 cloves garlic, pressed
1 red hot chile, diced
1/2 cup sweet potato, diced (I used a pretty purple asian sweet potato)
2 cups gluten free chicken or vegetable stock if you are a vegetarian
3 cups water
2 Tbsp. Ghee
2 Tbsp. Garam Masala
1/2 lemon to squeeze over dish at serving time
Fresh cilantro from your herb garden :)
and I used some edible flowers from my herb garden . because they look nice.
organic fruit chutney, I used a nice apricot/apple chutney

Directions:

1. melt ghee in a large lidded pot on med/high heat

2. add the onions, garlic and hot pepper and stir for 1/2 minute. Add the remaining vegetables and stir for about 3 or 4 minutes until the veggies are all starting to feel the heat, add the garam masala and stir for another minute.

3. pour in the gluten free chicken stock and the water, add the drained, rinsed beans. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer and cover. cook for at least 2 hours (until the beans are ready)

4. Serve on a bed of brown basmati rice. garnish with lots of cilantro, squeeze a little lemon on it all, add a generous dollop of fruit chutney and maybe some edible flowers if you had them. :)

so delicious!
thanks chocokat! I love my Rancho Gordo beans