SPAGHETTI WITH BEAN BALLS

INGREDIENTS:

Ingredients for bean balls:
Black beans	1 cup – dry
Onion	1 medium – finely chopped
Green chili	1 – finely chopped
Coriander leaves	2 tbsp – chopped
Oil	1 tbsp
Salt	As per taste
Red chili powder	½ tsp
Garam masala powder	½ tsp
Bread crumbs	¼ cup

Ingredients for sauce and spaghetti:
Spaghetti	200 gm
Onion	1 medium – finely chopped
Tomato	3 large - pureed
Coriander leaves	1 tbsp – chopped
Oil	3 tbsp
Salt	As per taste
Sugar	½ tsp
Black pepper powder	½ tsp + ½ tsp
Red chili powder	½ tsp
Dried basil	1 tsp
Mixed Italian herbs	1 tsp
Tomato paste	1.5 tbsp

METHOD:

Making Bean balls:

• Wash the black beans thoroughly and soak in 3-4 cups of water for overnight or 6-8 hours.Drain out the water after soaking and rinse the beans once.
• In a pressure cooker, add the soaked beans and 3 cups of water. Cover and cook for 4-5 whistles until the beans are well cooked.
• After the pressure settles, open the cooker and drain the cooked beans from the water. Don’t throw the water away; it can be used for any bean-based curry or soup.
• Meanwhile, finely chop one medium sized onion. Also heat a tbsp of oil in a pan. As oil heats up, add the chopped onion and saute till translucent. Once translucent, turn off the heat and keep aside.
• Now mash the cooked and drained beans using a potato masher.
• Once the beans are mashed, add ¼ tsp salt, ½ tsp red chili powder, ½ tsp garam masala powder, chopped green chili ,2 tbsp of coriander leaves, sautéed onions and half the bread crumbs. (Adjust the spiciness as per your spice level. The green chili can be totally avoided. Also the onions can be added raw without sautéing if you prefer so.)
• Combine all the ingredients well. If the mixture feels wet, add the remaining bread crumbs and mix well. The mixture should be such that the balls can be formed from it.
• After mixing well, let it rest for 10 mins so that the crumbs absorb all of the excess moisture.
• Then take small lemon sized portions of the mixture and form into balls.
• There are two options for frying these balls:

1.   Deep frying in oil:  Heat oil in a kadai and deep fry all the balls till golden brown. Take out on a kitchen tissue paper to absorb the excess oil and keep aside the balls. So, if the bean balls are deep fried, the onions can be added raw and it will be cooked in oil.
2. Air frying: Preheat the air fryer to 380 deg F. Place the bean balls in fryer and fry for 10-15 mins. Take out and give the bean balls a toss once in between at around 7-8 mins. When the bean balls are cooked and starts to turn crisp and brown outside, insert a toothpick and check. If comes clean, take the bean balls out as they are ready.  Also adjust the time and heat according to your air fryer as power varies in different appliance.

Air fried bean balls

Making the sauce:

• Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a pan on medium heat. As oil heats, add chopped onions and saute till translucent.
• Add the pureed tomatoes and saute for 3-4 mins.
• Add salt, ½ tsp black pepper, ½ tsp red chili powder, and tomato paste. Mix well and continue cooking until the raw smell of tomatoes are gone and little oil starts oozing from sides.
• Add ½ cup of lukewarm water to adjust the consistency. Once the sauce comes to a boil, add ½ tsp sugar to balance the acidity of tomatoes.
• Turn off the heat and add the dried basil and mixed Italian herbs. Mix well and cover for 2 mins so that the flavor is absorbed in the sauce.
• Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti as per the package instructions.

Assembling the dish:

• In a wide pan, add a tbsp of oil and heat on medium heat. Then toss the cooked spaghetti with little salt and ½ tsp black pepper to flavor the spaghetti.  Also add the chopped coriander leaves.
• In a serving plate, place a small nest of spaghetti. Arrange 2-3 bean balls and pour a ladleful of sauce on top of the bean balls. Garnish with a coriander leaf.
• Enjoy the dish warm!!!