AI-generated image
Ndizi na maharage
Ndizi na maharage: Tanzanian green bananas and red beans cooked together in coconut milk
Across Tanzania, from Dar es Salaam to the banana farms around Kilimanjaro, ndizi na maharage is a filling weekday lunch: green cooking bananas and red beans simmered in one pot with tomato, onion and coconut milk until the bananas are soft and the sauce creamy. It needs nothing more than a few slices of avocado or a fresh kachumbari salad on the side. The usual mistake is cooking dried red kidney beans gently from the start: they must boil hard for 10 minutes first to be safe. Peel green bananas with oiled hands, as the sap stains and sticks. Chef's tip: add the bananas only once the beans are tender, then let them simmer until they just break at the edges and thicken the sauce.
- Total time
- 90 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
- 7 oz dried red kidney beans (or 2 tins, drained)soaked overnight
- 5 cups water
- 2 tbsp sunflower oil
- 1 onionchopped
- 3 cloves garliccrushed
- 3 tomatoeschopped
- 1 tsp mild curry powder
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- 6 green cooking bananas (matoke) or green plantainspeeled with oiled hands, cut into chunks
- 1 ¾ cups coconut milk
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp fresh coriander (optional)chopped
Shop this recipe on Amazon
Fresh ingredients (5)
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Drain the soaked 7 oz dried red kidney beans (or 2 tins, drained), cover with the 5 cups water in a large pot and boil hard for 10 minutes. Then lower the heat and simmer for 40 minutes until tender. (Tinned beans: skip this step and use 300 ml water later.)
50 minStep 2: Tip the beans and their liquid into a bowl. Heat 2 tbsp sunflower oil in the same pot and fry 1 onion for 6 minutes until soft and golden.
6 minStep 3: Add 3 cloves garlic, 3 tomatoes, 1 tsp mild curry powder and ½ tsp ground turmeric and cook for 5 minutes until the tomatoes collapse into a paste.
5 minStep 4: Return the beans with about 300 ml of their liquid, add 6 green cooking bananas (matoke) or green plantains, 1 ¾ cups coconut milk and 1 tsp salt. Simmer gently, partly covered, for 15–20 minutes until a knife slides through the bananas and the sauce is thick and creamy.
20 minStep 5: Scatter with 2 tbsp fresh coriander and serve hot.
1 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 480 kcal
- Protein
- 14 g
- Carbs
- 58 g
- Fat
- 22 g
- Fibre
- 14 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does ndizi na maharage take?
- About 90 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 75 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 garlic?
- ½ tsp garlic paste or ⅛ tsp garlic powder per clove.
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Caramelised clay-pot tofu and mushrooms
Kho is the slow braise of the Mekong Delta: food simmered in a little clay pot (nồi đất) with dark caramel and seasoning until the sauce is sticky and the flavours go deep. This vegetarian cousin of cá kho tộ (braised fish) uses golden tofu and meaty mushrooms in place of fish, cooked in coconut water, as cooks do in the south, and finished with plenty of black pepper. Serve it bubbling in its pot with steamed rice and a sour soup or plain boiled vegetables. Chef's tip: take the caramel (nước màu) to a deep mahogany, darker than you think, just before it smokes; pale caramel only tastes sweet, while dark caramel gives the bittersweet, smoky flavour of a real kho.
Vietnamese
Spinach with mushrooms
A bright green, savoury puree of potato, mushrooms and fresh spinach cooked in home-made baby stock. Thick and smooth, it's a good way to get iron-rich greens into babies of 8–18 months. Serve warm; spare portions freeze well.
Black bean tacos with lime slaw
Proof that a meat-free taco night can be the best one. The beans are mashed with chipotle and cumin so they hold together in the tortilla, and a quick lime slaw adds crunch.
Mexican