Kabulangeti Beans

Written by in Recipes and Food things..., Traditional Zambian Dishes, Vegetables and Salads
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Howdy folks! 😊

Kabulangeti beans are a very popular variety of sugar beans found and eaten in most parts of Zambia. They are usually sold dried, and are easy to find in almost every market – both formal and informal. Because they are dry though, you will need to exercise some patience, before these beans can make their way to your dinner table, and palate. Approximately 3 hours or so of cooking. My apologies.

Nonetheless, these beans are really delicious and are certainly worth the wait! 👌🏾 So much so that many a traditional Zambian meal would be incomplete without this dish. Needless to say, they are also an affordable source of protein, vitamins and minerals for many households, so that makes this a Double win! 😊

If you’ve never cooked these for yourself, or perhaps you’re just curious, here’s the standard ‘Zambian way’ to cook these beans. You’re most welcome.

Enjoy! 😋

Kabulangeti Beans
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Kabulangeti Beans

Recipe by LubayaCourse: Main, SidesDifficulty: Easy
Prep time

10

minutes
Cooking time

3

hours 
Cuisine

Zambian

Ingredients

  • 600g Dry Kabulangeti Beans

  • 1 Tomato, chopped

  • 1 Onion, chopped

  • 1 Green/Yellow Pepper, chopped

  • 3 Cloves Garlic

  • 4 Tablespoons Vegetable oil

  • 1 Tablespoon Tomato paste

  • Salt and Pepper, to taste

Directions

  • Start by sorting the beans, and removing any solid dirt and unwanted particles. Wash the beans twice in cold water. 😊
    ⛔️ In some households, it is standard practice to soak the beans overnight, softening them and thereby reducing the cooking time the next day. This is ok, though it is not my preference because I feel there’s a loss of flavor and nutrients with the discarding of the soaking water. So I just cook them straight to the pot, most of the time.
  • We soldier on and transfer the washed beans to a reasonable sized sauce pan 😊 . Cover with water, add 2 tablespoons of oil and bring to the stove to cook until tender. You will need to top up on the water a couple of times or so during the cooking process.
    This should altogether be about 3 hours or so of boiling.
  • Once the beans has softened (but not falling apart), it is now ready for the next stage.
  • Add the remaining oil to a pan or saucepan and sauté the onion, peppers and garlic for about 3 minutes. 😊
  • Then add the chopped tomato and cook for another 3 minutes before adding in the tomato paste, salt and pepper. Some people add curry to their beans, and this would be the stage to do that, if using. 😊
    Cook covered for another 3 minutes to make sure the tomato paste is fully cooked.
  • Next, add the tomato mixture to the cooked beans (or vice versa) depending on whether you’re using a pan or saucepan, and gently stir through once for even distribution. Taste for seasoning and adjust accordingly. 😊
  • Cook covered on medium heat for about 20 minutes, during which the liquid will begin to thicken. When its at your desired level of thickness, then the beans is done.
    ⛔️ Please don’t leave the beans cooking for too long after this stage, because you don’t want to end up with mush…but you still want your beans to have…structure.

  • Remove from the heat and transfer to a serving bowl, if you’re dishing for a group. 😊
  • Serve with your favorite starch, such as rice, samp or nshima – and enjoy! 😋
    In this case since we were doing a traditional Zambian meal, it was Nshima.

4 Comments

  1. Chela
    May 22, 2023 at 6:58 pm  ·  Reply

    Kindly add the recipe for chikanda. Thank you for sharing the recipes

  2. Fred Mutamina
    February 5, 2023 at 11:39 am  ·  Reply

    Nice recipe, I really like beans… thank you for sharing

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