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Will you love Sugar Beans again?

Written by Published on in Beans, Traditional, Vegetables
8 Servings ~ 21/2 hours
  • 3 cups sugar beans
  • 1 beef stock cube
  • 1 tomato chopped
  • 3 carrots chopped
  • Half green pepper chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic chopped
  • 2 tbs tomato paste
  • 1 tbs tomato sauce
  • 1 tsp curry powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
  • 1/2 onion chopped
  • 1/4 cup oil for frying
  • Chicken or beef bones or skin

Many of us know sugar beans from boarding schools or even Universities such as our UZ (during the hyper-inflation times). The memories associated with sugar beans from what I gather are not such pleasant ones.

I never got the chance to be a border although I really wanted to become one. So I never got to taste the so-called badly cooked boarding school beans. I have friends who up until this day don’t like to eat sugar beans, you may be in the same boat with them. I hope, however, that after trying out this recipe you will love sugar beans once more. They are after all highly nutritious, providing you with a pack-load of protein. BTW if you enjoy beans you may also like green beans and the many scrumptious ways to make them as shown in these recipes with green beans.

The trick with sugar beans, though,  is in the preparation of the soup. This makes a whole world of a difference.

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Quick Instructions

To cut on cooking time, soak beans overnight, or if you forget to do so as I did on the day of doing this recipe soak them in boiling water for a minimum of 2 hours. You will achieve more or less the same results as soaking them overnight. You may buy beef bones or de-skin your chicken and use that for flavoring your beans. Using beef bones will probably be the best as chicken skin is high in cholesterol.

  1. Gather ingredients together. Drain and rinse your soaked sugar beans. Put them in a pot and add chicken skin or beef bones. Add salt. Add some water that just covers the beans and boil until the water is finished. When water is finished add beef stock and boil until the stock is finished. Check for tenderness of the beans and keep adding water until they are as soft as you like them.
  2. When the beans are done to your liking remove them from the pot and put them in a bowl. Heat oil in the same pot that had the beans. Add carrots and garlic and stir until carrots are almost tender. Return beans to the pot and stir. Add onions and stir.
  3. Add curry powder and stir. Add tomatoes and tomato paste then stir and give time for them to cook (about 2min). Add green pepper and stir.
  4. Add tomato sauce, mixed herbs, black pepper and stir.
  5. Your sugar beans are ready to be served with your favorite starch such as Sadza, rice or chingwa (bread)
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Pictorial Detailed Instructions

Step 1 - Click to enlarge
Gather ingredients together (a) and (b). Drain and rinse your soaked sugar beans (c). Put them in pot and add chicken skin or beef bones (d). Add salt. Add some water which just covers the beans (d) and boil until water is finished. When water is finished add beef stock and boil until the stock is finished. Check for tenderness of the beans and keep adding water until they are as soft as you like them.
Step 2 - Click to enlarge
When the beans are done to your liking remove from pot and put in a bowl (a). Heat oil in the same pot that had the beans. Add carrots and garlic (b) and stir until carrots are almost tender. Return beans to the pot and stir (c). Add onions and stir (d). Don’t worry at this stage if its not looking too appetizing it will all come together when everything has been added and cooked through.
Step 3

Add curry powder and stir (a). Add tomatoes (b) and tomato paste (c) then stir and give time for them to cook (about 2min). Add green pepper (d) and stir.
Step 4
Add tomato sauce (a), mixed herbs (b), black pepper (c) and stir (d).
Sugar beans ready, garnished with chopped shallots!
Sugar beans ready, garnished with chopped shallots!

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