Mango sauce with Black beans recipe

I love mangoes. Period.I know I have been doing lots of PR for mangoes in the last few days, to the point of exhaustion I guess - well, I won't blame ya! I am like that. Sometimes.:) But I have to talk about those luscious things yet again! (sorry!) Its like I have rediscovered mangoes. I hate adding sweet things into savory dishes. And a partner with similar tastes is not helping me either. But the day I made and tasted Mango Salsa, I was smitten. Never realized a fruity, sweet and ripe mango could make such a great non-dessert dish. And once in, I couldn't get out. The next thing where I tried mangoes was in this dish of black beans. It happened unintentionally. I was making this pot of black beans and enjoying mangoes on the side. When I realized that my beans were almost done, I wanted to do a taste test and immediately put a spoonful of beans in my mouth. The taste of creamy beans along with sweet mangoes in my mouth mingled and the sensations on my palate were enchanting. So I peeled another mango, chopped them and added it to my beans. It was so good and thus another mango savory dish became my friend. (Turns out, black beans and mango are a popular combo! - courtesy Google.)

Mango sauce with Black beans recipe
BTW, if you love beans, then Epazote is a worthwhile investment. A Mexican herb that helps in reducing the nasty embarrassing Gas abdominal discomfort caused from the "Buy Beans and Get One free" syndrome! Pre soaking the beans (and discarding the soaking liquid) , adding Bay leaves, ginger, fennel, turmeric, coriander etc also help in reducing it. Mexican Cuisine embraces the use of Epazote (with good reason!) where its used predominantly while cooking the beans. I use dried epazote and add it while pressure cooking the beans. Its optional of course. Mango sauce with Black beans recipe I normally cook my black beans this way and the only addition for this has been a Mexican mango, lemon juice  along with red onions for colorful garnish. The approximate measurements is cos of the mango! I remember weighing my mango which was about 420 gms. (yes a huge mango!). I remember chopping it up in small cubes. Unfortunately I also remember throwing in some cubes in my mouth cos of my addiction! So I do not remember how much mango I ultimately used. So, I would ask you to adjust the mango as per the taste, its sweetness etc :)
  • Cook time:
  • Prep time:
  • Serves: 4 people
Ingredients
  • 1 cup (about 250 gms) dry black beans (or use 3 cups of canned beans for a quick version)
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 tsp Epazote (optional)
  • 1 large (about 300-320 gms) Mexican mango (or as per taste)
  • 1 large red onion,chopped finely (with a little set aside for garnish)
  • 1/2 tbsp ginger paste
  • 1 tsp ground cumin or use cumin seeds
  • 1 jalapeno, sliced (or as per taste. You can remove the seeds for mild heat)
  • Juice and zest of one large lemon (or as per taste)
  • salt to taste
  • Cilantro sprigs for garnish
Method
1. Rinse and then soak the black beans overnight in cold water. Drain well. Though black beans technically are not required to be soaked, I  personally vouch for soaking them for one main (and the biggest) reason. It helps to drastically reduce not only the cooking time but also in ..err...flatulence!
2. Add the beans with enough water to cover it along with bay leaves and Epazote, if using.
3. I pressure cook it for 3-4 whistles - about 10 minutes. You can cook it on a stove top too and it probably might take about 1 hour to 1-1/2 hour. Once cooked remove the bay leaves.
4. Meanwhile chop the mango into cubes after peeling the skin.
5. In a pan, add 1 tsp of oil and saute cumin, chopped onions, ginger paste and jalapeno along with salt. You can also add few cloves of chopped garlic if you like.
6. Add the cooked beans to this and give it a stir.
7. Next add half the mango to the beans and give it a stir. Mash some of the beans and mango together. It helps to get some of the mango sauce well combined with the beans for the flavor. Remove from heat and set aside for 10 minutes
8. Once slightly cooled, add them in a bowl, squeeze some lemon juice and zest to the beans.
9. Add the remaining onion and mango to the mix along with cilantro
10. and toss it until well combined. You can add in more lemon juice or a mix of lemon and lime to it.
Serve this cold or warm  with tortillas, plain rotis or as a dip for some baked corn chips. Works as both an appetizer as well as a side dish. Mango sauce with Black beans recipe

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By nithya on Nov 2, 2011

I made this Black Beans with Mango as a side dish for chappati but i preffered  to eat it on its own as a salad.

http://nithiskitchen.blogspot.com/2011/06/black-beans-with-mango.html

By April on Aug 15, 2011

I made quesadillas with this black bean and mango combo.  I would suggest a few raw onions in with the cooked ones.  The sweetness of the mango needs a little more of a contrast with onions, cumin.  Top with sliced black olives and sour cream.  Good eating, good loving.

7 Comments

By Produce Spotlight: Mango | milesforthought on Apr 29, 2014

[...] Black Beans with Mango – Chef in You  [...]

By Mary @ Delightful Bitefuls on May 10, 2011

This looks silly delicious! Love the addition of mango! Mary xo Delightful Bitefuls

By Sweet Artichoke on May 10, 2011

What a lovely versatile dish! Not only the flavour of mango must be a real treat, but I really like the idea that it can be eaten both hot or cold as salad!

By Champa on May 8, 2011

I love mangoes too. Looks good.

By Laura @ hip pressure cooking on May 7, 2011

Absolutely beautiful, and I really enjoyed reading the description of how the two flavors melded together! What kid of pressure cooker do you have? It looks like you put the beans inside a secodary container in the photos!?! But there was no information about that in the directions. Ciao! L hip pressure cooking (veggie edition) http://www.hippressurecooking.com/search/label/vegetarian

I use an Indian model. Since we all have different models, I did not want to elaborate on the pressure cooking steps since mine may be different (I have whistle system and use the number of whistles to determine the cooking stage). I leave it free for everyone to use their pressure cooker they way their manual advises to cook foods.

By Priya on May 7, 2011

Nutritious dish,love the addition of mango chunks..wonderful!

By Vardhini on May 6, 2011

Lovely combination and healthy too. . Never tried it before. Bookmarked. Vardhini Vardhiniskitchen