Topic: Aduki beans ("You are what you eat")

[Pigface51]

A friend of mine is trying to stick to the "Tou are wht you eat" diet book...and one of teh main ingredients is Aduki beans. 

She has obtained a half-kilo bag of organic beans (for about £4) - they are died and require soaking overnight.

...so my questions are :
Can I plant them in my plot?
when should they be planted?
will they grow? what sort of a harvest should I expect?
Do they need to be treated before use (like kidney beans)?

[spaf69]

sorry have only sprouted them for salads, taste nice though, would be interested in what they would look like when fully grown.
good luck

[dtw]

The ones you get in the supermarket will germinate, soak overnight before planting.

I grew a few last year, but due to other commitments I didn't water them as much as I should have and they died before flowering. I don't know how big they will grow, but mine weren't more than 2ft high.

You do need to cook them as fresh or dried red kidney beans, boil vigorously for at least ten minutes, then simmer for however long it says on the packet, 30mins?

I'm surprised they can be eaten as sprouts, maybe the toxins get destroyed when they germinate?

I don't like them that much though, so try some before you go mad and plant loads.  ;D

[emmy1978]

A friend of mine is growing aduki beans this year. I have to say i don't like them much either. Your friend needs to beware she doesn't end up looking like Gillian Mckeith!  ;D ;D ;D

[Marymary]

I don't understand the sprouting/toxin thing either dtw.  I also don't understand how it is ok to eat uncooked chickpeas in falafel either  [I know they are fried but not for the hour or so one would boil them].  Maybe someone here can explain.  :)

[dtw]

Your friend needs to beware she doesn't end up looking like Gillian Mckeith!

LOL

Gillian McKeith is over 200 years old though.  ;D :o

[triffid]

uncooked chickpeas in falafel

Falafel uses (very!) cooked chickpeas. They have to be boiled until they're pretty much as tender as the ones you'd get from a tin, before you squish them up with the other ingredients, roll 'em into little balls and deep-fry 'em.

Yum, falafel...  :P
(guess who hasn't had supper yet?)

[OliveOil]

I bought some from the indian continental shop and even after soaking and boiling - they were still like bullets... I didnt like them but eat other beans and especially love black eyed beans.  I think i might try and grow some this year.

[Tora]

I love aduki beans! In Japan there are many yummy sweets made with aduki beans. :P

I'd love to grow them myself. I might give it a go this year.

Regarding cooking: You don't need to soak them at all. Just cover with plenty of water and bring to boil, then discard the water when it's turned red, cover with fresh water again and cook until tender.

Pressure cookers are very good for cooking all kinds of beans. I use mine all the time. :)

[Marymary]

uncooked chickpeas in falafel

Falafel uses (very!) cooked chickpeas. They have to be boiled until they're pretty much as tender as the ones you'd get from a tin, before you squish them up with the other ingredients, roll 'em into little balls and deep-fry 'em.

Yum, falafel...  :P
(guess who hasn't had supper yet?)

Erm .... the recipes I have used say to soak them then grind them - not to boil them.   Maybe I got it wrong but we lived to tell the tale.  :)

[spaf69]

You can sprout chickpeas as well, never tried it though. If you can borrow her book she explains about all the seeds you can sprout. She also suggests soaking almonds in water and eating them like that, but I like mine covered in chocolate or sugared mmmmm lovely.

I used to have the book but sold it on ebay as it took too much time and money.

[Marymary]

I used to have the book but sold it on ebay as it took too much time and money.

So did I!

[dtw]

You can pick up a copy of her first book on ebay for 99p.
There are literally hundreds of copies for sale, I don't know if that's a good thing!
It's quite difficult to read because of the randomly coloured pages.