Here's a savoury casserole with plenty of filling power. Onion, garlic and mushrooms give it interest and various spices turn up the heat. Great with a green salad.

Ingredients

• 1¼ cups black-eyed beans
• 1 onion
• 4 cloves garlic
• 250 grams mushrooms
• 4 tablespoons oil
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 440 gram tin tomatoes in juice
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• ½ teaspoon each cayenne and turmeric
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander, optional

Method

1. Cover the beans with plenty of cold water and allow to stand overnight. Drian and cook in lots of fresh water for 30 minutes. Drain and reserve 1 cup of liquid.
2. Peel and finely chop the onion. Crush, peel and chop the garlic. Slice the mushrooms.
3. Heat the oil in a large lidded frying pan or large saucepan. Add whole cumin, cinnamon stick, onion and garlic and cook over a moderate heat until the onion has softened.
4. Add the mushrooms, beans, reserved liquid, tomatoes and juice, coriander, ground cumin, turmeric and cayenne.
5. Simmer gently over a moderate heat for about 1 hour until the beans are tender. Season with salt and pepper and add the fresh coriander if you wish.

Cooks Tips

- If you do not have cumin seeds or the cinnamon stick, increase the amount of ground cumin to 1½ teaspoons and add ¼ teaspoon of ground cinnamon.