Vegan Refried Beans

Vegan Refried Beans ( Frijoles Refritos )
Pinto beans, prepared Mexican style, are such a staple in our house a week rarely goes by without my mother making up a batch. Although beans have a relatively long shelf life, the older they are the longer you’ll have to cook them to get them to soften. Find a source that supplies fresh beans. If you have some that have been sitting around for more than a year, they’ll be tough and not as good, you’ll need to cook them longer.
Prep Time: Under 15 min
Cook Time: Under 15 min
Serves: 2 people

Ingredients

• 1 cup pinto beans ( or kidney beans/black beans ) or use canned beans
• 1 red onion,chopped
• 2-3 garlic cloves, minced (or as per your taste)
• 1 tomato,chopped
• bay leaf
• 1-2 green poblano chilles/green chillies, sliced thinly (or as per taste)
• salt to taste
• few cilantro sprigs for garnish

Steps:

1. Soak the pinto beans overnight. Or if you are in a hurry, then its ok to skip the process – just use your pressure cooker.Its god send!
2. You can either cook until beans are soft or to simplify things, cook till mush too. It doesn’t really matter in this case if overcooked since you are ultimately going to mash it anyways while cooking. If you have cooking liquid – keep it, you can use it later if you feel that your beans are too thick in consistency. Or you can use water too.
3. Meanwhile, in a skillet add 1/4 tsp of corn oil (or any vegetable oil), add bay leaf, garlic, onions and some salt, Saute them until onions are soft and aromatic.
4. Add the tomatoes and cook for another 1-2 min until tomatoes get soft.
5. Add the cooked pinto beans, give it a stir to combine with the rest.
6. Using a potato masher or back of your spatula mash them well until it becomes almost a gooey mass
7. Add salt , if needed and mix well until well combined
8. Garnish with cilantro and serve hot either as a side to tortillas, chapati or Spanish rice. Or simply as an delicious and healthy dip for your corn/tortilla chips. Low fat, guilt free and nutritious. What more – its yummy and simple to make too :)