Staples & Mains
Kwati
क्वाँटी
A thick soup of nine different sprouted beans, eaten above all at Janai Purnima, the full-moon festival at the end of the monsoon. The name comes from Newar, where kwa means hot and ti means soup, and the dish is credited with driving out the dampness and sluggishness of the rainy season. Sprouting the beans for several days beforehand is part of the ritual as much as the cooking.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 60 min
- Total
- 80 min
- Serves
- 6
- Difficulty
- Medium
At the stove
Method
Wash the mixed beans well and soak them in plenty of cold water overnight.
Drain them, tie them loosely in a damp cloth or put them in a covered colander, and leave them somewhere warm for 2 to 3 days, rinsing daily, until sprouts of 1 to 2 cm appear.
Heat the oil in a large pot and add the cumin seeds, carom seeds and asafoetida, letting them sputter.
Add the onion and fry until golden, then stir in the ginger-garlic paste, jimbu, turmeric, coriander, cumin and timur.
Tip in the tomatoes and cook until they break down and the mixture darkens.
Add the sprouted beans and turn them through the masala for 5 minutes so they take on the spices.
Pour in the water, season with salt, and simmer for 45 to 60 minutes, until the toughest beans are soft and the broth has thickened; a pressure cooker cuts this to about 20 minutes.
Mash a ladleful of beans against the side of the pot to thicken the soup, finish with coriander, and serve hot with rice.
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