Ibishyimbo

Ingredients

Beans

• 500 gdried red beans
• water, for soaking
• 2.5 litreswater, for cooking

The pot

• 2onions, chopped
• 4celery stalks, chopped
• with their leaves
• 4garlic cloves, crushed
• 3 tablespoonsred palm oil
• or 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1tomato, chopped, optional
• 2 teaspoonssalt
• black pepper

Sometimes added

• 1carrot, chopped
• 1sweet pepper, chopped
• 1stock cube

To serve

• ubugali
• or boiled plantain
• or rice
• cooked greens

Directions

1. Warm it gently to melt it before use. Never let it smoke or bleach in the pan. Rinse the dried beans in cold water. Pick out any small stones or shrivelled beans. Cover them with plenty of cold water. Soak them for at least eight hours. They swell to about twice their size. Drain the soaked beans thoroughly.
2. Rinse them well under running water. Never cook them in their soaking water. Put the beans into a large pot. Cover them well with fresh cold water. Bring it up to a rolling boil. Let it boil hard for ten full minutes. Do not cover the pot during that boil.
3. Cover the pot partly with a lid. Give them about an hour and a half. Top up with hot water as it reduces. Stir them occasionally so they do not catch. They should be completely soft. Warm the palm oil gently in a separate pan. Add the chopped onions to the pan. Cook them for a good eight minutes.
4. Add the celery and its chopped leaves. Cook it for about five minutes more. Add the crushed garlic to the pan. Cook it for a good two minutes. Add the chopped tomato if using it. Cook it down for about five minutes. Tip the whole pan into the bean pot.
5. Stir it through the beans thoroughly. Add the salt and the black pepper. Crumble in a stock cube if you use one. Add the salt only once the beans are soft. Salting them early keeps their skins tough.
6. Let it simmer for another twenty minutes. Stir it every few minutes now. Thick bean stew catches very easily. Add hot water if it goes too thick. Cook it uncovered if it is too loose.
7. Taste it and adjust the salt now. It needs more than you might expect. Add more pepper if it tastes flat. Serving it is done piping hot. Spoon it into bowls or over the starch. Ubugali is the thick cassava or maize dough.

Technique

• Dried red kidney beans contain phytohaemagglutinin, a natural toxin that causes severe vomiting from as few as four or five raw beans; soaking does not remove it, and they must be boiled hard for ten full minutes, uncovered and without reducing the heat, and never cooked in a slow cooker, which can hold them at a temperature that increases the toxin.
• Beans are the foundation of the Rwandan diet, eaten at almost every meal, with consumption per person among the highest in the world, and they supply most of the protein most households get.
• Celery leaves go into the pot as well as the stalks and carry far more flavour, so they should never be thrown away; that celery note is characteristic of the dish.

Substitutions

• Any dried red or brown bean works in place of kidney beans.
• Vegetable oil stands in for red palm oil, though the colour and flavour differ.

Variations

• Some households add carrot and sweet pepper to the pot.
• A version with no palm oil at all is made in some homes.
• Ubugali, boiled plantain and rice are all served with it.

History

Rwanda’s daily protein, eaten with ubugali or plantain in almost every household meal.

Frequently asked questions

What is Ibishyimbo?

Ibishyimbo is a salad & side from Rwanda: red beans simmered long with onion, celery and palm oil. Rwanda’s daily protein, eaten with ubugali or plantain in almost every household meal.

How long does Ibishyimbo take to make?

Ibishyimbo takes 20 minutes plus soaking of preparation and 2 hours of cooking. The recipe makes serves 6. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Ibishyimbo?

Yes, within limits. Any dried red or brown bean works in place of kidney beans. Vegetable oil stands in for red palm oil, though the colour and flavour differ.

What is the most important thing to get right in Ibishyimbo?

Warm it gently to melt it before use. Never let it smoke or bleach in the pan. Rinse the dried beans in cold water. Pick out any small stones or shrivelled beans. Cover them with plenty of cold water. Soak them for at least eight hours. They swell to about twice their size. Drain the soaked beans thoroughly.