LOBIO (GEORGIAN BEAN DISH)

Georgian cuisine from Colour Tour Georgia.
LOBIO (GEORGIAN BEAN DISH)

Lobio is a popular dish made with kidney beans and usually eaten with Mchadi and marinaded vegetables. The Georgian word ‘Lobio’ means ‘beans’. There are a number of varieties of this dish and we will show how to make one of the most popular.

Ingredients (4 servings):
- 400 grams of dried red kidney beans.
- 100 grams of onions.
- 50 grams of fresh green coriander (optional),
- 2 cloves of garlic,
- salt,
- a pinch of dried coriander,
- half spoon of dried Blue Fenugreek,
- 3 bay leaves,
- 1 tsp black pepper and 70 grams of oil.
 
Preparation:
Soak beans in cold water for two hours prior to cooking. Drain water and add beans, bay leaves and salt to a deep pot containing 1.5 liters of water. Cook on medium heat until the beans are tender.
Chop the fresh coriander and onions.
Add fresh and dried coriander, Blue Fenugreek, garlic, black pepper and a pinch of salt to a mortar.
Grind the ingredients with a pestle.
Fry the chopped onions in a pan of hot oil.
Drain the water from the cooked kidney beans but keep 200 milliliters in a separate jug to use later. Use the back of a wooden spoon to mash the beans on the side of the pot. Add the ingredients that were crushed in a mortar, together with fried onions and the oil they were fried in.
Mash all ingredients until completely mixed, add the 200 milliliters of bean water (saved when draining the beans). Transfer the ingredients to a pot and cook on medium heat for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally. We baked ours in individual clay pots in the oven.
 
Serving:
Serve hot. We served ours in individual clay pots with the traditional accompaniment, Mchadi (Georgian Cornbread).