Reader Request: Muslim Bean Pie Filling
Last week, I published a quick tutorial on grinding sesame seeds in the Ninja Pulse (which will work with any Ninja that has a single serve cup).
That post sparked reader Angel to ask about using the Pulse to make the filling for Muslim Bean Pie. Truth be told, I had never heard of this pie, so I had to go look it up, and it turns out it is somewhat similar to pumpkin pie, but made with Navy beans, which are small white beans.
For those that want the quick answer, I’ll cut to the chase: You can use your Ninja blender to make a very smooth Muslim Bean Pie filling!
For those that want the step-by-step, I’ve got you covered below. I’m providing instructions for making this puree from dried beans, because you can make sure to cook them to a very soft consistency, which will make them blend very nicely.Sometimes canned beans are a bit on the firm side. It is also a lot cheaper to make beans from scratch than buying them already made, but you have to do just a little pre-planning.
Making Muslim Bean Pie Filling in your Ninja Blender
1) Obtain dry navy beans. I bought them in the bulk food section of Whole Foods, but you can also get them in bags in the bean aisle or from Amazon.com. If you can’t find them in the bean aisle, look with for the “Bob’s Red Mill” section, as BRM sells them in packs.
2) Measure out 2 cups (or more) of dry beans, place in a large pot, and cover with water. Let soak overnight, or at least 8 hours. They will plump up when you soak and cook them, so 2 cups of dry beans will leave you with a little extra (which I always like to have on hand). Most recipes will call for 2 cups of cooked beans.
3) Drain and rinse the beans, return to the pot, and bring to a boil. Once the beans are boiling reduce the heat low, cover loosely, and let simmer for about 60-90 minutes, until very soft. You can see in this photo that the beans are soft and some of them have even split open. This is how you want them so they will blend super smooth.
4) Add your pie ingredients to the jar of your Ninja blender. I used the Pulse for this because that is what the original request from Angel was for, but any model will work. Here is the recipe I used, though I substituted coconut milk for evaporated milk, maple sugar for sugar, and an egg substitute called “The Vegg” because that is what I had on hand.
5) Blend on “1” for most Ninja models, or, hold the lid down on the pulse to steady state blend for about 30-45 seconds, until all of your ingredients are totally pureed. You want to use a slow speed for this to get a very smooth mixture.
From here, you can pour into your prepared pie shell and bake per the recipe’s instructions. I hadn’t really planned ahead for this experiment, so I didn’t have a pie shell on hand (nor a way to bake a pie, since we don’t have an oven right now due to our ongoing remodel).
To solve this, I’m going to pour into mini ramekins and bake in the toaster oven, using a raw crust made of nuts and dates. That’s not exactly traditional, but we aren’t exactly living in a traditional house right now! In case you’re wondering, the target to finish the whole house – including the kitchen, which will be the last room done, ironically – is this summer. It won’t be long and I’ll be whipping you guys up some recipes that include baking.
Have you ever tried Muslim Bean Pie? Have a Ninja Blender question you want answered? I’m happy to help, so let me know in the comments!
