Hosting the 49th edition of MLLA, created and organized by Susan of The Well-Seasoned Cook was, as in previous occasions, a great pleasure. Throughout the past month, I have received contributions from around the world, delicious variations (savory or sweet) on the theme of legumes.

Hosting an event means having the pleasure of collecting and then sharing the collection — of savoring in solitude each dish as it comes into my mailbox, and then inviting everybody to the final banquet.

I am presenting the contributions in the order I have received them — however, multiple posts by the same author are grouped together. For each submission, I will give you the official information (author, blog name and post title) and a brief description that summarizes it — a tiny morsel that will entice you to follow the link and read the details.

Now, please, make yourself comfortable, then follow me on a journey of flavors, colors, traditions and culinary creativity. And at the end of the roundup, I will reveal the lucky winner of the event prizes.

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Janet of The Taste Space prepared Strawberry and Roasted Chickpea Salad with a Cinnamon Vinaigrette
“Strawberries confer sweetness, toasted almonds crunch with a hint of mint making this a much more complex salads. Serve overtop your favourite greens for a summer treat.”

and also Colombian-Style Red Beans with Plantains
“I will admit that I never came across this dish while in Colombia. Red beans, yes. Plantains, yes. Never together which is why I was intrigued to try out this recipe.”

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Priya Srinivasan of Enveetu Kitchen shares with us Paruppu Keerai/Purslane Leaves Sambhar
The humble and healthy purslane “can be cooked with various dal to give a different taste, so you don’t get bored eating the same thing again and again.”

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Madhu of The Melting Pot cooked Spinach Adai / Spicy Spinach Crepes
Split chickpeas, yellow pigeon pea, brown rice, baby spinach, fresh coconut and spices makes a pretty-colored batter that is cooked into crepes.

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Lisa of Lisa’s Kitchen prepared Tarka Dal with Tomatoes and Spices
“Tarka dal is actually a generic term for any cooked dal tempered with a final addition of seeds and spices fried in hot oil or ghee— the tarka — to give it a simple but elegant finish.”

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Vishakha of Sublime Palate shares with us Creamy Black lentils/ Dal Makhani
This is a quick to make, healthier version of Dal Mahkhani, which is still as creamy as the one served in restaurants.

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Ivy of Kopiaste to Greek Hospitality prepared Greek Fava and Bulgur Pie or Fava Fritters with Lemon Minted Yoghurt
“Greek fava (lathyrus clymenum) looks like yellow split peas, but is much tastier and is produced in various parts of Greece.  The most popular one is produced on Santorini Island…”

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Siri of Cooking with Siri shares with us Kerala Style Yellow Dal
“When I absolutely run out of ideas for our supper or when I am depressed/sad, I automatically go for a bowl of dal (preferably yellow) and rice. It makes me happy from deep within…”

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Denny of Oh Taste n See presents four recipes

Almond Energy Blast
A “life saver smoothie… creamy and delicious and at the same time filling and nutritious. Take only a few minutes to whip up together.”

Microwave Masala Peanuts
“It is so relieving to make a crunchy, munchy snack that involves no work by the stove. It is a super quick and easy recipe and I am happy with the outcome.”

Celery White Bean Soup
Cannellini beans “have become my all-time favorite choice for thickening soups, without the use of cream.”

Peanut Butter Thumbprint Cookies
“There are a few things that makes the weekend a satisfying affair for me – and baking is on the top of my list.”

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Sowjanya of Ruchikacooks prepared Quinoa Pongal with Kathrikkai Rasavangi
Quinoa with lentils served with spicy eggplants and lentils sauce: “quite an unusual combination,” but very tasty and easy.

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Archana of The Mad Scientist’s Kitchen shares with us Mooga Gathi
“Come the month of Shravan this is going to feature quite a bit in Goan homes for not only is moong easy to digest and people do not eat fish, chicken etc.”

and also Peanut, Onion and Coconut Chutney
“One Saturday evening I made dosa but to make the chutney I ran short of coconut and green chillies. So I made this chutney. The chutney was in great demand…”

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Brii of Briggishome prepared Borlotti Bean Salad with Tuna, Onion and Mint
“When I’m particularly lucky, nobody shows up for dinner! So I set the table for me alone, in front of the dying sun over our beautiful lake.”

and also a Bean & Turkey Salad
“The weather has been so hot almost every day that the only thing we manage to eat (and me to “cook”) is salads, salads and again salads. This is another idea to use beans.”

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Heather of girlichef made Oaxacan-Style Peanuts w/ Chile & Garlic
 “Why not make a big batch and bring them along next time you’re spending a hot day relaxing around the pool with people you like.”

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Susan of The Well-Seasoned Cook prepared Fava Bean Couscous Timbale Salas with Tahini Dressing
“The meaty, dark maroon fava bean is the best variety for this recipe since its robust color and texture complement the large pearl couscous for a stylish meal.”

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Madhu of Paricash Kitchen contributed 11 dishes, from salad to pancake to dessert and more. I am presenting them in three slide sets. Within each set, the posts are listed left to right (click on a thumbnail to enlarge):

1. Bengal Gram and Whole Black Gram Gravy: very easy, healthy and quick
2. Kidney Bean Salad: with onion, tomato and dressing
3. Side Dish with Sprouted Black Chana: “Enjoy with prantha or roti or simply as it is.”
4. Rajma Parantha (Kidney Bean Pancake): a good use for leftover Rajma/Kidney beans

1. Chatpate Rajma (Kidney Bean Gravy): this bean is “packed with nutrition, so please pamper it while preparing it.”
2. Chana Daal Parantha (Bengal Gram Pancake): “Sometimes I make more lentils so that with the leftovers I can make parantha in the morning.”
3. Moong Daal Kheer/Payasam (Mung Bean Sweet Dish): a south Indian Keralan dish

1. Moong Daal Kheer/Payasam: full of nutrition and tasty
2. Whole Black Masoor Lentil Pancake: “Lentils are such a breeze to make. You do not need to grind or prepare so much for them.”
3. Sambhar: This “combo of idli and sambhar is so filling that you can serve it any time of the day.”
4. Kidney Bean, Paneer Cutlet: a very famous chat food

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Usha of MySpicyKitchen contributed a selection of five dishes

Baked Falafel
“Apart from baking instead of deep frying, the other reason I liked the recipe is, the preparation for the falafel can be made up to a day in advance.”

Baked Chana Dal & Mung Dal
“I soaked the dal for 4 hours, cooked it little water for 2-3 minutes, drained it and baked for 20 minutes. It turned out crunchy & crispy, almost like deep fried dal.”

Baked Spicy Peanuts
“Throw in any spices you like to this recipe and you can not go wrong. Substitution of garam masala with chaat masala is a one variation.”

Chikkudu Annam ~ Valor Lilva (Indian Beans) Rice
“Indian broad beans are chikkudu kaya in Telugu and valor in Hindi. For this rice, shelled Indian broad beans are used.”

Rajma or Kidney Beans Rice
“A simple rice preparation which I usually serve with riata or some spicy gravy/curry.”

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Johanna of Green Gourmet Giraffe prepared Chickpea Pizza Base
“Of all the gluten free flours I have tried, chickpea flour (or besan or gram flour) has been the most reliable.  In fact, if I had to choose just one gf flour to stock, I think this would be it.”

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Simona of briciole, your host for this edition, shared Bean, Chicken and Egg Pasta Soup
“There is no wrong that a good homemade chicken soup can’t right. And even without a wrong to make right, a steaming bowl of chicken soup brings a smile to the steamed face.”

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And now the announcement of the winner of 500 Cupcakes: The Only Cupcake Compendium You’ll Ever Need by Fergal Connolly & Judith Fertig and the winner of a Hurst Bean Box (a case of six bags of the winner’s choice of Hurst Bean products). The random integer generator gave me the number 5. The 5th name in the list of participants to submit an entry (minus the host, her family and personal friends, and the organizer) was Ivy of Kopiaste to Greek Hospitality. Ivy being a resident of beautiful Greece, per the rules explained in the announcement, I used the random number generator again for the US residents and the program gave me the number 4. The 4th name in the list of participants who are US residents is Heather of girlichef. Congratulations to Ivy and Heather!

Thank you so much to all who participated and made this edition of MLLA a success!

I believe all the submissions I have received are presented in the roundup. However, mishaps are part of life, so if you find anything missing or in need of amendment anywhere in the roundup, please do let me know.

A beautiful set of legume-centered dishes awaits you. I am sure that you’ll be inspired by the recipes presented. Susan of The Well-Seasoned Cook is hosting My Legume Love Affair #50 and will be happy to receive your contribution(s) to the event. The deadline for submitting of your legume dish is August 31. You can always find out who is hosting on this page.

¹ A note about the title of my post: legumi che passione! is not the literal translation, but my personal rendition of the original My Legume Love Affair.