Pita pockets with Red Kidney Beans Recipe

By Rachel Hemraj
May 27, 2021

How This Helps

Pita bread is a soft-leavened flatbread traditionally made with wheat flour and yeast that puffs up when baked in a hot oven creating an internal pocket but collapses as soon as the bread cools down. This bread when cutting into half yields two crescent-shaped pockets that can be used to hold vegetables, cheese, hummus, meats, salads, etc. Pita pockets, in this particular recipe, have been made using whole wheat flour, on a hot griddle instead of the oven, and the stuffing is made using a variety of ingredients like beans and vegetables that help in keeping the blood sugar levels in check. Red kidney beans are an outstanding source of fiber and slow-digesting carbohydrates and a good source of lean protein, magnesium, and potassium.

Instructions

Approximate time: 45 minutes

Servings: 1

Ingredients:

For pita pockets

• ½ cup whole wheat flour

• ½ tsp fresh crumbled yeast

• ¼ tsp salt

For filling

• 1/8 cup soaked red kidney beans

• 1 spring onion (finely chopped)

• 1 clove crushed garlic

• ½ tomato (finely chopped)

• 1 tomato (sliced)

• 1/8 bell pepper (finely chopped)

• ¼ cup lettuce

• ¾ tsp cumin powder

• ¼ tsp black pepper powder

• 1/8 cup mint leaves

• 1/8 cup coriander leaves

• 1 green chilli

• 2tbsp dairy free yogurt

• Salt – to taste

• 1 tsp oil

Directions:

• Mix all the ingredients for pita pockets in a bowl and knead into a soft elastic dough using water.

• Cover with a wet cloth and allow it to prove in a warm place for 15-20 minutes or till it doubles in volume.

• In the meantime grind mint leaves, coriander leaves and green chilli to a fine paste. Add salt, ¼ teaspoon of cumin powder and yogurt. Mix well and keep aside.

• Put the kidney beans in a pressure cooker with water and a little salt and cook till they are slightly overcooked.

• Remove from the pressure cooker and drain out the excess water and grind the beans to a fine paste.

• Heat oil in a skillet and add garlic. Sauté for a few seconds and then add chopped tomato, spring onion, capsicum, kidney beans paste, salt, black pepper powder, and cumin powder. Cook on a medium flame till mixture dries up completely.

• Cool and divide the mixture into two equal portions and shape each portion into a cutlet. Keep aside.

• Return to the dough and check if it is ready. Once the dough has doubled its volume press it in the centre lightly to remove the air.

• Make a ball of the dough and roll it out into a circle of ¼” thickness.

• Cook on a hot griddle over medium heat until the bread puffs up and a cavity is created in the centre.

• Cut the bread into two halves and fill in each half with sliced tomatoes, lettuce, 1 bean cutlet, and a spoonful each of mint and coriander dressing on top.

• Serve immediately.

Science and Research

This recipe contains red beans, which are dubbed as a superfood by the American Diabetes Association. They are rich in soluble fiber and also contain many nutrients that decrease the spikes in blood glucose levels. In a study published in Diabetologia, the researchers showed that high-fiber pulses like kidney beans decrease blood sugar levels in the body.