Masala-Esque Black Bean Chicken Stew

It's soup season, and I am using my pressure cooker today for the first time in months. Since this method means much less cooking time, I was inspired when conjuring tonight's dinner to look a little further into my spice cabinet than I have been lately.
Tonight we're having a black bean and chicken thigh soup with lots of onion and garlic, as well as green bell pepper and eggplant. I got the notion to use some ginger and then came cumin, bay leaf and sambhar masala. The latter is a spice blend of coriander, cumin, chilli, Bengal Gram, Black Gram, Pigeon Pea (seemingly a type of lentil or dal), fenugreek, rice common salt, curry leaf, tamarind, turmeric, cassia and asofoetida. That's a lot of spices right there--some of the more bitter variety, which means we're fighting inflammation, supporting liver detoxification/biotransformation and preventing cancer with our soup spoons tonight, baby! Yeah! In all honesty, I did not buy this. I think my mother-in-law bought it and made us a particularly wonderful soup with it when she was here visiting once upon a time. Works for me!

As the temps fall outside, we have to think about keeping the temperature and heat of our foods up. In my own attempts to improve my digestion, this is my task lately. No more cold stuff. Gone are the sweet potato-berry smoothies and ice-cold mineral water-tea spritzers (my favorite!)  and raw veggies. In come the soups, cooked veggies, hot cereals, warming spices and teas. The asofoetida in the Sambhar Masala is particularly good for digestion, which is what compelled me to start using it in my cooking. Asofoetida, or hing, as it is known is an East Indian herb, used commonly in the medical science and tradition of Ayurveda.

Masala-Esque Black Bean Chicken Stew
4-boneless, skinless chicken thighs, preferably local organic free-range
2 cups black beans, previously soaked overnight
1 medium red onion coursely chopped
Several cloves of fresh garlic, peeled and whole
1 large bay leaf
1 tsp freshly grated ginger (or a 1 suare inch piece)
1 TBSP ground cumin
1 tsp Sambhar Masala (optional)
3 diced bell peppers (any color will do)
1 medium eggplant, chopped into bitesize pieces

Combine all of this,with just enough water to cover the beans by about an inch, and start your pressure cooker. From the time that pressure is sufficient, cook time is about 30 minutes. Add sea salt to taste after cooking. I use Real Salt, which can bought bagged or in bulk. I encourage you to try for all organic ingredients. Remember that organic is not only better for us via reduced pesticides and increased nutrients, particularly antioxidants, it's good for the Earth. And what's good for the Earth is good for us!

By the way, this recipe was SOUPER easy, and my family loved it! Here's to easy, flavor-packed and healthy dinners, all in one pot. Enjoy!