6
Ingredients
- 400 g dried red or brown beans
- 400 g rice
- 2 onions, sliced
- 2 tomatoes, crushed
- 3 tbsp red palm oil (or neutral oil)
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 bay leaf
- Salt
- Water
Method
- 01 Soak the beans overnight, drain, then cook 50–60 minutes with the bay leaf until tender. Salt at the end.
- 02 Sweat onions and garlic in oil, add tomatoes and reduce 8 minutes.
- 03 Add drained beans (keep a little cooking water) and rinsed rice.
- 04 Add water to cover (about 1.5× the rice volume), stir, bring to a boil.
- 05 Lower the heat, cover and cook 18–20 minutes without stirring until absorbed.
- 06 Rest 5 minutes covered, then fluff with a fork. Adjust salt.
Loso na madesu (“rice and beans”) is a simple everyday plate: less saucy than madesu alone, more filling than plain rice. Cook the beans ahead to speed things up.
In the same spirit
Other recipes close by territory or by gesture.
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Madesu
Madesu recipe: tender beans simmered with tomato, onion and red palm oil—everyday Congolese comfort food from the DRC.
20 min + 8 h soaking prep · 1 h 30 cook
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Saka-madesu
Saka-madesu recipe: cassava leaves (pondu) and beans simmered together in palm oil—classic Western DRC pairing.
30 min + 8 h soaking prep · 2 h cook
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Loso with green peas
Rice with green peas cooked in an aromatic broth—simple, colorful and made for sharing.
15 min prep · 30 min cook