pinto beans
Medium-sized beige beans speckled with reddish brown, which turn an even pinkish brown when cooked and become creamy.
Caution: Dried pinto beans must be soaked and boiled hard for at least ten minutes, because raw or undercooked they contain lectins that cause illness.
Pinto beans are dried common beans that turn soft, floury and mildly nutty when cooked, and they thicken sauces slightly. Dried ones are sold in well-stocked supermarkets, health food shops, Turkish or Persian grocers and online, while canned ones are harder to find outside North America.
Substitute:
Borlotti beans come closest in flavour and texture, and red kidney beans also work, though they stay firmer and colour the dish darker.