Eat. . . Bean curry

Bean curry with yogurt. . .

. . . or without!

This is another curry taught to me and a group of workmates several years ago by a former colleague, "R". She was so generous to have us in her home week after week and patiently teach us how to cook some of her delicious curries and accompaniments. The aloo gobhi recipe in this blog post is one of her recipes too. This bean curry recipe is one of my favourites though, because if you use tinned beans it is super-quick, and in any case it uses only store cupboard ingredients and is always fragrantly delicious. I was struggling to think what to cook on Monday evening after work, when I looked in the pantry and saw several tins of beans and chickpeas. Instantly I knew that a bean curry was just what we needed, and it's pictured above! The curry's proper name is "Lobia," which is mildly amusing in our household, but you could just call it "Bean Curry"! Here's the recipe:

Lobia/ Bean Curry

Either 2.5 cups dried black-eyed beans, soaked overnight and then boiled

Or 3 tins various beans, chickpeas etc. The curry above was made with 1 tin each of chickpeas, 4 bean mix and cannelini beans

Generous splash of oil

9 garlic cloves, minced

2 inches grated ginger root or 2 generous spoonfuls minced ginger

2 tsps cumin seeds, crushed

2 cans chopped tomatoes

2 - 3 tsps salt

1/2 tsp chilli (or more to taste)

3-4 tsps ground coriander

1-2 tsps garam masala

Fry garlic and ginger in oil till really brown. Stir in beans and remaining ingredients. Bring to boil then simmer for approx 30 mins. Serve with basmati rice cooked with some cardamom pods, and an optional dollop of natural yogurt. 

Yum!