Friday, February 27, 2009

Red Kidney Bean Curry



I figured I would throw this recipe in here, as proof that I’m good for other things besides baking. This was a very easy recipe, but very rewarding. I adapted it from Smitten Kitchen. It serves between 4 and 6 people, depending on your appetite (it was 5 servings for us). Also, we used dried beans that I soaked, cooked and rinsed, so that limits gas that could occur with canned beans. This recipe has the perfect amount of spice for me, but then again, I don’t really like spicy foods, so feel free to add a chili pepper, hot sauce or more cayenne pepper.

Red Kidney Bean Curry

1/3 cup of extra-virgin olive oil (it seems like a lot, but it helps mix the spices)
4 tbsp of finely chopped fresh ginger
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 medium onion, finely chopped
8 oz can of tomato sauce
1 tsp of salt
1 tsp of ground cumin
1 tsp of ground coriander
½ tsp of cumin seeds
½ tsp of ground turmeric
1 pinch of savory (optional)
1 pinch of cayenne pepper
1 tomato, diced
3 cups boiled red kidney beans (or a 30 oz can, drained and rinsed)
1 1/3 cup of water
½ cup of chopped fresh cilantro


Heat the oil in a deep sauce pan over medium heat for one minute. Add the ginger, garlic and onion and let sizzle for one minute.


Add the tomato sauce, salt and remaining spices and cook for an additional five minutes, stirring frequently.


Add the kidney beans, water and tomato.


Bring it to a boil, then reduce to medium heat and let cook uncovered for 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Garnish with cilantro.

Serve with a dollop of plain yogurt and naan bread.

You’ll notice in my picture that there are three green blobs in my plate. Since the Metro grocery store nearest us sucks, it didn’t have fresh cilantro and we used some that comes in a tube. It’s still good, and once it was mixed with the food, it looked like chopped fresh cilantro normally would. And this dish was delicious!

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