As a kid, beans were always a meh vegetable for me. Okay to be more accurate, that was the case for most vegetables in my life. Which sane kid loved vegetables anyway, eh?

But leaving home and living away from ammi’s kitchen made me crave all the food that I never appreciated as a kid – beans included! It also helped that my better half is a big fan of beans (apart from beets) and it is also a snap to make. This recipe is inspired by my lovely mother in law who made this for us when she visited us last and it has stuck with me since. I love my beans to be green, lightly flavored and still slightly crunchy.

Here’s the recipe for this quick and easy dish which pairs with almost any Lankan rice and curry meal.

Ingredient

• 250g of beans
• 4-5 cloves of garlic, finely sliced
• 2-3 small red onions, finely sliced (or 1 medium onion)
• 2 green chilies, finely chopped
• 1 small tomato, chopped
• Sprig of curry leaves
• Chili flakes, cumin seeds, coriander powder & salt to taste
• Maldive fish (optional)
• Abit of water

How to:

1. Clean the beans by snipping off one end of the bean and pulling out the stringy part andthen washing well
2. Slice beans to a slightly angled shape. I find slicing beans in this way as opposed to baton shapes cooks the beans faster and ensure they remain green. Plus it also helps the beans to absorb the flavors of the spices better.
3. Lightly season the sliced beans with salt, chili flakes and coriander powder. It is important to keep the seasoning to a minimum so that you can really taste the beans and not overpower it with the taste of the spices alone. You could also vary the spices to suit your taste. Cumin, coriander and chili are my preference to this dish.
4. Heat up oil in a pan and add in the garlic, onions and curry leaves and sauté until the garlic and onions are slightly golden. I am in a use-red-onions-on-everything spree these days because the market near my house has peeled red onions and I was told by my health conscious FIL that red onions are better for you. But feel free to replace it with normal onions as I know peeling red onions can be a real pain.
5. Next add in the cumin seeds and the maldive fish if you are adding that.
6. Lastly mix in the seasoned beans. Stir fry for 2-3 minutes and add in the tomatoes. If tomatoes aren’t your thing, you could squeeze in abit of lime juice at the very end. 
7. Lower the heat, close the lid (add a bit of water too if needed) and let the beans cook with its own steam. But don’t cook for too long as it will over cook and discolor the beans.
8. Remove from heat once the beans are cooked to your preferred texture. In my case – well-cooked but ever so slightly crunchy and most importantly still vibrantly green.

This pairs well with almost any rice and curry dish. Here’s sharing some dishes that I have paired it with you for inspiration. Do follow me on Instagram if you’d like to follow my daily foodie adventures.

Rice, dahl curry, mukunuwenna mallum, red chicken curry & bean stir fry with papadam

 

kahabath, roast chicken curry, potato white curry, malay pickle, garden salad, boiled egg, bean stir fry and papadam