cook with the season

Fresh tomato and green bean curry

This recipe has been adapted from the Gujarati green bean curry in Laxmi Khurana’s An Indian Housewife’s Recipe Book, which I cook from often – it’s a fantastic cookbook featuring simple Indian family dishes. Laxmi’s recipe calls for defrosted frozen green beans, which is great when they’re out of season. But, while they’re at their best, I use fresh to add crunch – it’s a perfect main or part of a spread. I also add onion seeds and curry leaves for fragrance, and allium and mustard notes, along with the other spices. You can add a few tablespoons of freshly grated coconut with the green beans for an extra layer of flavour, if you like.

25 MINUTES | SERVES 4 | EASY

vegetable oil 4 tbsp
black mustard seeds¹/2 tsp
cumin seeds¹/2 tsp
curry leaves 4
black onion seeds¹/2 tsp
asafoetida¹/4 tsp
vine tomatoes 4 ripe, chopped
turmeric, ground coriander, ground cumin and chilli powder¹/2 tsp of each
green beans 350g, trimmed
cooked rice or dahl to serve

Heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium heat and, once hot, sizzle the mustard seeds, cumin