South Indian Green Beans (B)

October 28, 2006 at 5:59 pm (B_minus (2.5 stars), Indian, Madhur Jaffrey, Quick weeknight recipe, Summer recipes, Vegetable dishes)

This is a recipe from the cookbook From Curries to Kabobs: Recipes from the Indian Spice Trail by Madhur Jaffrey. She says that the seasonings here are typical of India’s southeastern coast.

Serves 4.

• 1 Tbs. salt plus 1/2 to 3/4 tsp.
• 12 ounces green beans, cut into 1-inch pieces
• oil
• 1/8 tsp. ground asafetida
• 1 tsp. whole mustard seeds
• 1/2 tsp. urad dal
• 2 dried, hot, red chilies
• 8 to 10 fresh curry leaves, if available
• 1 1/2 tsp lemon juice
• 1//4 to 1/2 tsp cayenne powder

Bring 2 quarts of water to a rolling boil. Add 1 Tbs. of salt and the beans. Boil rapidly for 4 minutes, or until the beans are cooked through. Drain, and if not serving straight away, rinse under cold running water and drain. Set aside.

Just before serving, pour the oil into a large frying pan and set over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, put in the asafetida, mustard seeds, urad dal, and chilies. As soon as the mustard seeds pop and the dal turns reddish, put in the curry leaves and then the beans. Turn off the heat. Toss the beans and mix well. Add the lemon juice, cayenne, and 1/2 to 3/4 of the remaining salt. Mix again. If the beans have not heated through, put them on very low heat until warmed through.

My Notes

This recipe, like many in this cookbook, has an error. She doesn’t include oil in the ingredient list. I used just a little. I steamed my beans rather than boiling them, left out the asafetida, and added more lemon juice. The dish was quite nice. The bright lemon flavors contrasted well with the dark roasted taste of the mustard seeds and urad dal. The curry leaves added their strong floral note. I’ll definitely try this again.

Rating: B