Wild Garlic and White Bean Curry
Love curry, but tired of the same old Asian takeout menu? This recipe for wild garlic and white bean curry gives the ancient dish a healthy twist. First, head to the spice market for coriander, mustard seed, cardamom and chili to make the fragrant base. Wild garlic, cannellini beans and fresh curry leaves simmer in the bubbling sauce for a main dish that really heats things up.
Recipe from My Favorite Ingredients by Skye Gyngell/Ten Speed Press, 2010.
INGREDIENTS
1 cup dried cannellini beans, cooked 6 kaffir lime leaves
1 teaspoon vegetable oil Small handful of cilantro roots, washed and minced
2 red onions, peeled and finely sliced 4 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
1 1/2 teaspoons coriander seeds 2 tablespoons jaggery (or cane sugar)
1 teaspoon yellow mustard seeds Juice of 2 limes
1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds 3 tablespoons fish sauce
Seeds from 5 cardamom pods 2 12-ounce cans good quality peeled plum tomatoes
3 fresh red chiles (or more if you like heat), sliced (seeded if you prefer less heat) Generous 3/4 cup coconut milk
12 fresh curry leaves 10 ounces wild garlic leaves
Yield: 6 Servings
DIRECTIONS
1
Heat the oil in a large heavy pan over medium-low heat and sweat the onions until soft and translucent.
2
In a separate pan, warm all the spice seeds until they release their fragrance and just begin to jump in the pan. Tip into a mortar and grind with the pestle while still warm
.
3
Add the warm ground spices to the softened onions along with the chiles, curry leaves, lime leaves, and minced cilantro root. Cook for another 5 minutes over fairly low heat, then add the crushed garlic, jaggery, lime juice, and fish sauce. Stir well and cook for 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, stir well, and cook for another 10 minutes, then add the cooked dried beans and coconut milk. Cook gently for 10 to 15 minutes. While the curry is cooking, wash the wild garlic very well, picking over each leaf thoroughly for they can carry little stones.
4
A couple of minutes before serving the curry, add the wild garlic and cook until it is just wilted and soft. Don’t overcook it—wild garlic should be bright and vibrant. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary. This curry should be soft, fragrant, gently sweet, sharp, and salty, with just enough heat to warm you…
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