Sunday, March 4, 2012

Green Bean with Onion Paste

We had bought plenty of fresh green beans from our favorite Amish market. DH chose Madhur Jaffrey's recipe for green beans with onion paste. This is a delicious but a bit time consuming recipe. The onion paste has to be cooked long enough for the raw smell to be completely gone.

I would have sauteed the onions, ginger and garlic before blending them but I was not cooking and DH is a stickler to recipes and this is how he chose to cook. If the onions, ginger and garlic are made into paste before cooking they tend to take a long time to cook, if they are chopped really fine they cook a lot faster. How you choose to do it your personal preference.



Green Beans with Onion Paste
Ingredients
1. 4 Cups of trimmed and cut into 1/2 inch pieces - Green Beans
2. 3/4 of a medium onion chopped
3. 4 garlic cloves chopped
4. 1 tomato chopped
5. 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
6. 3 tsp whole coriander seeds + 1 tsp cumin seeds, roast and then powder
7. seasonings: 1/4 tsp cumin seeds + 1/4 tsp mustard seeds
8. 2 tsp red chili powder (optional)
9. 2 whole red chilies + 2 green chilies slit
10. a handful of chopped coriander leaves
11. 1/2 tbsp lime juice
12. salt to taste
13. 1 tbsp of oil

Method
1. Blend the onion,ginger,garlic,tomato with turmeric powder to a smooth paste (do not add any water).
2. In a wide mouthed saute pan add 1/2 tbsp of oil and saute the paste till the raw smell is gone and when the paste sticks to the bottom add a tsp of water and continue to saute till oil separates or the raw smell completely disappears.
3. Add in the coriander cumin powders and mix it into to paste.
4. In another pan add a tsp of oil and add the seasonings and when the mustard starts to pop add the whole red chili and the slit green chilies.
5. Add the chopped green beans and saute for a minute.
6. Now add the sauteed onion paste and saute for a few more minutes.
7. Add salt and lime juice, cover and cook for 5-8 minutes till the beans are soft.
8. Add the chili powder when the beans are cooked and saute for a couple more minutes. Add in the coriander leaves and turn off the heat.

Serve with chapathis or with rice.

11 comments:

  1. What a novel way to cook beans! Must try this one out. Thanks.

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  2. I would saute the onions before blending them and I agree it takes a lot of time for the raw smell to disappear especially the ones that we get here. The Indian variety is not that pungent in my opinion so the recipe would have suited well.

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  3. Liked this version of green beans,onion paste with masalas make it different from the monotonous type of green beans.

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  4. Was going to say that "I fry the onion ...." and then saw it is DH's recipe. No questions then :)

    My sis-in-law makes a dish like this but she also grinds the beans after they are semi-cooked. It tastes delicious

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  5. Oh yeah! yet this demands some time, I am sure the curry would taste delicious as you say!!
    My husband would love this as he loves beans and there isnt the usual garam masala part involved with the onion base! will try soon!

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  6. The post title really caught my attention! I've never come across it before but from the picture and correlating it to some curries I've seen, I assume this is how they are made. I've some country beans with me and maybe I'll make this tomorrow. I'd better remember most of the recipe as I don't have a printer and there is a power cut in the mornings.

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  7. A little different way of cooking green beans than what I am used to. I got to try this out; sounds delicious.

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  8. A little different way of cooking green beans than what I am used to. I got to try this out; sounds delicious.

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  9. Indo,
    I also brought beans from the Dutch market perhaps the same weekend as you. I used to work near this place a while ago and I took my husband there for breakfast and shopping the weekend before last.
    I tried out this recipe, somehow I could never get the raw smell out of the paste but still it turned out great. Also added some sesame seeds powder and groundnut powder I had handy
    Have a nice day!

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