Red kidney bean curry reminds me of dahl, especially when you add fried cubes of eggplant. It’s creamy and full of flavour, and takes around half an hour to prepare. I opt to use tins of red kidney beans because that way you can decide to make it at 6.30pm rather than the night before. The other bonus is it’s cheap to make. So when you find yourself with little time, and a couple of tins to hand, this is a winner.
Georgia has been home for school holidays, which to my delight, meant she has spent quite a few evenings in the kitchen cooking. This is great because not only does it mean I don’t have to cook, but it creates variety that we didn’t know we needed. She has made many new things. This red kidney bean curry was a definite winner, taking out the dinner of the week award. Who knew we even had one of those!
Many years ago I used to make a very similar red kidney bean curry. It was just red kidney beans and for some reason, probably the age of the children and the fact that it was just beans, it was never received with the enthusiasm it deserved. This version is slightly different. For one, we added in the eggplant to make it more than just beans, which was a huge success. Secondly, half the beans are lightly mashed, which helps thicken the sauce, similar to what you do when you make pasta e fagioli.
It was so delicious, we didn’t have any leftovers, but I have it on good authority it freezes really well if you do. This blog is all about sharing family food and provides a way of keeping track of things we like to eat. This red bean and eggplant curry made it the blog. That’s how much I loved it. Thanks Georgia! Enjoy!
- 2 x 400 g tins red kidney beans, drained
- 1 medium red onion, finely chopped
- 2 medium tomatoes, roughly chopped
- 3cm piece fresh ginger, grated
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed
- 2 green chillies, roughly chopped
- 1 small bay leaf
- 3 cm long cinnamon stick
- 3 cardamon pods
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- ¼ cup milk
- 1 small eggplant, cubed
- Heat a couple of tablespoons of oil in a heavy based pot. When oil is medium hot, add the bay leaf, cinnamon stick, cardamon pods and cumin seeds, and fry for 1 minute.
- Add the chopped onion, and gently fry until the onion is translucent. Add the ginger, garlic and green chilli and fry for another minute or two.
- Add the chopped tomatoes and salt and cook until the tomatoes soften, 3-4 minutes. Add the cumin and coriander powder and mix well.
- Drain the kidney beans, and lightly mash one of the tins with a potato masher before adding to the pot. Add the kidney beans to the pot together with 1 cup of water. Stir well to mix the spices through the liquid.
- Gently simmer until the sauce thickens. It will also become darker in colour as it cooks. Check seasoning and add extra salt if needed.
- Whilst simmering, fry the chopped eggplant in a couple of tablespoons of oil, until they are cooked through and creamy in texture. Set aside.
- Once the beans are thickened, add the milk and cook for another couple of minutes. Add the eggplant and stir through the curry.
- Serve with basmati rice.
1 Comment
Good post, love this sharing so much, thank you!