This recipe is pretty much everything I usually try and avoid. It involves coconut oil, and a slightly obscure type of bean that - even worse - will require soaking in advance I'm afraid. All that said, it's a great dish to make once and then freeze. As with most beans, these are the gift that keeps on giving.
Also called black lentils, or urad beans, these little pulses can be found in any shop selling asian ingredients - in particular those selling rice, pulses and spices in bulk. I've used coconut oil and creamed coconut (found in most supermarkets in blocks) to give this curry a more authentic creamy texture that balances out the spice, but feel free to omit if you don't like the taste (for the record, coconut oil is one of the most overhyped ingredients of the 21st century!).
What's the A to V?
Urid beans are a great source of non-heam iron, and rich in several of the B vitamins, notably vitamin B1, B3 and folate (B9). As you might expect, they're also a great source of fibre, protein, and the usual pulse suspects, including magnesium and phosphorus. Serve with rice for some extra B-vitamins.
Ingredients (serves 4):
1onion, halved then finely sliced into crescent moons
400g tinned tomatoes
125g of urid beans
1.5 tbsps of vegetable or coconut oil
3 cloves of garlic, chopped into rounds
2 red chillis, deseeded and finely sliced
A knob of ginger (roughly 3 cm), peeled
3 cardamon pods, split open for the seedy bits inside
1 tsp of cumin
1 tsp of turmeric
2 tsp of garam masala
1.5 tbsps of creamed coconut
3 handfuls of spinach
A generous handful of coriander, and yogurt to serve
Method
Place your beans in a bowl, cover with water, and leave to soak for at least 24 hours.
Once the interminable long-term planning has come to fruition (sorry), heat your oil in a thick bottomed pan, and then add your onion and a pinch of salt. Once these are translucent and starting to brown, add your garlic, your beans, and the chill and spices (except the ginger) to the pan. Stir well, and cook for another 3 minutes or so.
Pour in your tomatoes, add another pinch of salt, and stir. Fill about three quarters of your empty tomato tin with water, and add to the pan. Then turn down the heat, half cover with a lid, and leave to cook for 30-40 minutes stirring every so often to make sure it doesn't stick too much.
Add your spinach to the pan, grating your ginger on top as you go. Stir everything well, and removing the lid cook for a further 5-10 minutes.
With about 5 minutes to go (cook for even longer if you want the bans to be REALLY soft - I like a bit of bite), add your creamed coconut. This will rapidly melt into the curry.
Serve with coriander, yogurt, and rice.