EASY BEAN CURRY

Today I've had fun in the kitchen trying out a few new recipes! I'm running a Healthy Curry Workshop for the lovely students at Glasgow University this week and was looking for a warming, nourishing, filling, quick and easy bean curry and this one fits the bill perfectly!

I'm a big fan of all kinds of beans, they literally support every system in the body, they are cheap, versatile and filling. I always have a stock of tinned beans in my cupboard. This particular curry is great for using up any kind of tinned beans but I used kidney beans and Rosecoco beans, which I discovered recently. They are a cross between kidney and borlotti beans and I love them!

There are lots of great ingredients in this dish, chilli, garlic, ginger, onions, coriander, tomatoes and spinach will all give your immune system a boost, which is a must at this time of year when coughs and colds are doing the rounds!

This recipe would be a great mid week dinner served with some brown basmati rice and naan bread and some steamed greens if you wanted to up the nutritional benefits! You could also add other veggies like chopped peppers, celery or aubergine but then you would have more chopping to do!

It literally takes 30 minutes to cook and 10 minutes to prepare.
I'm serving mine with basmati and wild rice and homemade organic spelt flatbreads, which I also made today. I will post the recipe later this week.
So without further ado, here is the recipe! Enjoy!!

INGREDIENTS
2 tins beans, kidney, borlotti, rosecoco
2 tablespoons rapeseed oil or coconut oil
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon black or brown mustard seeds
1 level teaspoon sea salt
1 large onion, chopped
1 medium carrot, diced fairly small
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 inch piece of root ginger, grated or finely chopped
1 or 2 green chillies, finely chopped (depending how hot you like it!)
2 tablespoons curry paste ( I used Madras but any will do)
I tin chopped tomatoes
2 tablespoons tomato puree
1 cup (250ml) water
Few handfuls spinach (optional)
Fresh coriander to garnish

METHOD
1. Heat the oil in a large pan and fry the cumin and mustard seeds for a few minutes until they start popping! Add the onion, garlic, ginger and chillies and cook over a low heat, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes, until the onion has softened.
2. Stir in the curry paste and cook for 2 or 3 minutes more stirring all the time. 
3. Add the tomatoes, tomato puree, salt, water and the chopped carrot, mix well and simmer for 5 minutes.
4. Add the drained beans, mix well, cover and simmer for 30 minutes, until the sauce thickens.
5. Stir in the spinach for the last few minutes, then add the chopped coriander.

.                      .....your health in your hands.....