Green beans with coconut
Serves 4 as a side
Easy
Total time:
A wonderfully fragrant Sri Lankan side dish, straight from the kitchen of Kolamba restaurant in London. A homemade unroasted curry powder and plenty of fresh, grated coconut is the key
Skip to ingredients
- 1 clove, chopped garlic
- ¼ , finely chopped onion
- ½ a thumb-sized piece, finely chopped ginger
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- ground to make 1 tsp black peppercorns
- ½ green chilli
- grated to make 3 tbsp fresh coconut
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tsp black mustard seeds
- 2 (see notes below) curry leaves
- 5cm piece (optional, see notes below) pandan leaf
- 500g, cut into 3cm pieces green beans
- 1 tsp dried chilli flakes
- 1 tsp lime juice
UNROASTED CURRY POWDER
- 4 tbsp coriander seeds
- 2 tbsp cumin seeds
- 1 tbsp fennel seeds
- 1 stick cinnamon
- ½ tsp fenugreek seeds
- 2 dried curry leaves
Nutrition: per serving
- kcal135
- fat8.4g
- saturates3.9g
- carbs6.6g
- sugars4.8g
- fibre7.8g
- protein4.2g
- salt0g
Method
step 1
To make the curry powder, grind all of the ingredients with a pestle and mortar or spice grinder. This will make more than you’ll need but will keep in an airtight jar for a month.
step 2
For the coconut sambol, put 1/2 the garlic, onion, ginger and turmeric, plus all of the black pepper, green chilli and grated coconut, into a food processor and whizz until fine.
step 3
Heat the vegetable oil in a frying pan, add the mustard seeds and fry until they start to pop, then add the remaining onion, garlic and ginger, and the curry leaves, and stir.
step 4
Add 2 tbsp of the curry powder and the pandan leaf, if using. Stir in the beans, season and cook for 3-4 minutes or until just cooked.
step 5
Stir through the sambol, chilli flakes and lime juice, and serve.
