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Green beans with coconut

Name: Green beans with coconut
Total time: 35 min
Ingredients: garlic 1 clove, chopped; onion ¼ , finely chopped; ginger ½ a thumb-sized piece, finely chopped; ground turmeric 1 tsp; black peppercorns ground to make 1 tsp; green chilli ½; fresh coconut grated to make 3 tbsp; vegetable oil 1 tbsp; black mustard seeds 1 tsp; curry leaves 2 (see notes below); pandan leaf 5cm piece (optional, see notes below); green beans 500g, cut into 3cm pieces; dried chilli flakes 1 tsp; lime juice 1 tsp; coriander seeds 4 tbsp; cumin seeds 2 tbsp; fennel seeds 1 tbsp; cinnamon 1 stick; fenugreek seeds ½ tsp; dried curry leaves 2

35 minutes
serves 4 as a side
Easy

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

By Aushi Meewella, Eroshan Meewella

Published: January 9, 2020 at 11:15 am

Read our review of Kolamba restaurant here.

Ingredients

garlic 1 clove, chopped
onion ¼ , finely chopped
ginger ½ a thumb-sized piece, finely chopped
ground turmeric 1 tsp
black peppercorns ground to make 1 tsp
green chilli ½
fresh coconut grated to make 3 tbsp
vegetable oil 1 tbsp
black mustard seeds 1 tsp
curry leaves 2 (see notes below)
pandan leaf 5cm piece (optional, see notes below)
green beans 500g, cut into 3cm pieces
dried chilli flakes 1 tsp
lime juice 1 tsp

UNROASTED CURRY POWDER

coriander seeds 4 tbsp
cumin seeds 2 tbsp
fennel seeds 1 tbsp
cinnamon 1 stick
fenugreek seeds ½ tsp
dried curry leaves 2

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.

Buy fresh curry leaves at Waitrose. Pandan leaf is used in Southeast Asian cooking to wrap fish or chicken, or to flavour stews, giving floral and vanilla-like notes. Available in Asian grocers or at thai-food-online.co.uk