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Potato and green bean curry(Sri Lankan, vegetarian).

Potato and green bean curry,

A Sri Lankan vegetable curry is perfect for your bowl of rice.

The beans and potato curry is a simple yet flavorful and creamy vegetarian curry, you can serve for all your meals.

A vegetable curry cooked in coconut milk. gluten-free, vegan, vegetarian.

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Potato and bean curry is another vegetarian dish you’ll find in a Sri Lankan meal.


Usually, these kinds of “kirata”(cooked in coconut milk dishes)are purposely kept creamy and milky to accompany all other spicy dishes in a rice and curry plate.

That doesn’t stop some of us from adding a few green chillies into the dish but you can certainly turn this curry to a very mildly spiced Sri Lankan vegetable dish to accommodate your taste buds.

How I cook this potato-bean curry.

As easy as the recipe sound, this green bean and potato curry needs a little extra tending to get it right.

Why?

because you’ve got two very different type of vegetables cooking in one pot, one is a root vegetable and takes a long time to cook while the other needs less than 20-30 minutes to get done.

Creamy potato-bean curry. a Sri Lankan vegetarian dish you can use for your meals. A vegetable curry cooked in coconut milk. gluten-free, vegan.

 

A vegetable curry recipe for all…

I know to some of you, dishing out a full course Sri Lankan meal with five or six dishes, is a breeze and you might find recipes like this vegetable curry in coconut milk basic.

But when I post such simple recipes, I usually have three kinds of readers in mind.

The first is an expert cook who knows what she/he is doing but needs a little inspiration for their”what do I cook today?”.

The second reader is a learner who visited Sri Lanka or can be a reader curious to know and learn everything there is about Sri Lankan food or loves to try new recipes.

The third is my favorite, and the reader I most relate to, whose young and starting life with her partner, who is now realizing, that it’s time to buckle up and learn some cooking skills.

If you are he/her then this is for you because I was once you, my terrible four will be you one day. I want them to learn and be proud of this amazing mix of cultures and their influence on the food we eat every day.

But before you begin, here’s a bit of advice where cooking is concerned(I find myself following the same advice to live life on my term as well).

“There’s no need to panic, you have all the time in the world to learn, you’ll probably burn a few pots of rice and make a few salty dishes that no human can consume.

You’ll probably throw away a few failed dishes unknown to your better half but that’s part of the learning process.

Go ahead make a few mistakes because it’s all part of you growing into who you’ll ultimately be.

Not perfect but you, your cooking will be uniquely you as well.

But if you still find yourself struggling, well then just head on over here and teach yourself to cook because I’ll make sure to add the basics to get you started and on a journey to be a better cook.

Creamy potato-bean curry. a Sri Lankan vegetarian dish you can use for your meals. A vegetable curry cooked in coconut milk. gluten-free, vegan.

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Creamy potato-bean curry. a Sri Lankan vegetarian dish you can use for your meals. A vegetable curry cooked in coconut milk. gluten-free, vegan.

 

About the vegetable curry recipe.

There are two ways to cook this dish,

The obvious way of cooking is to have both vegetables cooked together with the spices, pouring the coconut milk and leaving the curry to simmer until the cubed potatoes soften up to the right consistency.

If you are in a rush or just want to cook for your family a quick meal you can cook this way, ONCE IN A WHILE but I feel the beans will overcook by the time the potatoes begin to soften.

The second way of cooking the bean and potato curry recipe is how I usually make this Sri Lankan recipe which I recommend.

So we are going to get the potatoes tender first and add them to the bean curry so that the beans don’t overcook.

Utensils and appliances needed.
2 medium-sized pans.
Wooden spoon.
large bowl.

Workflow to make the vegetable curry.

Boil the potatoes and cut them to cubes.
Cook the bean curry.
Add the potatoes to the beans.
Add tempering.

 creamy potato and bean curry

(Sri Lankan, vegetarian).

Please make sure to read the recipe instructions carefully to avoid mistakes.

Ingredients

Ingredients mentioned below use standard measuring cups and spoons.

1 and 1/2 cup water

250g boiled potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-2 inch cubes

1 teaspoon turmeric

3 tablespoons of oil 

A handful of curry leaves

1 large onion, sliced thin

2-3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

3 Cardamom pods

2 green chillies, cut into required size 0r 1 teaspoon of chilli flecks

1/2 a teaspoon mustard seed

250g beans, cleaned and cut into required size

1 cup of Thick coconut milk

1 small piece of Cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon curry powder

Method


Boiling the potatoes.

To save time, you can simultaneously boil the potatoes while starting the first stages of making the potato and bean curry in two separate pots.

Start by placing the potatoes in a pan and pouring water just to cover them. Include a pinch of turmeric.

Gradually increase the heat so the water boils and cooks the potatoes until they are soft, 15-20minutes.

Use a toothpick or fork to check if they are cooked through. once they are tender, drain and set aside.

Cooking the bean and potato curry.

While the potatoes are boiling, place a separate cooking pan over medium heat.

Pour in the oil, then the curry leaves, garlic, green chillies, cinnamon and fry them for 2-3 minutes until the onion turn golden, finally add the mustard seed, stir with the other tempering ingredients and let them pop.

Add the beans and curry powder to the tempering ingredients and cook for another 2 minutes over low-medium heat.

Make sure the mustard seed is not burning as this will make the milk curry slightly bitter.

Pour in the coconut milk, season with salt and leave it to simmer over medium heat until gravy thickens.

By this time, the potatoes will be cooked.

While the beans are slow-simmering, run the potatoes through tap water, peel the skin, cut them into 1-2 inch and add them to the simmering bean milk curry.

Increase heat to bring the curry to a boil, making sure it doesn’t spill over, lower the heat and leave the curry to simmer for another 10 minutes, season with salt if necessary.

Serve warm with your favorite rice and curry dishes.

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Creamy potato-bean curry. a Sri Lankan vegetarian dish you can use for your meals. A vegetable curry cooked in coconut milk. gluten-free, vegan.

Creamy Potato-Bean curry(Sri Lankan, vegetarian).

Yield: 4
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes

CREAMY POTATO-BEAN CURRY. A SRI LANKAN VEGETARIAN DISH YOU CAN USE FOR YOUR MEALS.
A VEGETABLE CURRY COOKED IN COCONUT MILK.
GLUTEN-FREE, VEGAN, VEGETARIAN.

Ingredients

  • 1 and 1/2 cup water
  • 250g boiled potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-2 inch cubes
  • 1 teaspoon turmeric
  • 3 tablespoons of oil
  • A handful of curry leaves
  • 1 large onion, sliced thin
  • 2-3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 3 Cardamom pods
  • 2 green chillies, cut into required size 0r 1 teaspoon of chilli flecks
  • 1/2 a teaspoon mustard seed
  • 250g beans, cleaned and cut into required size
  • 1 cup of Thick coconut milk
  • 1 small piece of Cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon curry powder

Instructions

Boiling the potatoes.

  1. To save time, you can simultaneously boil the potatoes while starting the first stages of making the potato and bean curry in two separate pots.
  2. Start by placing the Potatoes in a pan and pouring water just to cover them. Include a pinch of turmeric.
  3. Gradually increase the heat so the water boils and cooks the potatoes until they are soft, 15-20minutes.
  4. Use a toothpick or fork to check if they are cooked through. once they are tender, drain and set aside.

Cooking the bean and potato curry.

  1. While the potatoes are boiling, place a separate cooking pan over medium heat.
  2. Pour in the oil, then the curry leaves, garlic, green chillies, cinnamon and fry them for 2-3 minutes until the onion turn golden, finally add the mustard seed, stir with the other tempering ingredients and let them pop.
  3. Add the beans and curry powder to the tempering ingredients and cook for another 2 minutes over low-medium heat.
  4. Make sure the mustard seed is not burning as this will make the milk curry slightly bitter.
  5. Pour in the coconut milk, season with salt and leave it to simmer over medium heat until gravy thickens.
  6. By this time, the potatoes will be cooked.
  7. While the beans are slow simmering, run the potatoes through tap water, peel the skin, cut them into 1-2 inch and add them to the simmering bean milk curry.
  8. Increase heat to bring the curry to a boil, making sure it doesn’t spill over, lower the heat and leave the curry to simmer for another 10 minutes, season with salt if necessary.

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Each recipe on this blog has been written with great care and love to the best of my ability with you in mind.
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Kris

Tuesday 14th of March 2023

When do you add in the cardamom pods?

jehan

Sunday 19th of March 2023

Hi Kris just add them with the cinnamon at the first stage of tempering of onions. Thank you for letting me know this detail is missing will proof read when time permits and make the adjustments regards J

Mr D F Hadfield

Friday 12th of February 2021

Very enjoyable thank you :-)

jehan

Friday 12th of February 2021

You are most welcome and thank you for trying out the recipe. Regards, J

Dana

Thursday 16th of April 2020

Hi there When do you add the water? Or is it just coconut milk?

jehan

Friday 17th of April 2020

Hi Dana, Thank you for your question, This recipe is was written some time back and I need to edit the recipe to make it a little bit more clear to anyone who is not familiar with Sri Lankan cooking. As for the water mentioned here, it is only used to boil the potatoes. The workflow would be, 1/Boiling the potatoes separately, then peeling and cutting them into cubes. 2/tempering ingredients. 3/adding the beans to the tempering. 4/cook for a few minutes 5/adding the coconut milk 6/adding the peeled and cubed potato to the curry and slow simmer. hope this is clearer, please do not hesitate to get in touch with me if you need more assistance. regards J

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