B4U Recipes - Legume Yogurt Curry

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Legume Yogurt Curry

1/2 c. white pea (navy) beans
1/2 c. lentils
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
3 cloves garlic, peeled
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh ginger
1/2 cup fresh cilantro (coriander) leaves or mint leaves
1 teaspoon ground tumeric
1 1/2 tsp. garam masala (see below)
1 1/2 teaspoon salt (or to taste, I used 1 tsp.)
1/2 tsp. chili powder, optional (see below)
1/2 cup nonfat yogurt
2 large ripe tomatoes (I used 4 small ones).
extra cilantro or mint leaves to garnish.

Directions ::..

Rinse and soak beans and lentils and cook them together. (I used my 1 quart sized “crockette” and cooked them overnight on low). Otherwise cook as per package directions for

beans.

Into blender or food processor put onion, garlic, ginger, fresh cilantro (or mint) leaves. Blend to a smooth paste. At this point it is is a delightful green color.

Put a small amount of water in a non-stick skillet or pan (at least a 12 inch skillet). Fry blended mixture for 5 minute, stirring around and adding water as necessary to prevent sticking. Use liquid from beans if there is excess.

Add tumeric, garam masala, chili powder and fry a further minute. It turn an interesting yellow-green. Use your wooden spoon specially designated for dishes containing turmeric (you do have one don’t you?) unless you want your plastic utensils to be stained yellow. Don’t put the spoon on your countertop.

Stir in yogurt, a spoonful at a time, and tomatoes, fry until most of liquid dries up.

Add beans and lentils, stir and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook for 30 minutes, at which point it should be a thick sludge (be careful in last 10 minutes not to burn).

Serve over rice.

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Chili Powder — I never have any, so I use some combination of cayenne pepper, cumin, and paprika. For this dish 1/2 tsp. of cayenne and 1/2 tsp of cumin makes it reasonably spicy. Use less cayenne and more paprika if you want less spice.

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Garam Masala — is available in Indian food stores and is used in lots of dishes. Here is one recipe — 4 T coriander seeds, 2 T cummin seed, 1 T whole black peppercorns, 2 teaspoons cardomon seeds, 4×7.5 cm cinnamon sticks, 1 tsp whole cloves, 1 whole nutmeg. Roast each spice except nutmeg individually in a small pan until fragrant. After cooling, grind to a fine powder in blender or mortar. Finely grate nutmeg and mix in. Store in airtight jar. (I bought mine).

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This was originally chicken and yogurt curry and I replaced the chicken with beans and lentils. The white beans make a good contrast with the sauce and the lentils sort of disintegrate and blend in. The recipe is adapted from “The Complete Asian Cookbook” by C. Solomon.