Green Bean, Tomato & Coconut Curry

Green Bean, Tomato & Coconut Curry is full of spicy flavour.

The creamy coconut milk in the sauce is balanced by tomatoes and a final squeeze of lime. Use fresh or frozen green beans of any kind in this easy, completely plant-based curry.

This curry is based on a classic Sri Lankan dish of green beans and coconut milk, but with my own twist.

While I love anything coconutty, on its own the rich milk can be a little too cloying in savoury dishes. So, in my version, there’s also tinned tomatoes which I think add some balancing acidity.

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The Beans

For the green beans in my Green Bean, Tomato & Coconut Curry you can use any type you like, or a combination.The curry in the photographs has a mix of runner beans and regular green beans.

The runner beans are from my garden. But, as there weren’t enough ready to pick, I added some frozen green beans. Like peas, good quality beans are a convenient freezer standby. I prefer to only buy them when they’re British though, to try and keep the food miles down.

For fresh beans, I prefer to part cook them by steaming or boiling before adding to the almost-finished curry. Put them raw straight into the curry and you can be waiting ages for them to get tender.

Frozen beans should need barely any pre-cooking.  I just put them in a colander and run hot water over before adding to the simmering curry for the final few minutes.

Easy Green Bean, Tomato & Coconut Curry

The method for this curry is really easy. Firstly, you soften onions and the other aromatics (garlic, ginger, chillies) until they’re starting to soften and brown nicely.

Then it’s in with some whole spices (mustard and cumin seeds) and a handful of curry leaves (I use dried ones).

After a couple of minutes, the seeds will be fizzing and popping away so then you can put in the tomatoes, a bit of water and some ground spices (garam masala, coriander, fenugreek, turmeric). Once it’s all bubbling away you can just leave it until reduced and thick. This’ll probably take around twenty minutes.

Some coconut milk goes in next, shortly followed by the green beans. When the beans are cooked to your liking, that’s it. All that’s left to do then is check the seasoning, add a squirt of lime and some freshly chopped coriander.

SERVING THE CURRY

You could serve Green Bean, Tomato & Coconut Curry with rice or cauliflower rice. A coconut-flavoured rice seems the obvious choice.

But I often have flatbread instead. That’s because I like to dip into and scoop up the spicy, creamy sauce and tender beans.

If you haven’t tried my Socca flatbread, made with chickpea flour and fried like a pancake, then you really should. They’re much lighter than regular flatbreads and incredibly tasty.

I cooked the ones here in coconut oil and livened up the batter with chopped coriander, dried chilli flakes and garlic granules. For me, these were the perfect accompaniment to the curry.

I also like a bit of raw vegetable with my curries; partly for nutrition, partly for crunchy texture, but mainly to add interest and variety to a plate.

To go with this curry, I made a simple salad of julienned carrot, a little finely shredded red and white cabbage, sliced onion and desiccated coconut. After seasoning with salt and a teeny bit of chilli powder I squeezed over half a lime and put the bowl in the fridge for the flavours to meld and the coconut to soak up the lime juice. Just before serving I stirred in chopped coriander.

Eaten as a main course for two, Green Bean, Tomato & Coconut Curry will provide each person with at least FOUR portions of vegetables. And that’s without any additional salads.

Of course you could eat this curry alongside other dishes or as a side. You could also add protein by including cooked lentils or other pulses, meat or fish.

Easy, satisfying, economical and warmly spicy: Green Bean, Tomato & Coconut Curry.

5 from 2 votes

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Green Bean, Tomato & Coconut Curry

Green Bean, Tomato & Coconut Curry is full of spicy flavour. The creamy coconut milk in the sauce is balanced by tomatoes and a final squeeze of lime. Use fresh or frozen green beans of any kind in this easy, completely plant-based curry.

Course Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine Vegetarian, Vegan, plant-based, South Asian inspired

Keyword curry

Prep Time 25 minutes

Cook Time 50 minutes

Servings 2 generously

Author Moorlands Eater

Ingredients

• 300 g green beans (French/dwarf/runner) Topped & tailed (& sliced if runner beans)
• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 2 medium onions halved and sliced
• 5 cloves garlic finely grated or chopped
• 2 cm ginger finely grated or chopped
• 2 red or green chillies deseeded & finely chopped
• 2 tsp cumin seeds
• 2 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 small handful curry leaves
• 400 g tinned chopped tomatoes
• 1 tbsp tomato puree
• 1-2 tsp sugar optional
• 250 ml water
• 3 tsp garam masala
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 2 tsp ground fenugreek
• 1 tsp turmeric
• salt & pepper to taste
• 200 ml coconut milk
• 1 lime juice only
• 2 tbsp coriander leaf roughly chopped
• 0.5 tbsp desiccated coconut

Instructions

1. Boil or steam the beans until almost cooked.

   Drain and cool under a tap. Drain again then set aside.

2. In a large saute or frying pan, heat the coconut oil.

   Add the onion and cook, stirring often, until it's starting to soften & brown (10-15 min)

3. Stir in the garlic, ginger and chilli then cook for 2-3 min more.

4. Add the cumin and mustard seeds plus the curry leaves and cook until the seeds start to fizzle and pop (2-3 min).

5. Stir in the chopped tomatoes, the tomato puree, the sugar if using, the water, 2 tsp of the garam masala, the ground coriander, fenugreek and turmeric. Season with salt and pepper.

6. Bring to the boil then reduce to a simmer. Cook until you have a thick, rich sauce (approx 20 min).

7. Stir in the coconut milk and simmer for 5 minutes.

8. Add the green beans and simmer until tender and the sauce is reduced to your liking.

9. Add the remaining 1 tsp of garam masala plus more salt or sugar if needed.

10. Take off the heat and stir in the lime juice and chopped coriander.

    Serve sprinkled with the desiccated coconut.

Recipe Notes

• Frozen green beans will not usually require cooking in advance. Putting in a colander and pouring boiling water over them before adding to the curry base should be sufficient.
• Serve the curry with a simple crunchy salad (e.g. carrot, desiccated coconut with a squeeze of lime juice and some coconut rice, cauliflower rice, or flatbread. I recommend my Socca chickpea flour flatbread: add some chopped coriander, garlic granules & chilli flakes to the batter and fry them like pancakes in coconut oil.

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