Potato, green bean, kidney bean curry

Whenever my son announces he wants to cook dinner I'm delighted because I know we'll be having great food. He doesn't use recipes in a conventional way or measure ingredients, so it's usually hard to pin him down on just what he's added; but this time he was inspired by a recipe from one of my favorite Indian cookbooks, and I grilled him on what he did, so I could share his interpretation of the recipe.

He started with "Spiced Green Beans" from Lord Krishna's Cuisine: The Art of Indian Vegetarian Cooking by Yamuna Devi and David Baird." With this recipe as inspiration, he changed spices and added ingredients to come up with a truly delicious main course dish.


Potato-green bean-kidney bean curry

• 1 – 2 tablespoons oil (or half oil and half Earth Balance margarine)
  
• 2 teaspoons black mustard seeds
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 12 ounces fresh green beans, stems trimmed
• 12 ounces canned chopped tomatoes in their juice
• 1/4 cup water
• 4 small potatoes, cubed and steamed until half cooked
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/4 teaspoon sugar
• handful chopped fresh cilantro
• salt to taste

1. Heat the oil and fry the cumin seeds and mustard seeds until the cumin seeds darken and the mustard pops and turns gray, about a minute.
2. Add the onion and saute until it softens, about a minute or two. Add the green beans and cook about 2–3 minutes.
3. Add the tomatoes and simmer about a minute.
4. Add the water, potatoes, turmeric and kidney beans, cover and simmer 10 minutes.
5. Add the sugar, some cilantro and salt to taste, cover and simmer about 10 minutes until the vegetables are cooked and the sauce reduces and thickens.
6. Garnish and serve with brown basmati rice.