Kidney Beans with Green Peas and a Creamy Yogurt Sauce

Considering I have so many cookbooks and bookmarked recipes from other bloggers, it's rather perplexing to think that sometimes I don't know what to make for dinner. When this happens, I often find myself turning to Raghavan Iyer's excellent 660 Curries. My regular readers will know that I have raved about this book before, so I will simply share this adapted version without further ado.

Kidney Beans with Green Peas and a Creamy Yogurt Sauce

Recipe by Lisa Turner Adapted from 660 Curries Cuisine: Indian Published on August 23, 2011 A rich, earthy and flavorful spice red kidney bean curry with yogurt and sweet green peas Preparation: 15 minutes Cooking time: 20 minutes Print this recipe Ingredients: 3/4 cup dried red kidney beans (2 1/4 cups cooked or 1 19 oz can) 2 teaspoons coriander seeds 1 1/2 teaspoons cumin seeds 1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns 1/2 teaspoon fenugreek seeds handful of dried or fresh curry leaves 2-inch fresh ginger, minced or grated 2 to 3 fresh green chilies, seeded and chopped 2 tablespoons butter or ghee 1 cup water 2 cups frozen peas 1 teaspoon sea salt 1/2 cup yogurt 1/2 cup heavy cream 2 teaspoons chickpea flour (besan) Instructions: Rinse the beans and soak overnight covered in several inches of water. Drain and rinse, and add to a medium saucepan. Cover with several inches of fresh water, bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, and cover and simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until the beans are buttery soft. Drain and set aside. Meanwhile, combine and crush the coriander seeds, cumin seeds, curry leaves, ginger and hot chilies in a mortar and pestle. Heat the butter or ghee in a medium or large saucepan over medium heat. Add the crushed spice mixture, and stir and fry for a minute. Stir in the cooked kidney beans, and then add the cup of water, along with the sea salt and the frozen peas. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer for roughly 5 minutes uncovered. Meanwhile, combine the yogurt, cream and chickpea flour in a small bowl with a few tablespoons of water. Add this to the kidney beans, stir and simmer for another 10 minutes or so, uncovered, to thicken and blend the flavours. Makes 4 to 6 servings

More kidney bean curries from Lisa's Vegetarian Kitchen:
Spicy Kidney Beans with Tomato and Yogurt Sauce
Kidney Beans in a Slowly Simmered Tomato Sauce
Curried Red Kidney Beans with Paneer Cheese
Mint and Potato Rajma