The bean curry is a very creamy and flavorful vegan gluten-free dish, ready in half an hour. A recipe that excellently combines legumes and vegetables, in this case cannellini beans (but you can also use chickpeas or lentils), and tomato sauce and spinach (but as we suggest at the end of the article, we can add any vegetables we prefer such as pumpkin, broccoli, or zucchini, taking into account both seasonality and our tastes and the foods we can or cannot eat). With the addition of coconut milk with its creamy consistency similar to cream, it creates a dish with a unique flavor that will be perfect for lunches and dinners with family or guests.
The preparation is very simple: sauté chopped garlic and onion with oil, add the spices and after 5 minutes the tomato puree and beans. Add hot water or broth and then the coconut milk. Let it simmer for a few minutes so that all the ingredients blend together, and finally add the spinach leaves or frozen ones and season with salt and, if you like, with the juice of half a lemon or lime.
To make this bean curry a unique and complete dish, we can accompany it with basmati rice, naan bread or other types of bread. You probably have all the ingredients needed to prepare this dish at home, at most you might be missing coconut milk, but it is easily available in any supermarket or online. We recommend buying it because it will give a special and unforgettable note to your curry. Try it to believe it!
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- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Preparation time: 5 Minutes
- Portions: 4
- Cooking methods: Stove
- Cuisine: Indian
- Seasonality: All Seasons
Ingredients to Prepare the Bean Curry
- 14 oz pre-cooked white beans
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 3.5 oz spinach (fresh or frozen)
- 1.75 oz tomato puree
- 1 onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- curry
- garam masala
- ground ginger
- lemon juice (or lime juice)
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil (or other vegetable oil)
- salt
Tools to Prepare the Bean Curry
- 1 Pan
- 1 Stove
Steps to Prepare the Bean Curry
Prepare the bean curry by first peeling the onion and two cloves of garlic and chopping them finely. Let them sauté in a pan or frying pan where you have already poured coconut oil or another type of vegetable oil (even olive oil).
Add the curry, paprika, garam masala, and ginger or another spice mix. Let it flavor for a few minutes.
After 5 minutes, add the tomato puree and stir.
Then add the beans drained from their preservation water and well washed, and add a glass of hot water or alternatively hot vegetable broth. Let it cook for about ten minutes.
Pour the coconut milk, stir, season with salt, and let it boil for a few minutes.
Add the fresh spinach leaves or alternatively the frozen ones and the juice of half a lemon or lime if you like.
Let it flavor for a moment and once ready, all that’s left is to serve the bean curry accompanied by rice or naan bread.
Simo and Cicci’s Advice
You can store the Bean Curry in the fridge for 3 days or freeze it up to 5 days.
Besides spinach, you can enrich your bean curry with other types of seasonal vegetables like pumpkin, cauliflower, carrots, tomatoes, zucchini, broccoli, eggplants, etc.
You can use either canned beans or dry beans which you will naturally need to soak overnight and cook the next day in a pot filled with water until they become soft or to speed up the process in a pressure cooker.
FAQ (Questions and Answers)
Which coconut milk is preferable to use, in a carton or a can?
For this recipe, the coconut milk to use is the one in a can, which is much denser and creamier compared to the coconut drink.
Can other legumes be used instead of cannellini beans?
Yes, you can use the type of beans you prefer or alternatively chickpeas or lentils. You can also use either dry legumes to soak overnight and cook the next day, or canned legumes which will make the preparation of this recipe very quick.
