Creamy Madras with Lime and Green BeansPosted on 2002/09/29 19:09:56 (September 2002) by john. My ongoing culinary adventure wanders into the Indian sub-continent.
I came up with this particular recipe for two reasons, although it's largely a kind of mixture of ideas I've picked up from all over the place. Anyway, firstly, at the time, I had a cold, and wanted to make something I was sure I'd be able to taste. Secondly, I had, amazing though it sounds, started to get really bored with Indian food. I know this sounds unbelievable, but the last few times I'd been to Indian restaurants I'd ordered different things every time and yet felt like I was eating the same dish over and over again. I wonder if this is partly just a problem with vegetarian dishes. Or just that I was unfortunate enough to go to a series of very uninspiring restaurants. Anyway, convinced as I was that India is one of the greatest culinary nations on the planet, I was determined to come up with a curry that would rekindle my love of this kind of food. I think I managed it. This dish is all about contrasts, which, to my mind, is everything good Indian food should be. It's a well observed phenomenon that milk products (in this case yoghurt) are a great way to combat hot spices. I guess that's the first, perhaps most basic contrast. However, it's a fine line. I like this sort of dish to be both creamy and spicy. In terms of textures, there's both soft and crunchy in there. The ingredients are mostly soft, but the green beans, when not allowed to cook too much, make a great addition in my opinion. Something with a bit of bite. Also, they help freshen up the dish a bit, and add something to the look of it too. The lime is a really important addition, and brings yet more contrasts with it. An element of sweet (from the yoghurt) and sour, plus the kind of zippy refreshing quality you get from citrus fruits which lifts an otherwise fairly rich and heavy dish. Then to finish off, some lovely plain basmati, another important contrast. I love rice when it's cooked properly and has that marvellous clean and simple taste to it, which obviously complements a complex rich dish like this perfectly. Overall, the dish is just one big contrast, it's comforting, but it's exciting.
Ingredients (for 2-3 people)
- Oil for frying. (Ghee if you can get it)
- 1 onion.
- 3 cloves garlic.
- About 200g ish of something proteinous. I used Quorn pieces. Mushrooms might also work.
- 2-3 dessert spoons (or to taste) Madras paste. You could probably use a different variety. I like Madras though, it's sort of fruity to my taste buds, and has a bit of a kick to it.
- Green Beans. I bought a 200g bag, and used about a quarter of it. The ones I got were called "Fine Beans", and were nice and slender. French beans are more or less the same thing.
- About 125g Yoghurt. I got one of those 500g pots of Muller Thick and Creamy. It sounds crazy, but trust me! Yes I hear you say, surely that's sweetened dessert yoghurt? Well that's what you want! This gives the sweet in the sweet and sour aspect of this dish. Also I think there's a hint of vanilla in that particular variety, which is also interesting. Alternatively, just use "normal" yoghurt, but consider adding a bit of sugar and vanilla yourself.
- About half a pint of vegetable stock. I'm lazy and make it from powder - Marigold Swiss Vegetable Bouillon Powder to be precise. You can get this in most supermarkets. For a stock powder, I actually think this has a great taste.
- Lime. Very important. I think I just used a half, cut into four pieces (so that's four eighths) but use more if you're feeling adventurous!
- Your good old friend, the bay leaf.
Method
Chop the onion into rings (not piddly little bits!) and slice the garlic cloves. Heat the oil in the pan and throw in the onion and garlic. Fry gently for a while. You're aiming for nice soft, almost melt in the mouth onions. Before the onions brown, add in your Quorn pieces (or whatever you're using), and the Madras paste, and cook for another couple of minutes. It's important that the paste itself gets a chance to fry a bit, to help release some of the flavours in the spices. Next wash, top and tail the green beans and throw these in for a quick bit of stir-frying. Now you ought to be ready to put in the yoghurt and the stock. I like to add these in gradually. I'm not sure if it really makes a difference, but I like to get a good feel for the consistency as I go along. Remember patronising cookery tip #67834 - you can always add, but you can't always take away! You might want to use more or less yoghurt/stock depending on the consistency. I suppose it's up to personal preference. Now throw in the lime (making sure you've washed it first). Yes, peel and everything! You might want to take the pips out though (if there are any) if they're looking troublesome at all. Then just leave the whole thing to simmer, with a lot of stirring to let all those flavours mix together. Make sure at least some of the lime segments break down a bit, so that all that marevllous cirtrussy goodness gets into the sauce. This will happen anyway given enough time, but if you're in a hurry, you might want to give them a helping hand with your wooden spoon. The flavours will improve further if you leave it in the fridge overnight and reheat the next day (although I usually don't have this kind of patience!).
Serving
Serve with nice plain basmati rice, and as always, big white plates rule! I tend to go for the half curry, half rice configuration, rather than rice round the outside and curry in the middle. That's really up to you. You'll probably want to take the bay leaf out before serving. As for the lime segments, personally I'd rather just warn whoever is eating it and leave them in. They'll continue to impart flavour even on the plate, and braver diners might even eat them! (Probably best to make sure they've cooked for a long time if this is going to be the case). Here's a couple of pictures of the finished article.
 
Comment 1
John is a chef. But at least he's not naked.
Posted by rowanboy at 2002/09/30 18:59:59.
Comment 2
yummy, but you're still to cook for me, John-boy.
Posted by Rob Lang at 2002/10/07 14:13:42.
Comment 3
ello, just wanting to say hi. Also john, wouldn't mind a bit of curry-by-post, as glasgie is cold at the mo., and I'm a poor undergrad again! stoopid huh?
wuz nice to get a text from u and that weird redhaired one recently (er, hi rob!)
...stay in touch. c x
Posted by caroline h at 2002/10/07 17:29:30.
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