Julie Sahni's Bihari Green Beans Masala

Things improbably gone missing in the move:

1. One tiny All-Clad skillet bought in a super-deal at Broadway Panhandler when it was still over in Soho and that was my trusty seed-toasting, meal-for-one-making, butter-melting companion for many years. This feels only barely replaceable. I'm pretty bereft. How on earth did my little soufflé dishes, my tea cups and espresso spoons, my ceramic trivets and my antique canisters all make it over, but this little darling didn't?

2. An entire set of ivory-handled flatware. Well, forks and knives. To be fair, not as essential as it sounds since I'd had the good fortune of being given my grandmother's silver a few years ago. But still, where could it be? An entire set? When I can't sleep at night, I think about it. Is it still in some old apartment that I didn't comb over obsessively enough? Is it in a shipping container on the high seas? Is it off living the life of Riley in grass skirts on a tropical island with an endless supply of fresh coconuts?

3. A jar of ground coriander. Huh? A half-roll of Saran-Wrap made it over (don't ask). A nearly empty jar of dried summer savory from Penzey's made it over, too. (Seriously, don't ask). But this, a brand-new jar, fragrant and much, much needed, didn't?

A skillet, flatware, ground coriander. Is this some kind of message from the other side? Am I supposed to be understanding something about what's gone missing? 

I know. That's a lot of questions for a Wednesday morning.

I discovered the loss of the ground coriander and the baby skillet in the midst of making dinner the other night, which, as you probably know, is not the best time to realize you don't have something that you were pretty darn sure you had. So sure you didn't even check. Still, Julie Sahni's recipe for green beans in a simply spiced coconut sauce had needled its way into my head and was sitting there, setting off fireworks, until I got to cooking and it didn't really matter, until dinner was done - whole coriander subbed in for ground, a little pot used for toasting almonds instead of my skillet - and gone.

Yes, done and gone. That's about how fast it was to both cook the meal and eat it. For those of you still afraid to cook Indian food because of the time you think it takes, and the complicated list of ingredients, I've found your recipe. This dish took less than 15 minutes to cook, and only a few minutes more to prep. And the ingredients are all easy to source, especially if you live in a country that sells more than just basil in the herb section of the grocery store (ahem, Germany).

We gobbled up the whole dish in an unseemly amount of time, white rice soaking up the delicious sauce. "Delicious!" was exclaimed. "So good!" was declared. Plates, dear readers, might even have been licked. The only Indian food I've had since coming to Berlin in December were takeout meals in London and New York, go figure. So I suppose eating politely and demurely was going to be off the table anyhow.

And even better than the speed and ease with which this was cooked, was the fact that the green beans can be replaced with cauliflower or eggplant, among other vegetables, and the idea of soft, yielding eggplant stewed away in this creamy, velvety sauce is enough to make me forget about any skillet, ground spice or flatware I ever possessed and dream only about the future.

Bihari Green Beans Masala
Serves 2 as a main course with rice

2 tablespoons vegetable oil or light olive oil
2 tablespoons sliced almonds
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
3 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
1/2 teaspoon red chili pepper flakes
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup coconut milk
3/4 pound green beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 teaspoon lime juice
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

1. Heat the oil in a 3-quart sauté pan over medium heat. Add almonds and cook, stirring, until light golden. Remove from heat and transfer almonds to a plate or bowl; set aside for garnish.

2. Add onion, garlic, cumin, coriander, paprika, chili pepper flakes and salt to the unwashed sauté pan, and return to medium heat. Sauté until the onion is tender and begins to fry, about 4 minutes.

3. Add coconut milk and green beans. Mix well and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, covered, until the beans are tender, about 6 minutes.

4. Sprinkle beans with lime juice, and toss lightly. Transfer to a warmed serving dish and garnish with almonds and cilantro. Serve with plain cooked rice or roti flatbread.

Comments

[Katharine @ agirlinmadrid]

Oh, this sounds so delish. Since moving to Madrid from Vancouver, I have been craving Indian food like there's no tomorrow! But I think this dish has inspired me to head down to the eclectic area of Lavapies in search of necessary ingredients.

I always enjoy your posts so much, and I look so forward to hearing you speak at the FBC conference in London! Please, dear volcano ash cloud, stay clear of London air space.

[Daniel]

Not to imply that any single article of kitchenware is replaceable (and just some cannot be replaced in Germany), but if you need another pan or maybe a few bowls, you should visit Coledampfs at Uhlandstrasse 54-55. It's the kitchen store I spent years looking for, and only found it when I accidentally broke my colleague's coffee cup.

Oh, and fresh crushed coriander is always better than pre-ground. I do this as needed in a very small mortar and pestle.

[daniela]

Mmmm.. this will be my dinner tonight!
Thank you so much.

[Mark @ Cafe Campana]

Mmmm very tasty looking beans.

[Gemma]

I think I would have licked my plate clean too... I almost only eat vegetarian curries since moving to London but that's all down to being on the same street as an amazing and cheap vegetarian curry place - the beetroot curry quickly made it on to my, mental, favourite things to eat list.

[David]

Your skillet (and flatware) and in good company...with my two cases of cookbooks that went astray too-long ago.

[Mrigaa]

One of the items I left behind in New York and practically wept over in Bangkok was my Microplane grater. Luckily, some nice lady I bought a drink in the week before my departure decided to repay the favor by having a new one mailed to me. Hurrah!

This recipe looks amazing. I'm North Indian, and we tend to be a little snobby about our recipes, so it's with some hesitation that I admit that these almonds and the coconut milk sound like a way superior way of preparing green beans! Alas, I'm at this little residency with little else in my kitchen other than salt, pepper and a jar of pickles. (It's amazing how much you can get done with just that, though.)

All the best, Luisa!

[Rotäffchen]

When I was about five and my family moved houses, a doll of mine went missing. I still don't know what happened to little Eva and I still miss her...

[julianne]

i just moved to berlin from nyc a few months ago as well (yay!), but completely agree on the grocery store herbs - it's awful, no? so where on earth did you find cilantro? that is the only herb i have not been able to track down. my german boyfriend hardly even knows what it is - does it really exist somewhere in the city?

viel dank! :)

[Koek!]

Mmm, looks just the thing for a coolish day... Sorry to hear about your lost items – it makes one feel at a loose end I imagine. Love your new profile pic.
Robyn

[janet]

mmm, one of my favorite dishes of yours is chana punjabi, which i would have never known of outside of this space. can't wait to try this one too. sending happy finding thoughts for your skillet and coriander, maybe stowed in an unlikely box of shoes or holiday ornaments? good luck finding!

[jenni]

I saw this recipe in the times and was not too interested because there was no photo of the finished product. But now, with your tantalizing description and delightful photo and a only-slightly used can of coconut milk lingering in the fridge, I'm all over this. I only wish this recipe had come my way a few weeks ago, when I was drowning in green beans from my CSA box!

[Jen]

We also just moved and I completely understand about knowing where something was at the old place, and then not being able to find it anywhere at the new place. I blame the moving fairies!

[zeta]

julianne, you will find cilantro (well, actually Koriander, which is slightly different) in asia shops, better supermarkets (Reichelt) and even some of the turkish vendors.

[Anna]

Moving can be so chaotic, its not until things calm down that you wonder where something could be. When I moved recently, I almost forgot to pack my entire spice cupboard. It wasn't until I was doing a final cleaning and checking that I found one cupboard still full!

[Mary]

Between this and the Channa Punjabi, thank you for two easy, delicious dishes! Thank goodness I have everything on hand, because this will be my dinner tonight.

[Maddie]

Oh, this sounds delicious. I regularly make the chana punjabi that I found on your site, as well as many other Indian main dishes, but never have a perfectly complementary vegetable to serve alongside. Thanks for the finishing touch!

[littleclove]

Luisa,
OK, this sounds like my kind of Indain dish. I have all of the ingredients (except the beans and cilantro which I can easily pick up), and it's not intimidating. I have been challenging myself to venture out and experiment with things I've never had the courage to try. Indian being one of them.
I absolutely LOVE Indain food, and anything with coconut milk gets my vote.
Thanks!

[klp]

Luisa, I love Julie Sahni! The binding broke on our copy of "Classic Indian Cooking" long ago. This will be our dinner on Sunday after I get back from San Francisco.

[Amy]

I'm going to be making this very soon. Looks so delicious! And I can sympathize with you on losing stuff during moves. We seem to leave random pieces of flatware everywhere we go.

[elizabeth @ sophisticated pie]

this looks absolutely delicious and the eggplant you suggested sounds heavenly. i will be sure to make this one! thanks for the inspiration, as always.

[The French @ crispytarts]

Wow, this sounds incredible. And perfect for my dairy, meat and sugar cleanse!

[Monica]

I'm about to move (for the 4th time in 5 years!) and can't tell you how eager I am to have all my kitchen gear in one place, where I can really use it. My own little skillet is waiting for me to start toasting spices and nuts in it again. This will be a great dish to begin with. Julie Sahni rules!

[megan]

Yum! Definitely the type of simple dish I like to make for myself... some things are simply too good to share.

Oh, and I hear you on the "Germany" thing... I'm studying here for a year and the food (or lack of anything other than pork and potatoes) is driving me mad. I miss my Asian vegetables and fresh herbs! I never realised how much I took the food for granted when I lived in Australia. Sigh.

[Deanna]

I can relate. Somehow, while remodeling the house, I lost a lot. We didn't even move, it just vanished. Or is in one of the many cupboards I have yet to discover.

I was looking for something to make for lunch and these green beans are the winner.

[Anna/quilted giraffe]

Yum, yum! I think I know what I'm making for dinner tonight.

Probably you already know this, but if you go to an Asian or a Turkish grocery store, between the two you'll be able to find whatever spices you need.

[Joanne]

I am still discovering items that I lost in the moving process, and I've been moved into my new place for almost a year! It's crazy.

This dish looks delicious. I've been trying to get into cooking more Indian food lately and this is going to have to make it into my repertoire!

[Daisy]

We call all of the items lost while moving, "the things we lost in the fire".

It is very cathartic, removes all blame, allows for all of the grief, and reminds us that moving is just a natural disaster.

[Heather]

i love how random stuff just goes missing when you move. i mean, really..

[Molly @ molly's menu]

Green beans are one of those ingredients that lack a lot creative recipes. I always struggle with new ways to cook them, and this dish gives me another method to add to my repertoire. It looks layered with flavor!

[Julia of Randomly Yours, Julia]

Oh look, it's dinner!
I made Camino's eggs baked in cream last night and subbed in bok choy for leeks. Yum.

Sorry you lost a few things. I hope you will find new kitchen friends soon. My dad once lost a scuba suit, and my mom a chandelier, with the box marked CHANDELIER - FRAGILE. Suspicious much?

[Debjani Roy]

Julianne, Luisa, I left Berlin 18 months ago but when I lived there I used to stock up on all my essentials at the Asia Supermarkt by Hackescher Markt S-bahn. You can find everything except for curry leaves there, and they have great and cheap frozen fish.

It´s just behind the station, not on the Platz side but on the no-man´s land side (hope that makes sense). But I would also recommend toasting and grinding your own, it´s a completely different flavour.

[Luisa]

Daniel - Coledampfs is indeed a lovely place! I know it well. :)

Julianne - I can almost always find cilantro at Turkish markets, even the smallest corner stores. Good luck! :)

Robyn - thank you!

Debjani - thanks for the tip. Thankfully, Charlottenburg, where I live, is like a little Asia, there are Asian grocery stores all over the place (and Turkish ones, too). And, if anyone is reading who lives in Wilmersdorf, there's a Korean grocer/Imbiss on Bundesallee, at the Güntzelstrasse subway stop, that has EVERYTHING you'd never need for Indian, Japanese, Korean and Thai cooking, including different kinds of miso pastes, curry leaves, every soy sauce/chili paste/spice paste known to man and the prices are mind-boggingly low.

Everyone - thank you for sharing the stories of your lost things!! It made me feel a lot better. I guess no move would be complete without a few things missing, makes me feel like we're all part of a sister/brotherhood. Brave souls who move have to learn to let go of things, too!

[julianne]

fantastic! thanks so much for the tips. i've been to the hackescher markt asia mart, but i must find that korean grocer - it's my absolute favorite cuisine of all! thanks again! enjoy yet another february - i mean may day :)

[Katrina]

This recipe looks so delicious! I am dying to try it!

[Ms. Nožisková]

Ha! With all the "don't asks" it sounds like you pack like I do.

Frustrating when stuff goes missing. In one move I lost a whole section of my library - the box I packed arrived, but nothing inside was mine!! They were all academic political science books! Every now and again I wonder where the mine ended up, and if the political science student appreciated them... not that I can recall exactly what all the titles were... which is almost as maddening.

[Michelle]

I actually made this last night. I had no beans but did have some tofu, a couple of little potatoes, and some broccoli and it still worked wonderfully!

[Tami]

I am just overjoyed that I happen to have every one of those ingredient in my house right now, because I simply must have them soon! Green beans and coconut milk and spices. Say no more!

[Molly]

Good old Julie Sahni, makes everything seem (and be!) simple. What a gal. Somehow I missed this one, but I'm suddenly anxious for eggplant, already. RIP, wee skillet! Those pesky moves...

[Vanessa]

So sorry to hear about the lost items and strange the way that some things you'd expect to go astray made it over. Apart from the kitchenware shop on Uhlandstr., there's also a wonderful one close to Eisenacher Straße where I found flower shaped cake tins and a multitude of other hard to track down items. There's a great little Vietnamese on Krumme Straße near me where I'm sure I can find all of your ingredients tomorrow - thanks for the wonderful recipe!

[Topbelly]

Ciao Luisa
ma com'è che solo oggi ho scoperto il tuo blog? e io che mi vantavo di leggere i migliori blog... oggi ti ho trovato e sto bevendo i tuoi post invece di leggerli. Racconti in modo davvero spontaneo, a cuore aperto e le ricette sono squisite!

Un saluto da una nuova fan italiana che stima le tue scelte di vita e che si riconosce in tanti episodi...per esempio nella passione per l'aceto!
As I'm a new reader I give as a fact that you can read italian...hope it is so...the juice is "congratulatios! your blog is a blast! And I feel very close to your style.
Ciao ciao

[Jan]

I just found today the last unrecovered thing gone missing in my last move. It was a Liber Usualis, the chubby black ook of gregorian chant for the entire Catholic liturgy, very useful to me as a choir member. I would have had it out, lying on the table or couch, the day I moved, and thought it could have been tucked in anywhere among the last boxes. I combed the new house again and again but no luck. It was like a missing tooth. Today, wanting to wash my windows, I was looking for the squeegie I keep in the back of the car to whisk off the windows after a speedy wash--and in the car-stuff box, among the bungee cords and WD 40 and battery operated heated ice-scraper (never used) was the Liber. Why? Why? Why did I put it THERE? I hope you find all your things and are amazed when everything turns up, one thing by one, in places so strange it proves how stressful moving really is.

[Abra]

I made this - totally awesome. I did it again adding sliced roast pork and using roasted cauliflower instead of the green beans. Still awesome, although I preferred the green bean version. It's my new craving.

[Kristin]

I made this last night and it was really good. I was using harissa to make the carrot and feta salad and decided to throw a spoonful into this as well. Not traditional I'm sure, but still very tasty. I can't wait to try this with eggplant!!

[gemma]

Scrumptious. Just had this for dinner. always looking for good, quick and easy vegetarian meals. This gets a check for each. So delicious and last night had the carrot salad alongside a yummy spinach quiche. all I can say is we are WELL NOURISHED out here thanks to your inspiration this week!!
big hug
xoxo