I make no excuses for all the Indian recipes; I happen to like them. This one is a cracking accompaniment to any Indian dish or BBQ.

Ingredients (Serves 2-3)

• 250g green beans, topped and tailed
• 6 spring onions, medium chopped
• 1/2 inch fresh ginger, minced
• 1 large garlic clove, minced
• 1 medium red chilli, minced
• 1tsp fenugreek seeds
• 1tsp coriander
• 2tsp fennel seeds
• Seeds from 3 green cardomom pods
• 1/2 tsp asafoetida
• 1tsp onion seeds
• 3 cloves
• A few shards of cinnamon stick
• Juice of half a lemon
• Small slosh of white wine vinegar
• 1/2 pint vegetable stock
• Amchur powder (ground mango)
• A handful of coriander leaves

What to do?

1. Put all the spices in a pestle and mortar and grind to a coarse powder. It doesn't matter two much if some large fragments remain.
2. Heat some ghee or sunflower oil in a heavy frying pan and gently fry the garlic and ginger for a minute.
3. Add the chilli and ground spices and fry gently for 2 minutes.
4. Add the beans, lemon juice, vinegar and stock. Turn the heat up to its highest and quickly boil. After about 5 minutes, add the spring onions and the amchur, stir well.
5. Continue to cook down for another few minutes, until the sauce is thick and starts to stick to the beans. Garnish with the fresh coriander and serve immediately.

Variations

Try adding a few water chestnuts with the chilli and spices. They add a different texture and more variety.

The basic recipe can be adapted for any veg you fancy; all you need to do is adjust the amount of liquid and the final step's cooking time accordingly. Why not try green peppers (same amount of liquid, cook for a bit longer), mushrooms (ditto), chickpeas (need no cooking if tinned, but should be pre-cooked if dried), shredded spinach (very little liquid needed, cook over a lower heat for about 15 minutes) or cauliflower (use enough liquid to just cover and cook over a high heat for 10 minutes)?

Back to my recipe book.