Potato Curry and Green Bean Salad

I don't usually post a recipe without first testing it, but this week you get to cook alongside me. We are planning to make a lovely Indian potato curry from the gorgeous book by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid entitled Mangoes and Curry Leaves - I am a fan, to say the least. When we make it, we intend to throw the green beans into the curry to cook amongst the potatoes. But here I will post a second recipe for a green bean salad which you could also make. We tried it last week with a grilled chicken, and it was light, cool, and delicate.

2 Tbs. raw vegetable oil or ghee*

2 tsp. minced garlic

1 pound waxy potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2" cubes

1 pound green beans, topped, tailed and cut into 1/2" lengths (optional)

1 cup finely chopped onion

1 cup chopped tomatoes (I use 1/2 a can of diced)

2 green hot chilies - like serrano or jalapeno, seeded and chopped

1/2 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp black mustard seeds

1 tsp ground cumin

you can purchase cumin whole and grind it yourself. We keep an
old coffee grinder around to pulverize spices - Look for cumin in bags in
the international food section of your grocery store. It will be a lot
cheaper.

1 tsp. ground coriander

1/4 cup water

1 tsp. salt or to taste

Heat the oil or ghee in a wok or a wide pot over medium heat. Add 1 tsp garlic and cook until you smell it about 30 seconds, then add the onions, potatoes, and green beans (if you are not making green bean salad). Stir-fry for several minutes, until the onions have softened, pressing the potato cubes against the surface of the hot pan. Then add the chopped tomatoes, and the chili. Stir.

Add turmeric, mustard seeds, cumin, coriander, and the remaining garlic and stir. Add the water and salt and bring it to a boil. Cover the pan tightly and cook at a high simmer until the potatoes are just tender, about 20 minutes. Halfway through the twenty minutes, check to make sure you have sufficient water and that nothing is sticking to the pan. Add a little more water, if necessary.

Serve with 3 cups basmati or brown rice and green bean salad, if you like.

*If you are keen to make your own ghee, it is possible - and not that hard. Ghee is a common fat in Indian cooking. It is actually just clarified butter with one subtle difference - the milk solids are allowed to brown imparting a nutty flavour.

To make your own ghee you will need a light colored saute pan, butter, strainer, and coffee filter.

When you clarify butter, you will evaporate much of the water in it and decrease its volume. Therefore, double the amount of ghee in the recipe and you have your measurement of butter. To create the preceding recipe, place 4 Tbs. of butter in a light colored skillet and place over low heat. The butter will melt, then sizzle - and once all of the water has evaporated, it will become quiet again. It needs careful watching at this point. Have ready your strainer lined with a coffee filter suspended over a bowl. In the skillet you will see milk solids that have settled on the bottom of the pan. These will begin to color. Allow them to become a nice golden color - like the color of fried chicken. Then take the pan off the heat and pour the butter through the filter. What collects in the bowl below is ghee.