26, Oct 2009
Red Kidney Bean Curry

This is adapted from Smitten Kitchen. The changes are more because she used inconvenient unit sizes (I had 25oz and 15oz cans of kidney beans, not 30oz, and 14oz of diced tomatoes, not 8oz of tomato sauce) than any big change in the essentials. It came out all right. I ended up simmering it longer than suggested, and I think muddied the flavor a bit. I also kept it fairly mild, so we could add spiciness to taste individually, but it came out a little too dull. Next time I’d simmer it for a shorter time and add another spicy pepper or so.

Ingredients
1/3 c olive oil
1/4 c chopped fresh ginger
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 roma tomato, diced
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 pepperoncini, seeded and chopped
1 large poblano pepper, seeded and halved
2 tsp salt
1 tsp cumin, ground
1 tsp coriander, ground
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
14.5 oz can diced tomatoes (we always use low salt)
40oz canned red kidney beans, drained
1-2 c water
1/2 c chopped fresh cilantro (or parsley, if you’re cilantro-averse)
2 squeezes lemon

Directions
Heat oil in a large saucepan on medium. Add the garlic, ginger, onion, and pepperoncini and saute for 1-2 minutes. Add canned tomatoes, salt, and other spices and cook for five minutes, stirring often. Add the kidney beans, 1 c water, and fresh diced tomatoes. Bring to a boil, reduce to medium, and let cook for ten minutes. Let cook down or add liquid for desired thickness. Add the lemon juice just before taking it off the heat. Meanwhile, char the skin of the poblano pepper over a gas flame using tongs (or grill skin-side down). Rub or scrape off the charred bits and remaining skin and chop coarsely.
Serve curry over basmati rice garnished with the parsley and charred peppers with naan.