By: Lash
Serves 4.
Well hi there! It’s getting all autumnal, and that means that the vintagetraceygoodness kitchen is going for hearty, filling, warm-the-cockles dishes that we can bung in the fridge/freezer and dig into when we’re home from a long day. I learned to make this dish yonks ago (I think it was probably in one of my mum’s Good Housekeeping mags or something similar), and although I’ve completely forgotten what was in the original recipe, the overall dish is something that has stuck with me. I put it in a big stew pot and let it all cook down. It takes about an hour, but once it’s done you’ll be in sweet potato heaven…or something…
Ingredients
One tablespoon vegetable oil
One large red onion (chopped)
Two large garlic cloves (finely chopped)
An inch-and-a-half sized piece of fresh ginger (finely chopped)
Two teaspoons of cayenne pepper (or to taste)
Two teaspoons of ground cumin
Four medium sweet potatoes (chopped in bite-size chunks, about an inch in size)
One chicken or vegetable stock cube
Hot water (enough to cover the sweet potatoes – amount depends on the size of your pan)
One can of chopped tomatoes
Chunky peanut butter (about ¼ of a jar, or to taste)
400g canned chickpeas
180g fresh green beans (top and tailed)
A large handful of fresh coriander (roughly chopped)
Black pepper
How to make it…
- Heat the oil, and fry the onions until they are soft. Add the garlic and ginger, and fry for two minutes. Then add the cayenne pepper and cumin and fry for a further minute.
- Add the sweet potatoes and heat them in the pan for about two minutes, then add the boiling water so that it just covers them. Crumble in the stock cube, stir well, and bring to the boil.
- When the mixture is boiling, turn the heat down to medium, and add the chopped tomatoes, peanut butter and chickpeas. Stir well and simmer for about twenty-five minutes.
Make sure that you stir in the peanut butter really well, as this thickens the sauce as it cooks down. - Add the green beans and half of the coriander. Cook for fifteen to twenty minutes, until the sauce is quite thick and the sweet potatoes are easily breakable with a spoon.
After about ten minutes, have a taste of the sauce. You might want to add a bit more peanut butter at this point (if you like a really peanutty curry). I like this to have almost a satay-level of peanut-ness, but it’s entirely up to you! - Give a good grind of black pepper, then serve. Sprinkle with fresh coriander, and you’re good to go!
I like to serve this with basmati rice and a bit of naan bread. The naan containing black onion seeds work really well with this curry.