Tamarind Black Bean Curry with Chilli & Peanuts

Name: Tamarind Black Bean Curry with Chilli & Peanuts
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 38 min
Total time: 48 min
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 2 tbsp Neutral oil or coconut oil; 1 Red onion; 3 Garlic cloves; 20 g Fresh ginger; 1 Red chilli; 1 tsp Cumin seeds; 1 tsp Ground coriander; 1/2 tsp Turmeric; 2 tbsp Tomato purée; 1 400g Tin chopped tomatoes; 2 400g Tins black beans; 2 tsp Tamarind paste; 1–2 tbsp Maple syrup or soft brown sugar; 150 ml Vegetable stock; Sea salt; 3 Spring onions; 1 large handful Coriander; Coconut yogurt; 50 g Roasted salted peanuts; Lime wedges

You’ve probably eaten tamarind a hundred times and never known it - it’s in Worcestershire sauce, it’s in HP Sauce, it’s the thing giving your Friday-night brown sauce that sharp, sour kick. I first tried it properly fresh, travelling in Asia - knobbly brown pods, split open to this sticky, sour pulp inside, completely different to the jar you buy from the supermarket. It’s got a genuinely unique sour-sweet flavour that nothing else quite replicates. It works brilliantly here with black beans. Onions cooked low and slow, garlic, ginger, chilli and cumin, then tomato, tamarind and black beans simmered down until thick, glossy, and clinging to every bean. Crushing a few of the beans against the side of the pan as it cooks gives the sauce extra body - most stay whole, a few break down, and the whole thing gets richer for it. Finished properly loaded - spring onions, coriander, crushed roasted peanuts, a good squeeze of lime. Serve with rice or warm flatbreads and let people pile it on themselves. This is my saucy beans series - a tin of beans, treated properly, can be the best thing you eat all week. Finished properly loaded - spring onions, coriander, crushed roasted peanuts, a good squeeze of lime. Serve with rice or warm flatbreads and let people pile it on themselves.

Prep

10m

Cook

38m

Total

48m

Ingredients

Method

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Step 1

Heat the oil in a wide pan and add the onion with a good pinch of salt. Cook for 8–10 minutes until soft and starting to caramelise. Add the garlic, ginger, chilli and cumin seeds and fry for another minute. Add the coriander, turmeric and garam masala and cook briefly until fragrant.

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For

For the curry

tbsp

Neutral oil or coconut oil

Red onion, finely sliced

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Notes

The real trick here is tasting as you go. Sour enough? Sweet enough? Salty enough? Hot enough? Tamarind should be really noticeable, but balanced - tangy, spicy, savoury, and just sweet enough to bring it all together. Don’t be afraid to keep adjusting until it’s right.

Serve with rice or warm flatbreads and let people pile it on themselves.

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Tamarind Black Bean Curry with Chilli & Peanuts

You’ve probably eaten tamarind a hundred times and never known it - it’s in Worcestershire sauce, it’s in HP Sauce, it’s the thing giving your Friday-night brown sauce that sharp, sour kick. I first tried it properly fresh, travelling in Asia - knobbly brown pods, split open to this sticky, sour pulp inside, completely different to the jar you buy from the supermarket. It’s got a genuinely unique sour-sweet flavour that nothing else quite replicates. It works brilliantly here with black beans. Onions cooked low and slow, garlic, ginger, chilli and cumin, then tomato, tamarind and black beans simmered down until thick, glossy, and clinging to every bean. Crushing a few of the beans against the side of the pan as it cooks gives the sauce extra body - most stay whole, a few break down, and the whole thing gets richer for it. Finished properly loaded - spring onions, coriander, crushed roasted peanuts, a good squeeze of lime. Serve with rice or warm flatbreads and let people pile it on themselves. This is my saucy beans series - a tin of beans, treated properly, can be the best thing you eat all week. Finished properly loaded - spring onions, coriander, crushed roasted peanuts, a good squeeze of lime. Serve with rice or warm flatbreads and let people pile it on themselves.

Prep

10m

Cook

38m

Total

48m

Ingredients

Method

Turn cooking mode on

Step 1

Access all recipes now

Cook along with all of our recipes

Save your favourites and build your own collections

Access all membership benefits

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For

For the curry

tbsp

Neutral oil or coconut oil

Red onion, finely sliced

Access all recipes now

Cook along with all of our recipes

Save your favourites and build your own collections

Access all membership benefits

Already subscribed? Log in or switch accounts.