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Indian-style Butter Beans
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Indian-style Butter Beans

Fragrant and spicy (but hot overly hot), this vegan dish is a satisfying main course when served with rice, naan or roti. It can also be a flavorful side.
Course Main Course
Cuisine Indian
Servings 4 as a main course

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon grapeseed or vegetable oil, plus more as needed
  • 1 teaspoon mustard seed
  • 1 teaspoon cumin seed
  • 1 large clove garlic, minced
  • 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon chopped green chile serrano or jalapeño
  • 1/2 teaspoon hing (asafoetida, optional, but desirable—see Kitchen Notes)
  • 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
  • 1 cup chopped fresh tomatoes (can substitute canned—see kitchen notes)
  • 1 teaspoon New Mexican chile powder or your favorite
  • 1/2 teaspoon garam masala
  • 1 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 cup water
  • 2 15- ounce cans butter beans, drained and rinsed
  • salt, as needed
  • cooked white rice, preferably basmati (or naan or roti)

Instructions

  • Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over medium high heat in a large sauté pan. When oil is shimmering, reduce heat to medium and add mustard and cumin seed. Temper the spices, cooking and stirring until they are fragrant and starting to pop in the oil.
  • Add garlic, ginger, chile and hing to pan, stirring to combine. Cook until fragrant, about 45 seconds.
  • Add onion to pan, drizzling in a little more oil, if needed. Stir to combine and cook, stirring frequently, until onion starts to soften, about 3 minutes. Don’t brown the onion—reduce heat, if needed.
  • Add tomato to pan and stir to combine. Cook, stirring frequently, for about 4 minutes. Add chile powder, garam masala, coriander and cinnamon to the pan and stir to combine. Cook for about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  • Add water and scrape up any browned bits. Add butter beans. Raise heat and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes, partially covered, until all the flavors have combined and developed. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt, if needed.
  • Serve over cook rice in shallow bowls. You can also serve it with naan or roti.

Kitchen Notes

What the heck is hing? As Marion said in the recipe that caused us to buy it, hing—or asafoetida—is a powerful spice that NPR called the secret weapon of Indian cuisine. When not cooked, it has quite a pungent aroma; it's usually sold and stored in an airtight container—ours came in a little jar inside a little heavyweight plastic ziplock bag. When cooked, hing "mellows to a more mild leek- and garlic-like flavor," as NPR says. You can find it in many Asian shops and online.
Fresh tomatoes? Canned? While fresh is better in this case, you can substitute a cup of diced tomatoes, drained.