French Bean and Meat Stew

French Bean and Meat Stew

One of my favourites is a bean that is naturally sweet, crunchy, and high in water content. The French bean is traditionally chopped at an angle, lightly spiced, and great with fresh beans in season. When I was a kid, I used to visit a family field and collect them in the early morning. I still remember the fresh, earthy smell of the morning dew on these gorgeous vines. This dish has subtle flavours. It is neither spicy nor oily, and it is very simple. It is served with warm rotlis, and a mango chutney can complement it.

 

Serves 6

1 tsp oil

500 g| 1.1 lb bone in meat—lamb, mutton, or goat

1 1/2 tsp crushed ginger

1 1/2 tsp crushed garlic

1 tsp salt

1 tsp cumin powder

3 finely chopped green chilies

1 ¼ cup crushed fried onion

1 ¼ cup crushed tomatoes

1 kg| 2.2 lb French beans

Heat the oil and add the meat to brown all over. Add the ginger, garlic, salt, cumin, green chilies, and fried onions. Give it a good stir. Add 2 cups of water, bring it all to a boil, and cover the pot. Lower the heat and cook the meat for 45 minutes. At this point, the water should be almost evaporated, and the meat should be almost cooked through. Add the tomatoes and French beans. Bring it to a boil, lower the heat, cover, and cook for an additional 30 minutes.

Optionally, add a pinch of sugar. It will bring out the beans’ natural sweetness. It works on the same principle as adding salt to food.

 

Tips

The dish should be lush and not at all watery. If there is any watery residue left over, turn the flame on high for a few minutes, leaving the pot open to allow it to evaporate until you can see droplets of oil rise to the side of the pan-tayl per avayloo.

Do not turn the beans into mush. It should be cooked through but not mushy.

For frozen beans, you may need to pat it dry with kitchen paper before adding it to the pot.

 

Photo credit Niloufer Mavalvala

My published cookbooks are available for sale through myself and on Amazon.

The World of Parsi Cooking: Food Across Borders is a 3 award winning book. It has been self published in July 2019 and will be going into its second print in 2022. 

The Vegetarian Parsi, inspired by tradition is an award winning cookbook. It was published by Spenta Multimedia India and is available on Amazon India and through email order at thevegetarianparsi@gmail.com.

The Art of Parsi Cooking; reviving an ancient cuisine was published in 2016 by Austin Macauley and continues to be available through amazon book depot book depository and from the publishers.