Four Beans Mix with Mushrooms Curry

After spending 4 months sitting at home and blogging mostly, it’s time for me to go back to my 9 to 5 desk job.  I am already starting to miss the free time I had and the luxury of “worrying” what to make next for my blog rather than office politics or performance review. Not that I’m going to abandon my blog, but depending on how my new job is going to be, I might reduce my blogging activity in order to make way for my new job.

Am I the only person who  feels the reluctance of going back to work after a long happy break?

Roxan and Tanantha, how did you manage the back-to-work blues after your fabulous trips?

In anticipation for my demotivation of making dinner after work for the first couple of days, I figure why not utilised my last bit of free time and cooked a big pot for curry enough for leftovers. Since it is a vegetarian and a curry dish, it’ll keep well for the next few days if not better. 🙂

Four Beans Mix with Mushrooms Curry

(adapted generously from The food of India – A journey for food lovers)

FYI  for Australian visitors – I got this book for $5.00 in Coles. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw the price tag! Even renown food magazines like Donna Hay and Australian Women Weekly cost more than this. It could be a pricing error, but I kept my mouth shut and get a copy for myself. Definitely a bargain for any curry lovers!

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: about 30 minutes

Serves 4 – 5 people

Ingredients:

• 400g (14 oz) tin four beans mix (four beans here consist of butter beans, white beans, chickpeas & red kidney beans)
• 400g (14 oz) tin chopped tomatoes (or chopped fresh tomatoes)
• 250g (9 oz) button mushrooms (about 11 mushrooms) – to save time you can get pre-sliced ones.
• 1/4 cup oil
• 1 medium sized brown onion, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 tbsps chopped coriander

Spices:

• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 3 cm (1.25 inches) cinnamon stick
• 2 tsps coriander powder (aka ground coriander)
• 1 tsp cumin powder (aka ground cumin)
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (adjust according to taste)

Method:

• Get the spices ready on a plate.

• Chopped onions and garlic. Set aside.

• Clean mushrooms with a kitchen towel and roughly sliced.

• Heat oil in a 20cm (8 inched) pot.  Add cumin seeds and cinnmon stick and let them sizzle over low flame for 10 seconds.
• Then add onion and garlic. Stir over low-medium heat until sfot and starting to brown like photo below (takes about 2-3 minutes).

• Add mushrooms and fry for another 2 to 3 minutes.  Then add tomatoes, coriander powder, cumin powder, turmeric, cayenne pepper. Cover and cook over low heat for 10 minutes.

• Add beans into the pot mixture and season with salt to taste. Stir in the coriander leaves and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes – I like my curry with some gravy. Otherwise you can simmer longer if you prefer your curry to be thicker and more intense in flavour. CHECK the mixture to make sure it doesn’t burn at the bottom.
• Served with plain or spiced rice or bread.

(Depending on how well your pot heats up, I keep the flame on low throughout the cooking process so that I don’t burn the spices and the gravy while simmering.)