Curried green beans and onions
The sweet-sour flavour of curried beans is typically South African but can be very sweet. This version has a good balance between the different flavours.
Ready in
50 minsServing size
Serves 6 – 8Ingredients
- 350 g green beans, halved width-wise
- 1 onion, halved and cut into thin wedges
- 1 clove of garlic, crushed
- 1 cup (250 ml) strong Rooibos tea or water
- 2 tbsp (30 ml) cornflour, mixed with 2 tbsp (30 ml) water to form a paste
- 2 tbsp (30 ml) lemon juice
- 4 tsp (20 ml) finely grated lemon rind
- 4 tsp (20 ml) white grape vinegar
- 2 tsp (10 ml) mild curry powder
- ½ tsp (2,5 ml) turmeric
- 4 tsp (20 ml) sugar or honey
- ¼ tsp (1,2 ml) salt
Method
- Place beans, onion and garlic in a pot. Add tea or water and bring to the boil over medium heat.
- Reduce heat and simmer with a lid for 5-7 minutes or until the veggies are almost tender. Stir once during this time.
- Meanwhile, mix cornflour paste with lemon juice and rind, vinegar, curry powder, turmeric and sugar or honey.
- Add cornflour mixture to the veggies and stir well to coat. Simmer with a lid for another 5-7 minutes or until the sauce thickens. The beans and onions should be cooked, but the beans should still be green and crunchy and well coated with the sauce.
- Stir in the salt. Allow to cool and serve at room temperature.
Tips
- Prepare the recipe as above, but leave out the green beans. Stir any tin of well-drained beans of your choice into the sauce, simmer as above and allow to cool.
- The thickness of the green beans will determine the cooking time.
- Any leftover curried beans can be stored in a sterilised container for up to two weeks.

This recipe is from Cooking from the heart, 4th edition: Braai
Download the recipe book