Description

Warming, cozy, and brimming with goodness, this Easy Kidney Bean Curry is so simple to make and sure to put a smile on your face. Whole Food Plant Based, vegan, plant based, oil free, refined sugar free, no highly processed ingredients, and gluten free.

Ingredients

Scale

Base Ingredients:

1 cup yellow onions, fine dice
1 medium jalapeno pepper, fine dice *
2 Tablespoons minced garlic
1 Tablespoon minced ginger
1 – [ 14 oz. can ] petite diced tomatoes
¼ cup vegetable broth *
1 cup water (or broth)
1 Tablespoon unsalted almond butter *
¼ teaspoon baking soda *

Spice/Herb Ingredients:

1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
2 Tablespoons dried minced onions
¾ teaspoon cumin (+/-) *
¾ teaspoon garam masala powder (+/-) *
¾ teaspoon mild chili powder (+/-) *
Pinch turmeric
½ teaspoon sea salt (+/-) *
1 bay leaf
Pinch cayenne pepper (optional) *

Other Ingredients:

1 – [ 15 oz. can ] kidney beans, drained and rinsed *

Optional Toppings:

Fresh chopped cilantro

Serving Ideas:

Steamed brown rice (or rice of choice)

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Instructions

Place the all the Spice/Herb Ingredients in a small bowl (except the bay leaf and cayenne pepper), mix well, set aside.
In a large ceramic/enamel lined Dutch oven or skillet (or similarly large stockpot/skillet) add the diced onions and jalapeno peppers, sauté over medium-high heat until the soften, approx. 7 to 9 minutes.Add a splash of water (or broth) if needed, if the onions start to stick/burn.
Add the minced garlic and ginger, stir constantly for 1 minute. Then add the Spice/Herb mix (except the bay leaf), stir constantly to allow the spices to release their fragrance, approx. 1 minute, then add all the remaining Base Ingredients and the bay leaf (except for the baking soda), stir well to incorporate, increase the heat and bring to a boil, add the baking soda, stir well, then immediately lower to a simmer for 3 minutes.
After 3 minutes, add the kidney beans. Simmer for 10 minutes to allow the flavors to develop.
Remove the bay leaf, then take an emersion blender (or mash with a fork) and blend about 1/3 of the mixture to create a stew-like thickness, stir well, simmer for 5 minutes, taste test, add cayenne pepper, if needed, then serve over rice topped with freshly chopped cilantro.

Notes

*Jalapeno Pepper/Cayenne Pepper: Jalapeno peppers come in varying degrees of heat. You may or may not need the cayenne pepper to increase the heat. We suggest leaving the cayenne pepper out until the very end to taste the final dish, then determine if you need it or not.

*Spices: The flavor/spices in this dish are at a moderate level. You can easily increase or decrease the spice levels based upon personal preferences. Our family was divided over the flavor palate, meaning some preferred different spices to be accented (increased) over others, so we split the difference. We suggest using the spice amounts indicated in the recipe, then after blending some of the beans, taste test and add additional spices at that time. If any are added, just simmer for a few more minutes to allow the flavors to develop.

*Chili Powder: Chili powders come in varying degrees of heat as well. We really enjoy Penzeys Regular Chili Powder. It has great flavor without the heat. Feel free to use your favorite chili powder.

*Garam Masala: Garam Marsala spice blends vary greatly with some accenting different spices over others. We really enjoy Penzeys Garam Masala-Punjabi Style. Feel free to use your favorite spice blend of Garam Masala.

*Vegetable Stock: We use Pacific Organic Low Sodium Vegetable Stock. We love this brand because it is Whole Food Plant Based compliant, as it does not contain MSG, has no oil, and does not contain any highly-processed ingredients.

*Baking Soda: Baking soda is often used as a neutralizer for dishes that contain a lot of acidity, typically from tomatoes. We use it in this dish to remove some of the tomato acidity (from the enchilada sauce) without losing the tomatoey flavor. When you add it, the mixture will bubble up, then settle down as it neutralizes the acidity.

*Unsalted Almond Butter: You can leave out the almond butter if you wish, or substitute with another nut or seed butter. The flavor will change accordingly, and you may need to ramp up or down other spices dependent upon choices made. Our recommendation is to leave the almond butter in the recipe or consider a slightly lower amount. The almond butter slightly tempers the spices, but more importantly removes any sharp bitter notes.

*Sea Salt: Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.

*Serving: 4

*Storage: Refrigerate and use within 5 days.