- 135g white basmati rice
- 2 spring onions
- 1 sweet potato
- 2 vine tomatoes
- 2 garlic cloves
- A thumb of ginger
- A handful of coriander
- 1 lime
- 30g peanuts
- 1 tbsp Sumatran curry paste
- 200ml coconut milk
- 200g flat beans
- 1 tbsp coconut, sunflower or rapeseed oil
- Sea salt
- 370ml hot water
- 1.
Tip the white basmati rice into a bowl, cover with cold water and set aside to soak while you prepare the veg. Fill and boil your kettle.
- 2.
Trim the roots and any ragged greens off the spring onions and chop them into 2cm-long lengths. Peel the sweet potato and chop it into bite-sized pieces. Dice the tomatoes.
- 3.
Pour 1 tbsp oil into a medium-sized pan and warm over a medium heat. Add the spring onions, sweet potato and tomatoes, along with a pinch of salt. Pop a lid on the pan. Fry for 6-8 mins, stirring occasionally, till the tomatoes are pulpy and starting to collapse.
- 4.
Meanwhile, peel the garlic and ginger and finely chop or grate both. Finely chop the coriander stalks (keep the leaves for later). Finely grate the zest from the lime. Chop the peanuts. Add the garlic, ginger, coriander stalks, lime zest and peanuts to the veg with 1 tbsp Sumatran curry paste. Cook and stir for 1-2 mins till aromatic.
- 5.
Pour the coconut milk into the pan. Add 100ml hot water from the kettle. Bring to the boil, then turn the heat down and clamp the lid back on. Simmer gently for 10-12 mins, till the sweet potato is almost tender.
- 6.
Meanwhile, whisk the rice in the bowl with a fork till the water goes cloudy (this is the starch). Tip the rice into a sieve, rinse well under cold water, then tip into a small pan. Pour in 270ml hot water and add a pinch of salt. Set on a high heat, cover with a lid and bring to the boil. Turn the heat right down and very gently simmer for 6-8 mins, till the rice has absorbed all the water. Take the pan off the heat and let the rice steam in the pan, lid on, for 5 mins. This will finish cooking the rice.
- 7.
While the rice simmers, trim the woody ends off the beans and chop them into 2cm-long pieces. When the curry has simmered for 10-12 mins, add the beans and simmer, lid off the pan, for 4-5 mins till the veg are tender.
- 8.
Add a squeeze of lime juice to the curry, then taste and add more lime juice or salt, if needed. Fluff the rice with a fork and divide between two warm bowls. Ladle over the curry and garnish with the coriander leaves. Serve straight away.
- Tip
Energy Saver:
When you’re frying veggies to start making a sauce, soup or stew, popping a lid on the pan helps to keep the heat and steam in the pan, speeding up the cook time and saving energy. If you don’t have a lid, use a baking tray to cover the pan or a circle of greaseproof paper laid over the top of the veggies. Remove occasionally to stir the veg.