Curried Baked Beans

Baked beans in tomato sauce were a real luxury for us when we were growing up in Kenya.  Sometimes as a treat, my dad would get a couple of cans and re cook them to taste more like the curries we were used to.   I had forgotten about this until I heard my nephew telling me how my brother cooks the baked beans for them.  Then a Facebook  friend also told me how she cooks the baked beans to make them hot and spicy.   Until recently,  I used to just warm the beans in the microwave for 4 minutes and pour them on my toast.   I was making beans on toast one evening and decided to cook the beans just like my dad used to and we loved them.  Once you have tasted these spicy baked beans you’ll never eat the regular baked beans by just heating them in the microwave.  

For this recipe, the best canned beans to use are any British baked beans and I am sure most of you know which ones are the best make.  The American baked beans would also work but they tend to be a lot sweeter than the British baked beans so you may have to make some adjustments to get the desi (authentic Indian) taste of beans.   

Ingredients for 2 servings

1 can of baked beans (415 grams) in tomato sauce

1 cup of canned tomatoes or Passata

2-3 chopped green chillies

1 tbs. grated ginger

3-4 cloves of garlic

1 tbs lemon juice

Bunch of finely chopped coriander

½ tsp turmeric

1 tsp dhana jiru (ground cumin and coriander powder)

1 tbs sunflower oil

½ tsp cumin seeds

Method

1.                Heat the oil and add in the cumin seeds.  Once they get brown, add in the canned tomatoes or the Passata.   Add the green chillies, ginger, garlic, turmeric and lemon juice.  Also add the chopped coriander and stir well and allow to cook for 2-3 minutes

2.                Add the baked beans in tomato sauce and cook for 4-5 minutes.

3.                Garnish with dhana jiru (ground cumin and coriander powder) or fresh coriander and serve on toast,  jacket potato or fries and croquettes like me. 

4.  You can also add onions to the beans if you like.  I would suggest adding them first before adding the tomatoes if you wished to add onions to the dish.

If you enjoy reading my blog, please click on Follow or become a fan of my page on Facebook or follow me on Twitter.

My blog  is also available on Kindle.