Home » Recipes » Main Dish » Runner Bean and New Potato Curry with Coconut and Curry Leaves
Runner Bean and New Potato Curry with Coconut and Curry Leaves
0
Runner beans climb their canes with reckless enthusiasm in high summer, and by July a single row can hand you more than you know what to do with — long, flat pods that toughen if you look away for a day. This South Indian-style curry catches them at their tender best, simmering them with waxy new potatoes in a coconut sauce sharpened by tamarind and fragrant with curry leaves. It turns a garden glut into a main worth planning your week around.
⏱ Prep 20 min🔥 Cook 30 min👥 Serves 4📊 Level Easy
Ingredients for 4 people
14 oz (400g) runner beans, strings removed, sliced diagonally into 1 in (2.5cm) pieces
1 lb (450g) waxy new potatoes, halved (or quartered if large)
1 can (14 oz / 400ml) full-fat coconut milk
1 large onion, finely sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 in (2.5cm) piece fresh ginger, grated
15–20 fresh curry leaves (or omit — do not substitute bay)
1 tbsp (15g) tamarind paste (or juice of 1 lime)
2 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp black mustard seeds
2 green chillies, split lengthways (adjust to taste)
3 tbsp (45ml) coconut or sunflower oil
Salt to taste (start with 1 tsp)
The Recipe
Boil the new potatoes in salted water for 10–12 minutes until a knife slides in with slight resistance — they should be almost tender but still holding shape, because they finish cooking in the sauce and turn to mush if fully soft now. Drain and set aside.
Heat the oil in a wide heavy pan over medium heat and add the mustard seeds. Wait for them to pop and dance — about 30 seconds — which releases their nutty pungency; if they don’t crackle, your oil isn’t hot enough and the flavour stays raw.
Immediately drop in the curry leaves and stand back — they spit sharply for a few seconds, then go glossy and release a citrus-savoury aroma that perfumes the whole pan. This tempering is the backbone of the dish; do not skip it.
Add the sliced onion and cook for 8–10 minutes, stirring often, until soft and pale gold at the edges. Rushing this over high heat scorches the onion bitter — you want gentle caramelisation for sweetness against the tamarind.
Stir in the garlic, ginger, split chillies and turmeric and cook for 90 seconds until the raw garlic smell turns mellow and the turmeric darkens slightly — cooking the turmeric here removes its chalky bitterness.
Pour in the coconut milk and tamarind paste, add the runner beans, and bring to a gentle simmer. Cook uncovered for 8 minutes so the beans lose their squeak and turn deep green but keep a little bite — a full boil splits the coconut milk into grainy curds.
Fold in the parboiled potatoes and simmer another 5–6 minutes until they’ve absorbed the sauce and the whole pan thickens to coat a spoon. Taste and add salt gradually — coconut milk swallows salt, so it needs more than you expect.
Rest off the heat for 5 minutes before serving; the sauce tightens and the flavours settle, and the beans finish softening in the residual warmth.
