Kidney Bean Curry (Vegan, Gluten-free)
This is another versatile way to enjoy kidney beans. Growing up in Jamaica, we called kidney beans peas, therefore, it took me a while to get used to saying beans instead. Kidney beans are a good source of protein, a soluble fiber that lowers cholesterol stabilizes blood sugar and helps with weight loss.
Similar to rajma masala curry except, I added some Jamaican flavors like my Scotch Bonnet pepper, thyme, and coconut milk.
Yield: 4 servingsÂ
Ingredients:
- 1 cup dried red kidney beans or 2 (15-ounce/425g) cans of kidney beans, drained
- 1 tablespoon (15g) coconut oil or 1/4 cup (60ml) water
- 1 onion, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1-inch fresh ginger
- 2 chopped green onions( white and green parts)
- 2 medium tomatoes, chopped
- 1 teaspoon coriander
- 1/4 teaspoon cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
- 2 sprigs thyme
- 1 cup (250ml) coconut milk
- 1/4 cup (120ml) waterÂ
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt or to taste
- Pinch cayenne pepper (optional) or 1 whole Scotch Bonnet pepper
- Cilantro to garnish
 Directions:
Sort and rinse beans well, put them in a large bowl or pot. Add enough water to cover (about 3 cups) and soak beans overnight or for around 8 hours.
Drain beans using a colander. Place beans and water to cover (about 6 cups) in a large pot to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 1 hour, or until beans are tender. Drain beans and reserve 1/2 cup cooking liquid, set aside. Heat a large saucepan with oil on medium-high heat. Add onion and cook until soft, about 4 minutes Add garlic and ginger, cook for 30 seconds. Add green onions, tomatoes, coriander, cumin, turmeric, and thyme, stirring for 2 minutes. Add coconut milk, water and cook for about 30 minutes or until sauce thicken. Add salt to taste and garnish with cilantro. You might want to also try my curried chickpeas recipe.
Chef’s Tip: It is important to make sure your kidney beans are thoroughly cooked. Red kidney beans contain hemagglutinins, an antibody that causes red blood cells to clump together. When undercooked red kidney beans are eaten in large amounts, the hemagglutinins may trigger abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea. Cooking red kidney beans thoroughly inactivates this unwanted reaction.
This is really good! I’ve made it twice and it was even better the second time! Sooo good!
Question: what do you do with the 1/2 cup of cooking fluid from the beans (Aquafina?) the recipe says to set it aside but doesn’t say what to do with it.
Thank you Erin for leaving your comment, this recipe is one of my earlier recipes that need updating to the new recipe format. I’m going to do it today and update instructions. Quickly reading, you are going to add the reserved liquid plus coconut milk as your liquid base.
Wow!
Thank you, I am making this tonight in South Africa!
(Two notes:
1. Your recipe calls for 4 cloves of garlic but you mention 2 cloves in a poster’s reply.
2. The link for the chickpea curry is not working but I did manage to locate the recipe with the search function.)
Awesome Christo, hope you enjoy my recipe. I was explaining to the poster how to use dried powdered garlic, so she would actually need double the amount or half teaspoon garlic powder to make it an equivalent of 4 garlic cloves. Thank you, I will fix the chickpea curry link now.
Thank you for these substitutions & other information. I will look forward to making this dish in the near future & now I am sure that it will meet or even surpass my expectations & be just perfect.
This recipe looks so good!! It would be really good with your gluten-free corn bread recipe.
My specialty in cooking is Tex-Mex so I am unfamiliar with these spices.
Since I need to economize & I already have dried ginger & thyme in my pantry, would you tell me the ratio of dried ginger, garlic powder & thyme to the fresh.
Thank you so much for your help.
Hello Dianna, I also love Tex-Mex dishes. So happy you are willing to try some Indian dishes as well. Cumin is common to both cuisine,turmeric is one of the spices that differentiates them. Turmeric is a powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory spice and it’s a cousin to ginger. 1/4 teaspoon of ground ginger is equivalent to fresh ginger (I rarely use ground ginger because I find it tastes different in recipes than the fresh). Most supermarkets and even Walmart sells the fresh, I usually chop and freeze it so it can last long. 1 teaspoon of dried thyme to 2 sprigs of fresh thyme. 1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder is equivalent to 2 cloves garlic. Hope you enjoy!
What a delicious looking recipe! I love the use of kidney beans. I am going to get soaking so I can make this this weekend!
I love bean curries! So warming and filling! This one looks excellent!
I need to learn how to use curry more. I like to eat it- rarely cook with it. This would be a great recipe for me to try!