Borlotti Beans Curry
Fresh Borlotti beans are one of the cheapest beans around. It’s also one of the best plant proteins you can choose from at your local grocer.
My local market sells a packet of these beans for R15 a tray. When I peel the beans I usually end up with just over a cup of beans to cook with. I tend to always buy two packets and I freeze one lot for later in the week. Borlotti beans are more carb than protein. According to fitnessgenes.com 1 cup of organic Borlotti contains 17 grams of protein, 1 gram of fat, and 43 grams of carbohydrates. For me, that nutritional gold is perfect because I am always trying to eat plants that will give me fiber, carbs, and protein in one sitting. To pack a punch, and make this meal even more delicious, I decided to make a gravy from eggplant in a rather unusual way.
I roasted them first with thyme, salt, pepper, and 1 tbsp of oil and then I scooped out the insides and blended them. This method eliminated the oil content of the overall meal and I was very happy with it.
Did you know: Borlotti beans are low GI. It is rich in fiber and it will keep you full for longer. It’s also got quite a substantial amount of iron and magnesium - which is perfect for anyone who runs a lot as I do.
Ingredients.
1/2 onion, sliced
1/4 cabbage, sliced finely
3 eggplants, halved
1 tbsp olive oil for the roast
1 tsp olive oil for the curry
8 dry red chilies
1/2 tsp jeera seeds
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 cinnamon stick
1 curry leaf stalk
1 tsp curry powder of your choosing
1 tsp garam masala
1 tbsp pea protein powder
salt to taste
Method
Heat your oven to 180 degrees and bake your eggplant for 1 hour.
To prepare it, lay 6 eggplant halves on parchment paper in a baking tray and drizzle 1 tbsp of olive oil over it. Season well with salt and pepper and use fresh thyme to cover each brinjal. The more thyme you use the better the flavour. Rub the brinjals and season them well.
30 minutes into your brinjals baking, start making your curry.
Use a large pot on medium-high heat to fry onions with the dry red chilies, mustard seeds, jeera seeds, curry leaf, and cinnamon.
When the mustard seeds start to pop, add beans to the pot and fry them for 10-15 minutes. Lower the heat if the onions start to stick to the bottom of the pot.
Add cabbage to the pot with chili powder and let that braise for 10 minutes. You can pop in 1/8 cup of water into the pot to avoid your vegetables from burning at this stage. Keep repeating this step on low heat to achieve a soft creamy bean texture.
When your eggplants are ready, scoop out the insides and push the thyme aside to cool.
Blitz it until it’s very smooth and then crack some of the dry thyme into the mixture.
Add the eggplant to the pot and 1/4 of a cup of water. The curry must be cooking on very low heat.
Let the pot simmer until the gravy thickens a little. About 20 minutes. Add 1 tbsp of pea protein powder to the mix for added protein and give it a good stir.
Season well with salt.
Serve with fresh coriander and a wholegrain/rotli at lunchtime. At night, this is best served with sweet potato mash or pumpkin mash.
