Cooking with Monisha - Recipes & More

Chawli Bendi
black eyed beans in coconut cream - Serves 4

Indian astrology links black eye beans with the planet Venus and therefore in many parts of the country, they are considered to be aphrodisiacs. In this south Indian recipe, their buttery texture is combined with the smoothness of the coconut milk and cream.

Preparation time: 5 mins Cooking time: 10 mins

3 tablespoons sunflower oil
4 dried red chillies, deseeded
1 teaspoon tamarind paste
2 cloves garlic
300ml (10fl oz) coconut milk
1 x 410g can black eyed beans, drained and rinsed
Salt to taste

Heat a tablespoon of oil in a pan and add the chillies, then the tamarind and garlic. Fry for a minute and grind to a fire paste in a coffee mill.
Heat the remaining oil and fry this paste again, just for a minute.
Add the coconut milk, beans and salt. Heat through and serve.

Tip - Melt the tamarind paste I a few teaspoons of water before using so that it does not stick to the pan.