This recipe for Indian-style green beans is a fantastic way to prepare green beans as a side dish to serve with your favourite curry. I've used creamed horseradish rather than chilli to provide a touch of heat. And the spices are lightly fried in ghee which not only releases the aroma of the spices but also imparts a deliciously buttery taste to the beans.
Are you looking for something other than aloo gobi or saag aloo to serve as a side dish with your favourite curry? Let me introduce you to these fabulously tasty Indian-style green beans.
This is such a simple recipe to make, it takes only a few minutes to put together. In fact, I would think that it takes more time to gather the ingredients than it does to actually cook the beans.
All you have to do is boil the beans for a few minutes until they are tender, but still have a bit of a 'bite' to them.
While the beans are boiling you can fry off the spices in a little ghee (see this post for how to make ghee yourself), then it's just a matter of draining the beans and mixing everything together. Stir fry for another 2 minutes or so and that's it. Ready to serve!
Let me show you how to make them.
Jump to:
🥘Ingredients
**See the printable recipe card at the end of this post for the complete list of ingredients**
This recipe will serve 4 people as a side dish but you can easily adjust the quantities to serve more.
- Green beans - you may also know these as french beans, string beans or even snap beans. I would recommend using fresh beans. You could use defrosted frozen beans, but the texture of the finished dish won't be as crisp.
- Creamed horseradish - I normally buy this in jars in the supermarket. I like the milder creamed horseradish as opposed to the hot, but it's your choice. You could probably make your own creamed horseradish if you really wanted to but be prepared for many tears. Cutting up raw horseradish is far worse than chopping onions.
- Oil or ghee - from force of habit I put oil into my little dish for the photo. When I came to make the beans I remembered the homemade ghee that I'd made the day previously so I used that instead. You can use oil if you don't have ghee, but ghee adds a buttery, slightly nutty taste to the beans that you don't get with oil. You could also use butter.
- Cumin seeds - eaten raw, cumin seeds can be quite bitter but once cooked they develop a savoury nutty flavour.
- Sesame seeds - they add even more nuttiness to the dish, and once fried the flavour is even more evident. If you don't have sesame seeds you could substitute the amount of sesame seeds called for in the recipe with half a teaspoon of sesame oil. Be very careful not to overdo the sesame oil though, a little goes a long way!
- Garlic - because garlic makes everything taste better! You can use either freshly minced garlic or go for convenience and buy a jar of ready-minced.
- Cayenne pepper - I added a small amount to increase the heat slightly.
- Salt and sugar - for seasoning. You can adjust both of these to your own taste, or leave them out altogether.
🔪What to do
Top and tail the beans and put them into a pan of lightly salted cold water. Bring them to a boil and cook for about 5 minutes or until they are cooked but still crispy.
While the beans are boiling, melt the oil or ghee in a saucepan and add the remaining ingredients (except the creamed horseradish). Fry on a moderate heat, stirring continuously, for 2 to 3 minutes.
Drain the beans and add them to the spices in the saucepan, along with the creamed horseradish. Stir well to combine and then continue to stirfry on moderate heat for 2 to 3 minutes.
Transfer to a serving dish and serve hot as a side dish with your favourite curry.
💭Top tip
If you are not sure whether your beans are cooked properly, use the tooth test. If you can bite into a bean and it doesn't squeak on your teeth then the beans are cooked.
Once you are satisfied that the beans are cooked as you like them, rinse them under cold water to stop the cooking process.
📖Variations
For a spicier version of this dish, you could substitute the horseradish with finely chopped red or green chilli. Fry the chopped chilli with the garlic and spices.
🍽Equipment
To make this dish you will need two saucepans, one for boiling the beans and the other for frying off the spices.
I also like to use a silicone spatula for stir-frying so that I don't scratch my pans.
FAQ
Absolutely - just make sure that you refresh the steamed beans in cold water to stop the cooking process.
These beans can be stored in the refrigerator for up to three days and reheated either on the hob or in the microwave.
You can freeze the beans for up to 3 months. Let them defrost in the refrigerator and then reheat as above.
Bear in mind that if you do freeze the beans they won't be as crispy as if you had made them from fresh. And to be honest, they are so quick to make that I would be inclined to make them when I need them.
Save for later
If you would like to make these Indian-style green beans why not save the recipe to one of your Pinterest boards so you can find it easily when you need it? Just click on the image below.
Alternatively, you can save the recipe by clicking on the floating heart icon on the right-hand side of the screen.
Related recipes
Why not serve these Indian-style green beans alongside one of these curries? Or browse my curry recipes page for other ideas.
📋The recipe
Indian-style green beans
(Click the stars to rate this recipe)
Equipment
- 2 Saucepans
- Silicone spatula
Ingredients
- ¾ pound / 350 grams green beans aka french beans / string beans / snap beans
- 1 tablespoon ghee, butter or sunflower oil for frying the spices
- 1 tablespoon creamed horseradish (mild) or use hot horseradish if you prefer
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
- ½ teaspoon sesame seeds substitute with sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper or to your own taste
- ½ teaspoon sugar optional
- ½ teaspoon salt optional
Instructions
- Top and tail the beans and put them into a pan of lightly salted cold water. Bring them to a boil and let them cook for about 5 minutes or until they are cooked but still crispy. Refresh under cold water to stop the cooking process.¾ pound / 350 grams green beans
- While the beans are boiling, melt the oil or ghee in a saucepan and add the remaining ingredients (except the creamed horseradish). Fry on a moderate heat, stirring continuously, for 2 to 3 minutes.1 tablespoon ghee, butter or sunflower oil, ½ teaspoon cumin seeds, ½ teaspoon sesame seeds, 1 teaspoon minced garlic, ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper, ½ teaspoon sugar, ½ teaspoon salt
- Drain the beans and add them to the spices in the saucepan, along with the creamed horseradish. Stir well to combine and then continue to stirfry on moderate heat for 2 to 3 minutes until the beans are hot.1 tablespoon creamed horseradish (mild)
- Transfer to a serving dish and serve hot as a side dish with your favourite curry.
Notes
Bear in mind that if you do freeze the beans they won't be as crispy as if you had made them from fresh. And to be honest, they are so quick to make that I would be inclined to make them when I need them. Nutrition assumes that this dish will serve people as a side.
Nutrition
I am not a nutritionist. The nutrition information has been calculated using an on-line calculator, and is intended for information and guidance purposes only. If the nutrition information is important to you, you should consider calculating it yourself, using your preferred tool.
If you made this recipe and enjoyed it, I'd love it if you could give me a star rating in the comments below. And if you'd like to get in touch, you can email me at [email protected]. I'd love to hear from you. And don't forget to subscribe to my mailing list so you can grab yourself a copy of my FREE COOKBOOK!
If you'd like to continue browsing, just click on this link to all my recipes.
Did you make this recipe? Let me know!