Sri Lankan Green Beans &Potato Curry - Bonchi Curry

This is again a delicious Sri Lankan stew or curry that I had adapted from Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian. The dish makes use of a Sri Lankan raw curry powder which is again a fragrant mix of spices that I have made use of in my Lankan Dal. 

The curry is supposedly to be used as a side with rice and pickles. I found that the taste is similar to the stew that is made in Kerala to be served with appams. I loved it with rice and rotis. So suit yourself when to serve this.:)

Ingredients:
Potatoes: almost 1 cup peeled and cubed
Turmeric Powder: 1/4 + 1/4 tsp

Vegetable Oil: 1-2 tbsp
Fresh CurryLeaves: few or atleast 8-10

Red Onion: 1 big chopped finely
Garlic: 2-3 peeled and minced
Ginger: 1/2 tsp peeled and minced/ground
Green Chillies: 1-2 depending on heat and taste : chopped into rings (I used slit)

Green Beans: 1 cup chopped
Raw Curry Powder: 3 tsp +/- (recipe given below)

Coconut Milk: 1/2 cup +/- depending on thickness
Cinnamon: 2-3 inch stick
Salt: as per taste
Fresh Lime Juice: 2 tbsp +/- (I did not use this)


Raw Curry Powder:

Coriander Seeds: 2 tbsp
Fennel Seeds: 1 tbsp
Cumin Seeds: 1.5 tbsp
FenuGreek Seeds : 1 tbsp
Fresh CurryLeaves: 3 whoe sprigs or about 60 in no: OR a handful of dried ones
Dessicated Coconut: 1 tbsp (I used Fresh)
Raw Rice: 1.5 tsp
Brown/Black Mustard Seeds: 1/2 tsp

Preparation:


CurryPowder:

Preheat the oven to 65C/ 150 F. Spread the ingredients onto a baking sheet and bake for an hour. Cool and grind to a fine powder as possible.

My OTG does not have 65C. So I just lightly warmed the ingredients  in a pan. I put the pan on lowest heat and then added the ingredients. As it started warming up and the raw smell was just about to leave, I removed the pan from heat and then cooled and ground to a fine powder.Store in a n airtight container if remaining for a future use.

Curry:

Put the potato cubes in a pan with enough water and 1/4 tsp turmeric and cook till almost or 3/4 done.

Heat oil in a large pan on medium heat. Add curry leaves and let them flavour the oil. 

Then after few seconds, add in the finely chopped onions,ginger-garlic minced, and chopped/slit chillies. Saute for a few minutes till the onions turn transparent or the raw smell goes. 

Add in the green beans and saute for a minute.Add the curry powder and stir once. Now add water,coconut milk,remaining turmeric, salt,cinnamon stick and potatoes. Stir well. Bring to a boil and then reduce and let it cook in simmer,till done covered with a lid almost 15-20 minutes.

Add the lime juice and adjust the salt and seasonings. Remove the cinnamon stick before serving. 

I did not add the lime juice as I had liked the taste of the dish without it. As also I was not sure how hot coconut milk will react with lime juice. 

Do as per your intuition in such cases. The curry/stew was very comforting and I would definitely be making it again.

On googling I found that 'Bonchi' is the Chinese name for Green Beans. How is is associated with Lanka, I am clueless.