Red kidney bean and tomato curry

Recipe 

1 tbsp butter or ghee

1 tsp black mustard seeds

4 curry leaves

1 small onion, peeled and chopped small

1 one inch piece piece ginger, peeled and finely chopped

1 clove garlic, peeled and finely chopped

1 tsp cumin seeds (or 1 tsp ground cumin)

1.5 tsp coriander seeds (or 15 tsp ground coriander)

4 cardamoms

4 cloves

1 inch piece cinnamon stick

1/4 tsp turmeric

1 tsp chili powder

1/2 cup red kidney beans

1/2 tin chopped or whole plum tomatoes

1 tsp salt

juice of half a lemon

2 tbsp finely chopped fresh coriander leaf (cilantro)

Heat the butter or ghee in a pan over medium heat until hot. Add the black mustard seeds and cover. The mustard seeds will start to pop and become lighter in colour and fragrant. 

Be careful : Don't remove the lid until the popping has almost stopped or they may hit you in the face. Also, be careful not to burn the seeds or you will have to start again. 

As soon as you think the popping is slowing down, take off the lid and look at the seeds. If they are lighter brown and smell really fragrant, quickly throw in the onion, garlic, ginger, curry leaves, cumin, coriander, cardamoms, cloves, cinnamon, turmeric and chili powder.

Fry the aromatics and spices together for a few moments, stirring constantly and adding a little water if necessary until the onion is softening and starting to brown. 

Add the red kidney beans, tomatoes and salt, bring to a soft boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered for about 20 minutes or so to let the flavours mingle together.

Season with the salt, squeeze over the lemon juice and stir in the cilantro. Let cook for a minute more and then serve with some plain basmati rice or some sort of bread, whether it be a naan, chapati, paratha or even toast.