Express Recipes: How to make Herbed Beans with Potatoes

Serves 4
250 gm french beans – cut into 2” long, pieces
2 medium potatoes – cut into thin long pieces, 2 tbsp butter, 1 tbsp oil
1 tsp onion seeds (kalonji), 2-3 dried red chillies – broken into pieces
6-8 flakes garlic – chopped (1 tbsp)
2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander, 2 tbsp chopped fresh mint
1 tsp sugar, preferably brown sugar, ¾ tsp salt, 1 tbsp lemon juice

Method
* Mix coriander, mint, sugar, salt and lemon juice together.

* Heat butter and oil in a non stick kadhai or a wok. Reduce heat. Add onion seeds, red chillies and garlic. Stir for ½ minute on low heat.

* Add the potatoes and stir for 2-3 minutes. Keep them spaced out while doing so. Cover and cook for about 5-7 minutes till crisp tender.

* Add the french beans and ¼ tsp salt. Stir fry for 3-4 minutes on medium heat. Cover and cook for 2-3 minutes till soft but crunchy.

* Remove from heat. Add the coriander-mint mixture and mix well. Serve hot with bread or as a side dish with an Indian meal.

Nita Mehta is a celebrated chef and has penned over 600 books. Her book cover a multitude of cuisines from around the world. 450 of her books have been on the best-seller list, and in the short span of a few years she has sold over 7.5 million books. Several of her books have also won International Awards. She has conducted cooking classes in USA, UK, Canada and several other countries, and appeared on many TV channels in cookery shows.