Thai Yellow Curry With Green Beans and Potatoes

What kind of food can you eat repeatedly and do you ever get bored of it? For me, it’s a curry with yellow vegetables. We have it all the time. It’s silky, fragrant and heartfelt – and even more, it tastes even better as a leftover. So when I met him I was excited Meera Sodha’s Yellow curry recipe with green beans and potatoes from her new cookbook; Dinner: 120 Vegan and Vegetarian Recipes for the most important meals of the day. This is how to make it…

Thai yellow curry with green beans and potatoes
from dinner By Meera Sodha
Serve 4

Meera Sodha said: “The naming of the Thai Curry traffic light is probably a genius marketing that made the journey to the Westerners’ plates very easy. Green and red are defined by their corresponding chili peppers, while yellow is characterized by a lineup of aromatic stars including lemongrass, cumming, cumming and zingers, including Mecca leaves, beams of sunlight.”

Two large shallots (21⁄2oz net), almost chopped
The whole garlic head, the cloves are separated and peeled
Two stems of lemongrass, outer leaves, top 3 discarded, rest roughly carved
1 1⁄2 x 1 1⁄2 inch ginger, chopped four bird chili peppers, chopped
4 McClute lime leaves*
1 piece of ground turmeric
1⁄2 ground cumin
1 cup of ground coriander
1 1⁄2 salt
2 x 14 oz can of coconut milk
1 1⁄4 lbs waxy potatoes, cut into 1 1⁄2 x 3⁄4 inch pieces
2 tbsp canola oil
Served with 14 oz of green beans and cooked jasmine rice

First, make the curry paste. Put shallots, garlic, lemongrass, ginger, chili peppers, lime leaves, spices and salt in a blender, add 1⁄4 cups of coconut milk, add blitz and add a splash of coconut milk if necessary. Place it on one side.

Bring a medium sized pot to a boil, carefully lower the potatoes and cook for 10-12 minutes until the knife is easily in and out. Drain and set aside while you start the curry.

Put the oil in a large pot with the lid on it, set it over medium heat, add hot curry paste and stir-fry for 5 minutes. It starts to darken slightly and smell significantly better.

Once the fat is split, the paste starts to look a little oily, add the remaining coconut milk and half of the water. Cook. Add the cooked potatoes and green beans and cook everything for 5-6 minutes until the beans are tender and the curry is slightly reduced and thickened.

To serve, ladle the curry into a bowl and serve with steamed jasmine rice.

*Purchase fresh or frozen macrat lime leaves from a local Chinese supermarket and store them in the freezer. Waxed potatoes, such as red potatoes and crests, are better than starch because they absorb less sauce, but use whatever you have and add a little water to make it into a sausage if necessary. You’ll need a blender to make this.

thank you, Meera!

PS 20 minutes of coconut chicken soup and 11 readers share their go-to recipes.

(Photos by David Loftus and Book Cover Photo by Jenny Rosenstrach. )

(Excerpt from Dinner: 120 Vegan and Vegetarian Recipes for the most important meals of the day By Meera Sodha. Copyright 2024 by Meera Sodha. Reprinted with permission from Flatiron Books. Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited. )