Sri Lankan Green bean curry is a classic dish that you can find anywhere in Sri Lanka. Ready in under 15 minutes, for a such a simple curry, it packs a lot of flavour!
This Green Bean Curry is perfect to serve along with other Sri Lankan dishes such as my Coconut Lentil Curry, Aubergine Curry and Carrot Sambal (Salad). Traditionally as with all curries, you can enjoy it with a staple carb like rice or roti. I however love eating it buddha bowl style with other curries and veggies.
If you try this recipe out, be sure to tag me using #thebellephant on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook.
Sri Lankan Green Bean Curry
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 10-15 curry leaves
- 2 medium onions, finely diced
- salt to taste
- 6 garlic cloves, minced
- 4 green chillies, roughly sliced
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 600g green beans, stalks removed and chopped into 3cm pieces
- 3 tbsp coconut cream
- 1/2 lime, juiced
Instructions
- Heat the coconut oil in a shallow pan. Fry the cumin, mustard seeds and curry leaves for around 30 seconds until you hear the seeds pop.
- Sauté the onions with salt until soft and browned. Adding salt now allows the beans to absorb the flavours when they cook. You can always add a little at this point and more to taste at the end if you're not able to gauge how much salt you need.
- Add the garlic, chillies, turmeric and green beans. Stir thoroughly, cover and cook on a low heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Mix in the coconut cream and cook for a further 5 minutes until the beans are soft but still able to hold their shape.
- Turn off the heat and stir through the lime juice before serving.
Phenomenal! I used kafir lime leaves in place of curry leaves. It was so incredibly delicious. Served it with a simple Dahl, your carrot sambal, rice and some dosas! Thank you Shika 🙂
Thank you Sarah for the lovely comment! I love kaffir lime leaves too- a wonderful sub. Glad you enjoyed it! Shika x
Hi Sheila, this looks delicious! I’ve got an abundance of green beans growing in my garden at the moment and I’d love to make this curry! I don’t have any curry leaves, could I sub with something else? Thanks, Sarah
Love this curry, I have cooked it several times now. So easy and sooooo delicious! Great as part of a veggie curry spread. Will no doubt be having it many times in the future 🙂
Thanks for the awesome recipe!
Hey Jess, sorry for not replying sooner! I took a break from my site and am back :). Thank you so much for your kind words – so happy to hear that you enjoyed it! Shika x
Did lentil curry
Brilliant Easy Healthy meal also good for my diet
Thank you Roddy! 🙂
I cooked the Sri Lankan Green Bean Curry for my family including two teenage children. It was a huge success and everyone loved it- not a Bean left on the plate! Followed the recipe exactly- very easy to follow and as I had most of the ingredients. Tasted delicious and just the right level of heat for this dish. Will definitely be making it again. Was fabulous just as it was and I also think would be a nice accompaniment to a mild white fish.
Hi Clare, great to hear it was such a success 😊! Hope you’ll try more of my Sri Lankan recipes. Shika x