This is Urvashi’s wonderfully versatile store cupboard shaak recipe which can be made with any combination of tinned beans (even baked beans or frozen vegetables), tomato or coconut milk. I used cannellini beans, coconut milk and tomatoes (plus some saag bhaji I had in the fridge leftover from a take-away meal).
Serves 2-3 depending on how hungry you are!
Ingredients
2 tbsp sunflower or rapeseed oil
1½ tsp mustard seeds
1½ tsp cumin seeds
5 curry leaves (optional)
3 x tins of your choice
2½ tsp ground cumin
2½ tsp ground coriander
1 heaped tsp turmeric
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp salt
50g fresh coriander, finely chopped to garnish
Method
Heat the oil in a large wok for a few minutes and then add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, and curry leaves (if you're using them). Quickly add the contents of your three tins, draining any beans or pulses first. Then add the cumin, coriander, turmeric, chilli powder and salt. If you are using three tins of beans or pulses, you need to add about half a tin of water to prevent the shock from sticking. Stir with a metal, spoon or fork, then cover and leave to simmer on a low heat for about 15 minutes. Garnish with coriander before serving. This shaak is also great on toast topped with a fried egg!
Biting Biting: Snacking Gujarati-style by Urvashi Roe is available from Kitchen Press and other online retailers.
Find out more about Urvashi here