A rich creamy black beans curry is a great way to add this popular health food in your diet. Whether you use soaked or canned beans these get done in less than 15 minutes. Cooked in a rich curry sauce made with curry powder, tomatoes, and yogurt this will become your favorite in no time.
Black beans are becoming increasingly popular in our home these days. They are easy to incorporate into your diet once they have already been boiled. I love to soak and boil a big batch and store it in the freezer. That way I have them on hand for anything I need to use them. Add a handful in my salad or pulao rice.
Our family's favorite is of course curry. Anything in Indian curry spices and my kids will thoroughly enjoy it. I grew up with beans, legumes, and lentil curries at least once a week. So for me, this has been a big part of my growing up. I wish my kids ate these more often but they still need getting used to these.
Did you know that black beans are high in protein and fiber which makes them not just healthy but perfect for a balanced diet?
It is a good idea to soak beans before cooking. Know why? Not just beans, most of these pulses that need rehydration are better soaked and hydrated before they are cooked. The soaking helps remove some of the indigestible sugars that cause flatulence. This is why back in the old days our moms and grand-moms never looked for quick and easy ways to cook these. They'd rather take care of our tummies for us.
How do you cook dried black beans?
There are a couple of ways to cook black beans.
- Stovetop - Dried black beans need to be soaked in water for a couple of hours (at least 4) or overnight. Then boil them in water for about 60 to 90 minutes on medium to low until they are soft and tender
- Pressure cooker - Soak for a couple of hours or overnight. Drain and place them in the pressure cooker. Add four times the amount of water. Cook under pressure for 20 minutes
- Instant pot - Soak for a couple of hours or overnight. Drain and place them in the pressure cooker. Add four times the amount of water. Cook under pressure for 15 minutes, then natural release.
- Slow cooker - place the black beans in the slow cooker without soaking. Add 4 times the amount of water. Cook on low for 8 to 10 hours.
Ingredients and substitutes
- Curry powder - Curry powder is readily available in most supermarkets these days. I make my own so you can find my homemade curry powder as well as garam masala. So, if you like making your spice mixes, you will love to try these.
- Paprika - The purpose of paprika here is to add a nice smoky flavor but also add to the pretty color.
- Cayenne - adds a nice touch of heat but if you don't like Cayenne use hot smoked paprika.
- Sour Cream or yogurt - either work beautifully in this recipe and gives a rich thick and creamy black beans curry
- Black Beans - these come in dry as well as canned - you can use either. I used the pre-soaked dried today but often I make a quick curry with the canned beans too.
Step by step instructions (pin)
- In a saute pan, over medium heat, saute onions, cinnamon and bay leaves in cooking oil for a minute or two
- Add the ginger and garlic - saute another minute
- Followed by the chopped tomatoes and saute a minute more
- Add curry powder, paprika, and cayenne - with ¼ cup water
- Cook until the spices are fragrant
- Add the black beans, sour cream, and chopped cilantro.
- Season with salt and pepper
- Cook for 5 minutes more until thick and creamy.
- Garnish with more cilantro.
- Taste and adjust seasoning.
What do you serve with this curry?
I love to serve this with a nice bowl of steamed white rice or my turmeric rice. Often I will also just eat this with nice crusty bread. If you're in a mood to cook Indian, the options for Indian bread are so many. From simple chapati to exotic butter naan or plain naan as well as vegetable, or prawn rice. My kids' favorite rice is fruit and nut rice pilaf
Of course, when I'm in the mood for a low carb diet then I usually serve this over my cauliflower rice, turmeric rice, or mustard dill cauliflower rice.
Frequently asked questions
This beans curry will keep in the fridge for 4 to 5 days in the fridge.
Yes, you can freeze this beans curry for up to a month. If you want to keep it longer do not add the coconut cream/milk. The shelf life without coconut milk will be up to 3 months
This is a very basic and yet very versatile recipe that would work beautifully with most soaked and boiled beans such as kidney beans, black-eyed beans, yellow lentils, red lentils.
Try my kidney beans coconut curry or yellow lentil soup
Yes, try my other black bean curry with coconut milk. Another delicious black bean recipe you will love.
Yes, you can. You will need about 1 ½ cup dried black beans for this recipe
Soak the black beans in water for 4 to 6 hours until hydrated then cook them using one of the methods I have listed above in this post. Once cooked you can proceed with this recipe.
If you like a spicy soup you can adjust the liquid in the recipe with some chicken stock. Mashed some of the beans to create a thick soup consistency. Serve with crusty bread and salad on the side. Try my slow-cooker black bean soup
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Description
Ingredients
- 2 cups (2 cups) Black beans soaked overnight ( 2x 14 oz cans)or (1 ½ cup dried beans)
- 2 tbsp Cooking oil
- ½ cup Onions diced finely
- 2 cup (2 cup) Tomatoes chopped
- 1 tbsp Garlic minced
- 1 tbsp Ginger grated
- 2 tbsp Curry powder
- ½ tbsp Hot cayenne or to taste
- 2 inch Cinnamon stick
- 2 Bay leaves
- ¼ cup (4 tbsp) Sour cream or yogurt
- ½ cup Cilantro chopped
- 1 tsp Sweet paprika
Instructions
- In a saute pan, over medium heat, saute onions, cinnamon and bay leaves in cooking oil for a minute or two
- Add the ginger and garlic - saute another minute
- Followed by the chopped tomatoes and saute a minute more
- Add curry powder, paprika, and cayenne - with ¼ cup water
- Cook until the spices are fragrant
- Add the black beans, sour cream, and chopped cilantro.
- Season with salt and pepper
- Cook for 5 minutes more until thick and creamy.
- Garnish with more cilantro.
- Taste and adjust seasoning.
Recipe Notes
Notes:
- Storage - This recipe will stay refrigerated in the fridge for 4 to 5 days
- Vegan - Use coconut cream instead of sour cream or yogurt
Featured Recipe below
Black beans Coconut CurryNutrition Information
The nutrition information and metric conversion are calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee its accuracy. If this data is important to you please verify with your trusted nutrition calculator. Thank you
Alan
Tried this today and it is very, very good!! Thank you for sharing, this will now be a frequent dish for me.
Veena Azmanov
Happy you enjoyed it Alan. Thanks
Laura Cotterill
This is an absolutely delicious dish, thank you so much for sharing. I made it today for my family. We love Indian cuisine and had a lot of dried beans to use up!. It is seriously tasty and will definitely be added to our list of top rated Indian dishes that I will be cooking again. I love the tanginess that the yogurt provides. I followed the recipe to the letter, it was a winner 🙂 .
Veena Azmanov
Thank you so much, Laura. I am so happy you enjoyed it. It is my favorite too
Geke
Made this for my son and DiL for Christmas. We all loved it, and will definitely make this again. Often 😋
Veena Azmanov
Thank you, Geke. Happy to hear that.