Easy Baked Beans Curry

A meal out of a can, bismillah. This is a delicious and flavourful recipe that is ideal for students and beginner cooks. This easily upgrades your beans on toast or can be grilled over jacket potatoes.

I make this as my last-resort meal when I only have 20 minutes cooking time but want homemade food. Surprisingly it tastes like a curry (Handi/Salan) and the tomatoes are already in the can!

Recipe card is below. You're welcome!

• Halal/Vegan (Heinz' "no-added sugar" is not vegan) • Prep time: 5 mins • Cooking time: 20 mins
• Serves 2

Ingredients - in order they are added

• 1 tablespoon (15-20ml) any cooking oil
• 1 medium white onion, chopped finely
• 2-3 garlic cloves, crushed
• Half green chilli (deseeded if too hot)
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon curry powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon curry masala or Handi masala powder
• Tin of baked beans (avoid cheap brands simply because they're usually factory rejects and have watered down sauces)
• Handful of fresh coriander leaves with stems, finely chopped

Method

1. Heat a shallow frying pan on medium, preferably non-stick, and add the oil.
2. As soon as it's hot, add the onions and stir until it reaches the colour you're happy with: 
• pale and translucent (less flavour/less time), 
• golden (caramalised), 
• browned and singed slightly (more flavour/more time). 
3. Stir in the crushed garlic and chilli and fry for 2-3mins to cook down the raw flavours.
4. Shake in all your spices - pepper, curry powder, coriander, cumin and Handi masala. Stir continuously for at least 10 mins on medium-low heat to incorporate and cook thoroughly, covering if necessary. Add a splash of water if it sticks. 
5. Now spoon in the full can of beans. I rinse the can with a bit of water or use a spatula to get all the sauce out. Stir, cover and cook on medium-low heat for another 5 mins. Check if it's sticking or bubbling. When the oil separates and floats on top, it's cooked.
6. Sprinkle with chopped fresh coriander including the stems, season to taste and serve with Roti/Chappati, rice, naan or just toast. 

Tips: No white onions? Use red, green onions, shallots or onion powder. Add a pinch of salt to help caramalise the onions, otherwise the salt content in the beans is fine. No spices? Focus on getting one main spice packet like the Curry or Handi Masala powder because this contains all the spices ground together. Keep the stems to fresh coriander since they hold the most flavour and fragrance.

Bismillah, enjoy!

RECIPE CARD