Green bean and kale bihari masala, basmati brown rice

Adapted from this Diner’s Journal entry at The New York Times.

I make this quite often in the summer and autumn. It’s extraordinarily delicious with other vegetables such as cauliflower, pumpkin and eggplant. The version pictured above includes fabulous wintered-over kale from Lani’s Farm in Bordentown, New Jersey, in addition to the green beans.

Note: If you have an Indian pantry, you can substitute equivalent spices instead of the listed ingredients. For example, dried crumbled chiles can be used instead of the dried chile flakes, and dried curry leaves can be added to the oil in the step before you add the onion to the pan. If you elect to use dried curry leaves, the cilantro can be omitted.

This is one recipe amongst a select few that I turn to whenever I want something simple for dinner that doesn’t require a lot of preparation or planning.