Green Beans With Mustard Seeds, Cashews and Coconut

By Melissa Clark

Green Beans With Mustard Seeds, Cashews and Coconut
Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times
Total Time
30 minutes
Rating
5(534)
Comments
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This fragrant, deeply flavored green bean dish works as an intense side dish for a simple meal or as a meatless main course in its own right. Take care when adding the mustard seeds to the skillet — they can pop and jump out of the pan as they heat, so stand back. If you can’t find large flakes of dried coconut (also sometimes called chips), you can substitute shredded coconut, as long as it’s unsweetened. But ground coconut will be too fine to add the necessary texture.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings
  • ½cup unsweetened coconut flakes or chips
  • 2½tablespoons coconut oil
  • 2garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 2(¼-inch-thick) coins fresh ginger
  • 1teaspoon mustard seed
  • 1teaspoon turmeric
  • Large pinch red pepper flakes
  • 1bay leaf
  • 5large basil leaves, sliced into ribbons
  • 1pound green or wax beans, trimmed
  • ¾teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
  • ⅓cup chopped roasted cashews (salted or unsalted, to taste)
  • Cooked rice, for serving
  • Lime wedges, for serving
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

344 calories; 21 grams fat; 14 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 4 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 35 grams carbohydrates; 7 grams dietary fiber; 6 grams sugars; 7 grams protein; 442 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Place a large, dry skillet over medium-high heat. Add coconut flakes and toast, shaking pan occasionally, until golden, about 5 minutes. Transfer flakes to a bowl.

  2. Step 2

    Heat oil in the same skillet. Add garlic, ginger, mustard seed, turmeric, red pepper flakes and bay leaf. Cook, stirring, 1 minute.

  3. Step 3

    Stir in basil, green beans and salt. Toss well to coat in oil and seasonings.

  4. Step 4

    Add ⅓ cup water, cover partly and reduce heat to medium. Cook until beans are tender, about 8 minutes. Uncover and continue cooking until most of the liquid has evaporated and the beans are wilted and lightly colored. Toss in cashews and coconut flakes. Serve over rice, with lime wedges.

Ratings

5 out of 5
534 user ratings
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Comments

Meri

I'm assuming the mustard seeds are the black/brown variety. If you can get to an Indian market, make the effort to buy and use curry leaves in place of the basil and bay leaf. (I've also seen them in some Whole Foods stores lately.) They have such a wonderful fragrance and flavor.

Bha

The recipe is good!
In indian cooking the mustard seeds are added first and after they pop the garlic , ginger etc are added.
Here the garlic may burn if you wait for the mustard to pop.( or the moisture in ginger and garlic may not allow the mustard to pop properly)

John

Unfortunately, I didn't have any coconut chips handy, but the recipe looked so good that I had to try it anyway. When I announced dinner, I discovered that my spouse of 30 years dislikes green beans (I probably had heard this a number of times, but you know how it goes...). She ended up having seconds on the green beans and told me she'd love to try them again sometime. So, complete success.

Stella Luna

As the person who eats last night's leftovers for breakfast, I will say that this was delicious, and even more amazing the next day. The flavors really come together over time. I did add 1/4 c of coconut milk I had in the fridge, so there was a little creaminess to it, but the very good news is that if you just slightly undercook the green beans, you can make this the day before or the morning of a celebratory meal to serve reheated or even cold or room temp. Excellent!

Nancy R

Excellent. I added extra ginger, let the mustard seeds start popping before I added the other ingredients. Similar to madhur Joffrey’s gujerati style green beans.

jessica

Substitute chick peas for cashews to make a bit healthier. Served over quinoa instead of rice

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