A curry of beans and beef

It was a friend's interest in beans that prompted me to try cooking beans from scratch again. My first attempts with mixed beans had been such bad failures that the package left over from those days was over one year old. What I learnt from those failures is that, with mixed beans, it's possible to have some beans overcooked while others still undone. So this time, I decided to soak the beans for 3 days instead of just 1. And it worked out amazingly in a curry. I cooked up this recipe myself to see how cheese would fare in a curry. Malaysians cook this curry with coconut milk, and use it in a meat dish. The coconut milk serves to smoothen the curry and makes it less spicy.


Recipe: A curry of beans and beef (for 2)


Ingredients:
- 1 cup of soaked mixed beans 
- 2 oz lean beef, cut into thin strips
- 1 carrot coarsely chopped
- 1/2 stalk celery chopped
- 1 tablespoon Penang curry paste
- 1 tablespoon ricotta cheese (or coconut milk)


Procedure:

Boil beans in 3 cups of water for 1.5 hours. While boiling, keep enough liquid to cover the beans, and not more. When the beans are done, add chopped carrot and celery. Boil for 15 minutes. Add curry paste and mix well. Use some liquid from the stew to mix with ricotta cheese to form a paste in a small bowl. Turn heat to low. Add beef pieces one at a time into stew. Stir and make sure the beef is immersed fully in the stew. Let cook for 1 minute. Add the paste of ricotta. Add dash of salt if desired.

Since this is a bean dish and is not a too spicy, it can be eaten as a meal by itself. It is particularly appetizing in cold days. My food critic gave me a broad smile after one sip.