Curry Green Bean Salad From South Africa – Absolutely Delicious! – Curried Sweet and Sour String Beans – Kerrie-Boontjies Ingele – Bottled Pickled Curry Beans – A MUST at for Barbecue or Braai!

Curry Green Bean Salad From South Africa – Absolutely Delicious! – Curried Sweet and Sour String Beans – Kerrie-Boontjies Ingele – Bottled Pickled Curry Beans – A MUST at for Barbecue or Braai!

Boere Resepte From South Africa             Serves 4 – 6. A very traditional South-African, well-loved recipe, which sounds nothing like it tastes - you are going to be pleasantly surprised! The curried sweet and sour flavor of this salad marries very well, with braaied/barbecued meats, together with a creamy mayonnaise potato salad.

Adding my homemade Dijon Hot English/German mustard in this salad is a MUST and is what really makes it that much extra special!  – I have not yet posted it, but I’m sure I will be getting round to it soon as I am busy working off a list of my best recipes. Hot English, Dijon or German mustard (the yellow one) would be the correct one to use here 

This pickled bottled salad may be stored sealed on top of your kitchen cupboards or refrigerated. It is great served at barbecues and is a very popular salad to serve at a braai in South Africa, or also known as a barbecue in the rest of the world.

Many years ago in South Africa, Kentucky Fried Chicken used to sell this salad, which was very popular – They just don’t seem to sell it no more.  It could have something to do with the lack of proper, or pre-preparation of the frozen beans, which they no longer purchase, as I find they just don’t want to soften up. Perhaps they’ve added acid or salt too soon. So best use fresh green runner beans for this salad.  

2 kg of beans should make you a large batch of just over 3 liters of bottled salad – OR – 500 g fresh green beans should give you about a 750 – 800 ml bottle of salad.

Notes:

Do NOT add any salt or acid (vinegar) until your beans have fully softened or they will not soften! 

If you don’t like your beans too spicy, you may tame it by reducing the turmeric and curry powder.

Ingredients

• 250 grams fresh green beans
• 1 medium onion (approximately 125 grams), finely chopped
• 1/3 cup (90 ml) white vinegar
• 1/3 cup (90 ml) white sugar
• 1 teaspoon (5 ml) mild curry powder
• 1 teaspoon (5 ml) turmeric
• ½ teaspoon (3 ml) salt
• 2 teaspoons (10 ml) cornflour
• 15 ml of water

Method

1. Saute onion in a little oil or butter until soft.
2. Wash the beans and top and tail them – snapping off their stems to remove strings.
3. Slice the beans finely and add them to your fried onion. Cook together with onions until beans start to soften. Do not overcook them. They must be al dente.
4. To make the Sauce: In a teacup, stir the tablespoon (15 ml) water into the cornflour making a smooth paste and set aside.
5. In a small saucepan, without boiling, gently heat the rest of your sauce ingredients, stirring until the sugar has thoroughly dissolved. Increase temperature to boiling and then add the cornflour mixture, stirring until thickened.
6. Combine your sauce with the bean and onion mixture. Bring it to the boil, remove immediately. Allow cooling, or bottle immediately whilst still hot.

Serve cold and Enjoy!

If you would like a larger batch to bottle and preserve, increase the ingredients as follows:

• 2 kg fresh green beans
• 1 kg onion
• 3 cups (750 ml) white vinegar
• 3 cups (750 ml) white sugar
• 3 tablespoons (45 ml) curry powder
• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) turmeric
• 1 tablespoon (15 ml) salt
• ½ cup (125 ml) cornflour

You will need enough sealable-preserving bottles for 3.2 liters.

Wash your bottles and sterilize in the oven or dishwasher for at least half an hour at 100°C.

Once your sauce is ready, add it to the bean and onion mixture and boil together for 1 – 2 minutes. Bottle immediately whilst still steaming hot into sterilized bottles and seal.

Store any opened, or unsealed bottles refrigerated. – Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from RainbowCooking New Zealand