As I was growing up most of our Sunday meals was having “bhanda and bhat” – Kidney beans curry and rice (In Malawi, Bhanda is the chichewa word for kidney beans). This would sometimes be accompanied with fresh white bread or thepla (a spicy chapatti/roti). The most comforting of meals and satisfyingly filling. There are many nutritional benefits to these beans, they are excellent in folic acid, iron, protein, thiamine, potassium and B vitamin to name but a few.  It is the traditional  staple food of the people of Malawi, they would have it with a cornmeal mash and not so spicy beans, to make a complete meal. This is one of the few foods that I miss if I do not have it over a long period of time. It is also eaten in Northern India where it is know as Rajma, not to mention it is used in Mexican and Cajun food also.

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Another very simple and tasty curry, it is just amazing how any kind of vegetable can be made into a curry. Just by adding the basic spice mix to the vegetables and letting them cook to absorb the flavours it turns into a magical meal. This curry goes well as a extra curry to a large meal or makes a quick and simple meal in a few minutes. I think it takes more time to prepare for this curry then it takes for it to be cooked.

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I remember when we were growing up in Malawi we used to grow our own vegetables, and always used to enjoy cooking the first crop of peas into this curry. It is a good combination of sweet and spicy flavours and is another simple curry that is good to serve as a main or accompanying another curry. Over the holiday period my son was taught a particular song about peas from his Montessori for his performance, and he regularly kept on singing that. So it was quite appropriate to have the curry and let him sing the song.

Sugar snap peas are also known as mange tout and are eaten with their pods.

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The most basic and quickest curry to put together, especially if you keep frozen mixed vegetables. After moving to England from Malawi, we used to have a lot of mixed vegetable curry, as we were told it was more cheaper then eating the more exotic vegetables we were used to. This curry is also good to put together when in a rush, as all the ingredients cook very quickly and do not require much preparation.

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