Kidney Bean Curry

Name: Kidney Bean Curry
Prep time: 12 min
Cook time: 21 min
Total time: 33 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: India
Ingredients: 1 tbls Vegetable Oil; 1 finely chopped Onion; 2 cloves chopped Garlic; 1 part Ginger; 1 Packet Coriander; 1 tsp Cumin; 1 tsp Paprika; 2 tsp Garam Masala; 400g Chopped Tomatoes; 400g Kidney Beans; to serve Basmati Rice

By The Spice & Simmer Kitchen · Published May 3, 2026

A one-pot Vegetarian recipe with India flavors, built for busy weeknights when you want real food without a sink full of dishes. Comes together in roughly 40 minutes, serves about 4, and uses ingredients you can find at any normal grocery store. The technique is simple: build a base in your pot, layer in the main ingredients, simmer until everything has had time to talk to each other, and serve straight from the pan. If you're cooking for picky eaters, this one tends to land — the flavors are recognizable, the texture is comforting, and there's nothing weird hiding in the ingredient list. Perfect for the kind of evening where you want dinner on the table by 7pm and the kitchen empty by 7:30.

Ingredients

Makes 4 servings · 33 min total

1 tbls Vegetable Oil
1 finely chopped Onion
2 cloves chopped Garlic
1 part Ginger
1 Packet Coriander
1 tsp Cumin
1 tsp Paprika
2 tsp Garam Masala
400g Chopped Tomatoes
400g Kidney Beans
to serve Basmati Rice

Step-by-step instructions

Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a low-medium heat. Add the onion and a pinch of salt and cook slowly, stirring occasionally, until softened and just starting to colour. Add the garlic, ginger and coriander stalks and cook for a further 2 mins, until fragrant.
Add the spices to the pan and cook for another 1 min, by which point everything should smell aromatic. Tip in the chopped tomatoes and kidney beans in their water, then bring to the boil.
Turn down the heat and simmer for 15 mins until the curry is nice and thick. Season to taste, then serve with the basmati rice and the coriander leaves.

Why this works on a weeknight

Kidney Bean Curry lands at about 33 minutes total — a little longer than our 30-minute target, but most of that time is hands-off simmering, which is why it earned a spot in our Weeknight Curries collection. The technique is forgiving, the ingredient list is grocery-store standard, and the active cooking time is short enough that you can answer a text message in the middle without ruining dinner.

Cleanup notes

This is a single-pan recipe, so the cleanup is exactly one pan, one cutting board, and one knife. While the dish rests, fill the pan with hot soapy water — by the time you are done eating, the residue lifts off with a single pass of a sponge. Skip the steel wool on cast iron; a stiff brush and warm water are all you need to keep the seasoning intact.

Make-ahead and leftovers

Leftovers keep covered in the fridge for up to three days. Reheat in a dry pan over medium-low with a splash of water or stock to loosen the sauce. Kidney Bean Curry actually improves overnight as the flavors keep talking to each other, so doubling the recipe and packing tomorrow's lunch is a high-leverage weeknight move.

Filed under 🌶️ Weeknight Curries Vegetarian India Curry