Green Beans & Tomato Sevai (Indian Noodles)

I love rice noodles. Love the slippery texture of it, the grassiness that comes through as compared to the nuttiness of wheat noodles. It also takes really well to Indian stir fries and curries. I could honestly eat any Indian curry with rice noodles instead of rice and be ok with it.

This quick stir fry with a 5 minute tomato sauce delivers so much flavor that you'd think it's been cooking away for hours. The almost caramelized onions with the quintessential south Indian tempered oil laced with mustard seeds and curry leaves is what gives this noodle dish a step (or two!) above the ordinary. Do give this a try while green beans and heirloom tomatoes are in season...you won't regret it!

Recipe adapted from Fresh India, Meera Sodha
Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:
8 oz dry rice noodles, cooked in a 5 quart pot according to package directions, drained and set aside(Clean same pot with hot water, we'll use it later) - I used brown rice noodles
2 tbsp sunflower oil
1 lb green beans, trimmed and cut into 3 inch pieces
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp black/brown mustard seeds (essential ingredients, can't skip)
2 sprigs curry leaves, leaves picked (essential ingredient, can't skip)
1 large red onion, halved and thinly sliced (or 1.5 medium red onion)
6 garlic cloves. thinly sliced
2 jalapeños, minced finely
2 scant tsp sea salt
1 lb purple cherokee tomatoes (or other tomatoes), cut into very thin wedges
1/2 cup coarsely chopped cilantro
lemon juice, optional

Procedure:
Heat a cast iron pan on medium high until hot and add 1 tbsp sunflower oil. Add half of the green beans and let cook undisturbed for 2 minutes till it's starting to blister and brown in spots. Toss and cook for a further 4 minutes, turning the beans a few times in between. If the pan is too hot, you can reduce the heat to medium. Remove the beans and add to the noodles. Do the same with the rest of the beans and the remaining 1 tbsp sunflower oil.
In the cleaned pot you cooked noodles in, heat 2 tbsp olive oil on medium high heat. Add mustard seeds and curry leaves and cover with a lid. As soon as they start popping, add the red onions and saute for about 10 minutes, stirring almost constantly until soft and getting brown on the edges. Add garlic, jalapeños and salt and saute for a further 4 minutes. Things will start to stick but worry not, we'll have tomatoes to the rescue. Once the garlic is browned, add the tomatoes and mix it in throughly. Cover the lid and cook for about 5 minutes, till they turn jammy. Open the lid and scrape the bottom of the pot well and add reserved noodles & beans. Toss through and remove from heat. Serve with cilantro and (optional) lemon juice. The sauce should be tart enough if using cherokee tomatoes, but if the tomatoes are too sweet, then use some lemon juice.