If you've ever wanted to try making Indian food at home, this is a great introductory recipe. It's relatively simple to throw together, and you won't have to vastly expand your spice collection to get it on the table. Whole cumin seeds, ground coriander, and some sort of dried chile or crushed red pepper flakes are the only pantry spices you need. It is important to have all of your ingredients prepped before you start cooking this dish because it comes together in no time once the first spices hit the hot oil. Feel free to scale back the oil, spices, and salt if you are working with less than 1 1/2 pounds of green beans. And finally, while the ground, roasted cumin seeds add another dimension of flavor, if you leave them out, the dish won't suffer. Here's how you make them: toast a teaspoon (or however much you would like to make) of whole cumin seeds in a small skillet over medium heat. Cook until the cumin seeds have turned a few shades darker and are smelling fragrant. Grind in spice grinder or mortar and pestle. <br /> <br />I love serving this with basmati rice, cooked in equal parts coconut milk and water, warm naan, and a dollop of plain yogurt. This recipe comes from Madhur Jaffrey's <em>Indian Cooking</em>.

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