The family heirloom and some green beans

There it was wrapped in yellowing newspaper with rust stains on it. But it was beautiful and the hubby assured me that all it required was a good scrubbing to get rid of the rust. So I carted it all the way from Bangalore to Portland in my suitcase this time. It has now been passed down from Mother in Law to Daughter- in Law for 3 generations. I am talking about my family heirloom - the 'bandale' or the wok.
A pound of green beans and  this recipe resulted in these crunchy, spicy green beans. I loved the idea of using nuts for texture. I modified the recipe and eliminated a few steps to make it a one wok recipe.

Serves 4 to 6
Total time from start to finish (30 minutes)

1 lb green beans
1/4 c dry roasted  Peanuts
2 tbsp dry roasted Sesame seeds
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp whole Cumin
3 to 4 dried red peppers ( I used a combination of Anaheim and Ancho)
2 tsps canola oil
1 tsp sesame oil
*1 inch piece of ginger cut into matchsticks
*2 cloves garlic minced
salt to taste
Juice from half a lime (or more)

Wash and string the green beans.
Combine  the peanuts, sesame seeds, corainder, cumin and dired red chillies and grind. The mixture should be fairly coarse.
Heat the canola and the sesame oil in a big wok.( The wok should not be more than half full when you add the green beans)
Add the ginger and garlic and stir for a minute. Add the green beans, increase the heat to high. Keep stirring often. Cook for 5 to 8 minutes, slating the beans half way through the cooking. The beans should cook through but still retain a bite.
Add the ground nuts and spices and stir fry for a couple more minutes. Squeeze lime juice over the beans.
Serve hot with rice.
* The powdered nuts with the spices really elevated this recipe from the ordinary. I couldn't really taste the ginger and the garlic- so you might want to either add more or leave it out entirely.