Butter Bean Tikka Curry Recipe from East Meets Vegan

By Published On: 24 April 2019Last Updated: 16 September 2021

A review of the cookbook East Meets Vegan and a recipe for Butter Bean Tikka Curry, yogurt-marinated beans simmered in a spicy sauce.

A close up of a white bowl filled with butter bean tikka curry sprinkled with cilantro.

What's in this post

This post is in partnership with The Experiment Publishing but all opinions are mine.

East Meets Vegan

There’s an Indian grocery store that’s close enough to my house that I can walk there.

It’s in an awkward little shopping plaza, nestled between a donut shop and a tiny local bar. The donut shop has been there forever, and in the mornings, you can smell the freshly baked donuts for blocks.

As the day wears on, the donut smell isn’t as prominent. Even so, the parking lot of the awkward little plaza always faintly smells like glazed donuts.

That all changes once you open the doors to the Indian market.

The air is thick with the smell of incense and freshly cooked samosas; shelves are overflowing, and there are entire aisles of spices.

It’s heaven.

So, when The Experiment Publishing asked me if I’d like to review Sasha Gill’s new cookbook, East Meets Vegan, I quickly agreed.

No one needs to ask me twice.

I love going to my local Indian market.

Two white bowls of tikka curry sitting on a table with a copy of the cookbook.

Cooking from East Meets Vegan

Let’s talk about the East Meets Vegan cookbook. There’s a lot to like.

The Book

First, it’s a beautiful book.

The photos are vibrant and enticing, and I’m particularly fond of the use of color pages throughout the book.

This cookbook is one of those cookbooks that you can sit down and pass some delightful time reading.

In the introduction, you’ll get to know the author and learn about her journey towards veganism.

Covering the best of Asian cooking, you’ll learn about each new cuisine in a brief introduction at the beginning of each section.

Next, as for more practical matters, the book is broke out into the following sections:

  • Introduction
  • Recipe Notes
  • Pantry Essentials
  • Equipment
  • Basic recipes and techniques
  • Recipes
    • India
    • Thailand
    • Singapore & Malaysia
    • China
    • Japan
  • Mix-and-Match Leftovers

As an aside; whoever designed the layout of this book deserves a pat on the back.

The recipe pages are in a clean, easy-to-read format and the color contrast between the font and the pages is perfect.

And even though the font throughout the book is a bit small for those of us with poor vision, it’s clean and pleasant to view.

The Recipes

One of the nice things about this cookbook is its wide variety of recipes.

From chutneys to pancakes to noodles to sushi, there’s a little something for every taste bud.

Although the methods aren’t complicated, I wouldn’t call this is a beginner cookbook.

All of the recipes in East Meets Vegan are Asian-inspired, so unless you have cooked with each cuisine before some of the cooking techniques might be unfamiliar to you. Luckily, the author does a great job of walking you through advanced techniques like how to roll sushi or a spring roll; there’s a diagram on each recipe that needs it.

In regards to prep and cooking times, you’ll spend an average of 25 – 40 minutes preparing these dishes, sometimes longer depending on the recipe. 

Finally, let’s talk about the ingredients.

Obviously, the recipes in this book require Asian products or spices that you may or may not already have in your pantry.

While you might be able to find most of the ingredients at a large grocery store, I encourage you to check out your local Indian or Asian markets.

Not only will they have what you’re looking for, a lot of the times you can find them at much lower prices than other places.

Plus, you’ll be supporting a small local business which is good for the community.

Two bowls of tikka curry sitting on a table with a bowl of white rice.

Cooking Note: Butter Beans aka Lima Beans

If you don’t cook with beans often, you should.

They are the richest plant sources of protein available and especially abundant in the amino acid lysine, which is essential for bone health.

Ginny Messina, a dietitian specializing in vegan nutrition and the author of many vegan health-related books, recommends three servings per day of beans or four servings for people over 50.

According to Messina, one serving is equivalent to one of the following portions:

  • 1/2 cup cooked beans
  • 1/4 cup of peanuts
  • 2 tablespoons peanut butter
  • 1/2 cup tofu
  • 1/2 cup tempeh
  • 1/4 cup soynuts
  • 1-ounce vegan meat
  • 1 cup soymilk

I have good news; this recipe is a great way to eat more beans. It calls for butter beans, which is just another name for a lima bean.

Lima beans were cultivated in Peru for more than 7,000 years. The explorers of South American took the beans back to Spain and Portugal where they made their way to Africa, the Caribbean, and finally to North America.

Names of these velvety beans have many names depending on the region: Lima, Madagascar, Gigantes, or Butterbeans.

Butter Bean Tikka Curry Recipe

After spending some time with the book, I decided the first recipe I would try is the Butter Bean Tikka Curry. It took me 45 minutes to make the dish from start to finish, and that includes prep and clean-up time.

The recipe was easy to follow, though there was some confusion about one of the ingredients — rice syrup specifically — that I’m still not 100% on.

The recipe calls for rice syrup but does that mean brown rice syrup or clear rice syrup? It’s not clear, so I used brown rice syrup, and it worked out fine.

Let me tell you; this dish was a spicy hit.

The yogurt-marinated beans were velvety and had the right amount of spice, but it wasn’t overwhelming at all. This Tikka curry was warm, vibrant, and heavily spiced just the way it’s supposed to be. A dollop of tangy vegan yogurt and a handful of cilantro made the whole dish better.

I chose to serve my curry with rice, but naan would be great too.

Maybe next time because I’m definitely going to make this again.

A close up of a white bowl filled with butter bean tikka curry sprinkled with cilantro.

Butter Bean Tikka Curry

Yield: Serves 4
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes

Yogurt-marinated butter beans simmered in a spice-infused tikka curry sauce.

Ingredients

For the beans

  • 1/4 cup (70 g) vegan yogurt
  • 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 1-inch ginger, finely chopped
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
  • 1 teaspoon garam masala
  • 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • Two 15-ounce cans of butter beans, drained & rinsed

Tikka curry

  • 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
  • 1 large white onion, chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 2 inches fresh ginger, finely chopped
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon garam masala
  • 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 3 large tomatoes, chopped, or 1 cup (250 ml) tomato passata
  • 1/4 cup chopped cilantro stems
  • 1/4 cup vegan yogurt
  • 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon rice syrup
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C) and grease a baking sheet.
  2. In a large bowl, mix together all of the bean ingredients except the beans: yogurt, garlic, ginger, turmeric, garam masala, chili powder, and salt. Stir to combine.
  3. Add the butter beans to the mixture and stir to coat well, then transfer onto the greased baking sheet and bake for 15-17 minutes, until the beans start to look dry and a bit crisper.
  4. Meanwhile, for the tikka curry, heat the oil in a large nonstick saucepan over medium heat. Fry the onion, garlic, and ginger for about 2 minutes, until fragrant and the onions have softened.
  5. Add the bay leaf and spices and fry for another minute until aromatic.
  6. Next, add the tomato paste, chopped tomatoes and cilantro stems, then cover and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and let simmer for 5 minutes.
  7. Once the beans are done and out of the oven, add them to the saucepan along with the yogurt, rice syrup, and lemon juice.
  8. Bring the mixture back to a boil, then remove from heat.
  9. Serve while warm, with naan bread or rice.

Notes

Hearty butter beans work well in this recipe because of their starchiness, but if you prefer a different bean, feel free to substitute.

Win a Copy of East Meets Vegan

I couldn’t talk about this new vegan cookbook without also allowing you to get a copy for yourself, so here’s your chance to win. All you have to do is enter via the Rafflecopter below. Yup, that’s it. Easy.

Before you enter here’s the fine print:

This giveaway has ended starts on April 24, 2019 ends on May 5, 2019, and is made possible through The Experiment Publishing Company.  

  1. This giveaway is open to United States & Canada residents only.
  2. There’s only one (1) entry per person.
  3. The winning cookbook will arrive directly from the publisher, which means that any mailing address provided as the result of this giveaway will be shared with them for shipping purposes.

That covers it. So, don’t wait. Enter now!

Two bowls of tikka curry sitting on a table with a bowl of white rice.

Truth in Advertising

I am committed to providing accurate information to the vegan community. Meticulously researched, the topic explored in this article contains the information available at the time of publishing.

I don’t just say it; I source it too.

Please contact me if you find incorrect data.

Photo Credits

Recipe photos: KD Angle Traegner

14 Comments

  1. Hannah February 28, 2021 at 4:02 am - Reply

    You labeled the Indian Tikka Bean dish Vegan. But yogurt is not vegan.

    • KD Angle Traegner March 2, 2021 at 1:44 pm - Reply

      Dairy-based yogurt isn’t vegan but there are lots of dairy-free options available today! Check out the Vegan Yogurt Guide for a shopping guide and recipes to try at home.

  2. Mia September 21, 2020 at 6:07 am - Reply

    Wow, Seems quite delicious, I want to taste it with the White Rice, Lets see how good its going to taste to me, I will update here how everything went after I’m done with making of this recipe.

  3. Bill S January 21, 2020 at 1:19 pm - Reply

    I have a preference for dired Gigantes beans. What measure of dried Greek Gigantes should I use in this recipe>

    • KD Angle Traegner January 21, 2020 at 1:28 pm - Reply

      I love Greek Gigantes myself! Once cooked, you could easily substitute them for the butter beans in this recipe. Let me know how it goes, I’m very interested :)

  4. Sara August 30, 2019 at 2:36 am - Reply

    I’m a pure Vegan will try this recipe thanks for sharing

  5. Braden August 29, 2019 at 11:57 pm - Reply

    This recipe looks delicious! Thanks for sharing KD, I can’t wait to try it!

  6. Abdul Hafiz August 29, 2019 at 6:27 am - Reply

    Recipe looks delicious. Going to try next week will comment after the result. Thanks for sharing.

  7. Diana August 12, 2019 at 12:15 pm - Reply

    Hi! Tonight I have tried this recipe. Delicious! My daughter made some naan bread to accompany the dish. Goes on the list of favorites.

  8. Denise J. May 3, 2019 at 10:50 am - Reply

    This recipe looks sooooo amazing!!! I got a chance to peek through this cookbook at the library, and it definitely looks like a ‘must have’ 😊 Thanks for sharing this recipe and also, for a chance to win this book.

  9. Meghan May 2, 2019 at 6:21 am - Reply

    Excited to try these recipes!

  10. Corrine April 26, 2019 at 12:18 pm - Reply

    Wow that looks absolutely delicious and it’s vegan to boot!

  11. Lydia Claire April 25, 2019 at 2:16 pm - Reply

    These recipes look absolutely delicious! I will definitely put this book on my Amazon wishlist.

    • KD Angle Traegner April 25, 2019 at 6:26 pm - Reply

      Sounds like a good plan, I think you’ll be happy you did. If you buy the book, be sure to come back and let me know what you think :)

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HELLO! I'm KD Angle-Traegner.

Writer, activist, and founder of Four Urban Paws Sanctuary. I’m on a mission to help people live a vegan life. Read more about KD…

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