I’ve always been interested in healthy eating and working out on and off for as far back as I can remember, but I never took the time to learn any traditional Indian/Pakistani dishes because I, like many others, fell prey to the sterotype that all good tasting meals must include tons of fats, oils, and sugars. On the other hand, when I finally gave it a chance, I realized that perfectly organic and all-natural ingredients can be used to create fascinating and unique recipes that taste even better than they sound! As part of my summer spirit series, I would like to share the recipe for a traditional, delicious yet healthy meal that I cooked for the first time.

Because I have always been health conscious for as far back as I can remember, I’ve always found ways to make healthy snacks, salads or simple recipes with natural ingredients. But I never got into the Indian/Pakistani cooking of my mother or our family because I always assumed they were made of fatty oils and processed products that are far from anything I would be motivated to learn how to make for myself (even though they taste delicious and once I start, I can never stop)! Today, I cooked a traditional Indian meal with my mom for the first time in my life, and all I can say is that if I had known what it consisted of, I would’ve began much sooner.

We cooked a green bean and potato curry which can be eaten with rice or, what I usually eat it with, whole grain wheat bread. We began by simply cutting up fresh ingredients like potatoes, onions, green beans, and tomatoes. I gathered the natural spices for the curry, which included ginger, garlic, coriander cumin, turmeric powder, salt and some spicy red pepper for the traditional Indian taste. We simply mixed those together to create a paste as we mixed it on the stove to allow for the flavor to set in. We then mixed the green beans and added water until we achieved the consistency we preferred. I admit we used white rice, and when I cook on my own someday I will use brown rice as often as I can, but it was still somewhat of the healthy version considering the fact that we boiled it and let out all the water. The final result was a delicious green bean and potato curry with rice, cooked with all natural organic ingredients, that tasted fresh yet flavorful and nothing like I expected!