There has been few similar recipes in my blog, for example, today’s recipe with long bean (Vigna unguiculata) and potato stir fry is very similar to Alu Bhaji – Potato stir fry recipe. But it does not make today’s recipe any less tastier! Long bean, mostly known as Chinese long bean is full of nutrients and really tasty if you cook in Bangladeshi way! You can eat this for breakfast or lunch with rice or tortilla!

There is only 4 main ingredients – potato, long bean, cumin and turmeric! You can even avoid onion if you are allergic to it. Start your preparation with slicing onions first. Then heat vegetable oil in a large fry pan over medium heat. Add whole cumin seed when oil is warm and wait until they start bubbling.

Add sliced onion quickly in bubbling cumin as they burns so quickly. That’s why you prepare your onion first.

Saute onions until they are golden brown. I like to slice onion slightly thick, as they add extra texture to stir fry. If you decide not to use onion, you can skip this step and add potato directly with cumin seed and turmeric!

While the onions are getting nice and golden, slice the potatoes and beans in thin long stripes, around 2cm. If potatoes are too thin, they will stick to each other and if too thick, then they won’t cook properly, as I will not add extra water while cooking.
Wash potatoes and long beans after slicing them and strain with colander. Washing potatoes helps to remove the excess starch too and prevents them to stick with each other.

When onions are golden, add potatoes, turmeric powder, salt and chili. Adding salt in this step will help in release water from potatoes and aid in thorough cooking. Mix everything well and stir-fry potatoes for about 5 to 6 minutes on a medium heat. Make sure they don’t break or burn from bottom.

You can see in the picture how roasted the potatoes look like. They also should give a really nice aroma of fried cumin and turmeric!

After cooking potatoes, add washed and small cut long beans. I always wash frozen veggies because sometimes they are packed without washing or anything! I have cut long beans in small 2cm size. Stir fry everything for 5 more minutes.

You will notice the color of long bean started to change. I really like how red chili is giving a nice contrast to the color of long bean! I remember had an incident with a friend who ate green chili mistakenly instead of long bean, because they looked exactly the same! Poor her, not being used to Bangladeshi spiciness but I am sure she will remember it for long time!

After stir frying long bean and potato for 5 more minutes, cover them and cook them for 5 more minutes under low heat. Stir in between to prevent burning.

Uncover the pot after 5-6 minutes. Long bean and potatoes should look translucent and should be nicely cooked by now but check if there’s any uncooked potatoes left. Stir fry two more minutes to get rid of extra moisture.

Now, its cooked and roasted nicely! You can eat this Long Bean-Potato stir fry aka Borboti Alu Bhaji as a side dish with rice, or make some wraps or rolls with flat breads or tortillas with sauce and sliced cucumber inside!

Recipe: 4-5 Servings Prepping time: 10 minutes, Cooking time: 25-30 minutes

Ingredients: 5 Big Potatoes 450g Frozen or Fresh Long Bean Spice and Condiments: 30ml Vegetable Oil (Olive/Mustard/Coconut oil, anything will do) 1 medium Onion 1tbs fine Salt 1tsp Turmeric powder 1tsp whole Cumin seeds 2-3 Chili (optional)

Instruction: 1. Slice onion First. Heat oil in a large pan over medium heat, put whole cumin seeds. When they starts to bubble, add sliced onion and fry them until golden brown. 2. Meanwhile slice potatoes and long beans thin, long 2cm cut and wash them with cold water and strain in colander to leave excess water. 3. Add potatoes, turmeric, salt and Chili in. Stir fry them for 5-6 minutes until potatoes are slightly roasted. 4. Add long beans and stir fry for 5 to 6 minutes. Cover the pan and reduce heat to low; cook them for 10 minutes until potatoes and long beans are soft. Add very little water if you want. Check salt and add more if needed. 5. Uncover pot, check if potatoes are soft and cooked through. Cook for 2 more minutes until excess moisture evaporates. 6. Turn off heat and take Alu Borboti Bhaji (Long bean-Potato-Stirfry). Enjoy with rice or flat bread or tortilla!