What We Ate Wednesday- Coconut Curried Cowboy Beans and Peshwari Naan Bread

Hello lovelies! This is just something I invented one day when I couldn't think of what to cook and got the idea to use a tin of cowboy beans (that's baked beans for the uninitiated) and making them fancier.

This probably only works with British baked beans as they come in a tin with a thin, flavourless red sauce. I am sure many British people will disagree with me, but you never grew up eating proper baked beans which are rich and smoky and full of molasses. If you want to see how to turn a tin of UK baked beans into US beans then go HERE to see how I pimp by beanz.

So, anyway I got the idea to turn a tin of cowboy beans into a curry by looking at recipes online. Most called for a tin of beans and a tin of tomatoes. Well, I thought--cowboys beans have both beans and tomato sauce in one container. Boom!

So I just started throwing some ingredients in and tasting until it tasted good. But what to serve with it? I decided to use my foolproof 5 minute flatbread and make it Peshwari style which means sweet.

Some people might recoil in horror, but I think they came out quite nice. Next time I think I will add some frozen chopped mango or a few spoons of mango chutney as I thought it could have used a little sweetness. It was also a chance to use these cute little tins of coconut milk I can buy at B&M Bargains 4 for £1.

Coconut Curried Cowboy Beans  
1 onion, finely diced
1 tin baked beans (we used Tesco reduced sugar and salt)
4 cloves garlic, crushed
165 ml coconut milk (about 3/4 cup?)
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp garam masala + 1 tsp turmeric (or 3 tsp curry powder)
1/2 tsp chilli flake
2 TB tomato puree
1-2 TB liquid sweetener if it doesn't seem sweet enough) 
1 cup frozen peas
Optional:  a few spoons mango chutney or some frozen mango chunks

1. Cook your onion in a splash of oil until softened. Add the spices and garlic and cook until fragrant.
2. Add the baked beans and the coconut milk and tomato puree and then simmer while you make your bread. When the bread goes into the oven, add your frozen peas.
3. Taste at the end and add the liquid sweetener if needed, but if you've added frozen mango or a few dollops of mango chutney you probably won't need it.

Peshwari Naan Bread

Note: this works great with GF flour, just add a tsp xanthan gum.

Preheat your broiler or grill to about 220C/425F. Oil your roasting pan. Move your oven rack to the highest position.

First make your buttermilk.
1 cup non dairy milk (soya works best) 
1 TB vinegar

Set aside to curdle.

200g (1.5 cups) sifted  (GF) flour
3 TB baking powder
1 tsp xanthan gum (only if GF)
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
3 TB ground almonds
3 TB desiccated  coconut
3 TB demerara sugar (( I used 1.5 TB Tate and  Lyle sugar with stevia)
2 handfuls dried fruit like raisins or cranberries

1. Mix it all together.
2. Add the buttermilk and mix to form a soft sticky dough.
3. carefully using wet hands, divide into 4 equal pieces and flatten into saucer shapes.
3. Grill for 5 minutes, then flip and broil for 5 minutes more.
4. Dunk in your curry.

I definitely think some mango would have made it even better, but it was quite tasty on its own.