Curry Soup with Brown Beans

We are feeling a blast of cold air from the Arctic this week in Upstate New York, and snow is expected to fall again soon. So a warm bowl of homemade soup will be very welcome.

I have found two similar recipes for white and brown bean soup with curry in Grandma Vanden Bergh's 1920's cookbook, "Eenvoudige Berekende Recepten," and my husband seems to prefer the heartiness of the latter version. So here it is: 

Curry Soup with Brown Beans  (Kerrysoep van Bruine Boonen)

1/2 pound (250 grams) dried brown beans
2 quarts (2 liter) water
1 teaspoon (7 grams) salt
1 medium onion
1/2 to 1 tablespoon curry (depends on how spicy you like it!)
2 tablespoons (40 grams) butter or margarine

The recipe also calls for 30 grams (3 tablespoons) of whole wheat flour, but I found that I could omit this, since the soup became thick enough without this added thickening agent.

- Wash the beans and soak overnight in the water.
- The following day, cook the beans over low heat for 2 to 2 1/2 hours .
- Melt the butter in a frying pan; chop the onion and fry in the butter, along with the curry, until dark brown, but taking care not to burn the onion.
- Pour the onion mixture in with the simmering beans, and continue cooking for 15 more minutes.

- If you wish to have a smooth soup, pass the soup through a colander and pour into serving dish. Serve with croutons or a chunk of whole wheat bread.

Kerrysoep van bruine boonen

Eet smakelijk! Enjoy your meal!

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Dutch vocabulary

boter  =  butter
bruine boonen  =  brown beans
kerry  =  curry
tarwebloem  =  whole wheat flour
ui  =  onion
zout  =  salt