Bodi are long, thin green beans, also called bora or yard-long beans. Cut into short lengths and cooked with potato, garlic and geera, they make one of the simplest and most common vegetable dishes to eat with roti or rice.
The potatoes go in first because they take longer. The bodi should end up tender but still bright green.
Many cooks add shrimp or saltfish; the substitutions explain how.
The recipe
Bodi and Potato
Prep
15 min
Cook
25 min
Total
40 min
Serves
4
Times and quantities are our best estimates. This recipe is still being kitchen-tested, so trust your eyes and taste as you go.
Servings
Ingredient amounts are scaled. Cooking times and pot size may need adjusting too.
Ingredients
Tick items off as you gather them.
Method
Heat the oil in a wide pot over medium heat. Add the geera and fry for 30 seconds.
Add the garlic, onion and pepper and cook for 2 to 3 minutes until soft.
Add the potatoes and stir for 3 to 4 minutes, until they start to colour at the edges.
Add the bodi, tomato, salt and water. Stir, cover and cook over medium-low heat for 12 to 15 minutes, stirring now and then, until the potatoes are soft and the bodi is tender.
Uncover and cook for a few minutes more to dry off any liquid. Taste for salt and add black pepper.
Serve it with
Sada roti, dhalpuri or paratha
Rice and dhal
Substitutions
Shrimp: add ½ lb (225 g) peeled shrimp seasoned with green seasoning for the last 4 to 5 minutes.
Saltfish: add 4 oz (115 g) desalted, flaked saltfish with the onion.
Bodi: green beans work, cooked a few minutes less.
Storing and reheating
Refrigerate in a covered container and eat within 3 days.
Cook's notes
Cut the potatoes small so they cook in the same time as the bodi.