1. a handful of green beans, preferably from the farmers market or from your backyard
2. a dollop of butter
3. a bit of garlic, chopped
4. sambar powder
5. coarse sea salt

1. steam the green beans until they are ready to serve.
2. while the beans are steaming (and almost done) chop the garlic.
3. in a separate pan, heat 1/2 of dollop of butter.
4. when the pan is heated, throw in the garlic.
5. when the garlic is 80% cooked, sprinkle sambar powder (1/4 tsp, or to taste).
6. remove the garlic once it is red/gold (almost crisp), and mix in the green beans.
7. melt a bit more butter in the pan (which should be garlic/sambar flavored) and season the beans with this butter.
8. salt to taste.

We were recently at a friend's house for dinner and he served green beans fresh from his backyard. They were delicious, simply steamed and served with a bit of butter. This inspired us to try the same dish with some garlic, and of course, sambar powder. Sauteing a bit of chopped garlic with sambar powder is great seasoning for vegetables, and it's excellent on the green beans. It works well to prepare the garlic separate from the beans and mix the two. The garlic should be crisp and a deep red/gold.

Here are some other related recipes: Seattle PI ("Curried Green Beans") and Epicurious ("Dry-Curried Green Beans"). I think our recipe is inspired by the way we envision a French-style green beans dish (simple) but with a spicy kick which does not overpower the wonderful taste of the beans.