What Is Curry Bodi? The Trinidadian Long Bean Curry Explained
Curry bodi is a Trinidadian dish of long beans chopped small and curried until tender, a favourite roti side. Here is what it is and how it is made.
African Stores Editorial Team
The short answer
Curry bodi is a Trinidadian dish of bodi, the long green beans also known as yardlong beans, chopped small and curried with garlic, onion, curry powder and hot pepper until soft and tender. It is an everyday vegetable curry and a much loved side for roti, and it is sometimes cooked with aloo (potato) or with shrimp. In its plain form it is naturally vegan and gluten-free, honest home cooking that turns a humble bean into something full of flavour. In the UK the bodi, curry powder and seasonings to make it are sold by Caribbean food shops, which you can find near you on African Stores.
What to remember
- Curry bodi is a Trinidadian curry made from bodi, long green beans also called yardlong beans.
- The beans are chopped small and cooked down in seasoned curry until tender.
- It is made with garlic, onion, curry powder and hot pepper, and often with potato.
- A shrimp version is popular, though the plain dish is naturally vegan and gluten-free.
- It is an everyday vegetable curry, most often eaten with roti or rice.
The smell of curry powder blooming in hot oil, garlic and pepper going in, and a heap of chopped bodi tumbling into the pot is one of the most homely sounds and scents of a Trinidadian kitchen. Curry bodi is not fancy food. It is the reliable green thing on the plate, the side that turns dhal and rice or a warm roti into a proper meal, the dish a mother or grandmother could make with her eyes closed.
For Trinis in Britain, cooking curry bodi is a way of keeping that everyday table alive. A long bean chopped down and curried soft carries the whole story of the island's food, the Indian roots of its curries, the love of a good hot pepper, the making of plenty from little. To share a plate of curry bodi and roti with someone is to hand them a taste of home, unhurried and full of care.
What Curry Bodi Actually Is
Curry bodi is a Trinidadian vegetable curry built around bodi, the long, thin green beans widely known as yardlong beans. The beans are chopped into short pieces and cooked down in a seasoned curry until they are tender and have taken on the flavour of the spices. The base is simple and familiar: garlic, onion, curry powder and a good amount of hot pepper, fried together so the curry powder blooms before the beans go in.
As it cooks, the bodi softens and shrinks, drinking up the seasoning until the whole dish is rich, savoury and gently spicy. It is a staple of home cooking rather than a special-occasion dish, the kind of everyday curry that appears on the table again and again. Curry bodi sits right at the heart of Trinidadian food, where the island's Indian heritage shows in the love of curry powder and the way an ordinary vegetable is turned into something worth looking forward to.
How Curry Bodi Is Made and Served
Making curry bodi starts with the beans, washed and chopped into small pieces so they cook evenly and soak up the seasoning. Garlic, onion and hot pepper are fried in hot oil, curry powder is added and cooked until fragrant, and then the bodi is stirred in and cooked down slowly until tender. Many cooks add aloo (potato), cut small, which softens into the curry and makes the dish more filling. A shrimp version is also popular, the seafood cooked into the same seasoned curry, and this one is no longer vegan and carries shellfish.
Curry bodi is above all a side dish. It is most often eaten with roti, scooped up in a warm, soft wrap such as dhalpuri, and it also goes well with plain rice or as one dish among several on a plate. Because the plain version uses only vegetables, oil and spices, it is naturally vegan and gluten-free, which makes it an easy dish to serve a mixed table. Whether alongside curry chicken and dhal or simply with roti, it brings a savoury, peppery green to the meal.
Why Curry Bodi Matters in Trinidad
Bodi is an everyday vegetable in Trinidad, easy to grow and easy to cook, and curry bodi is one of the most common ways to prepare it. It reflects the deep Indo-Trinidadian influence on the island's cooking, where curry powder and hot pepper season almost anything, and it shows the practical, thrifty spirit of good home food, taking a humble long bean and making it genuinely tasty. For many families it is comfort food in the plainest and best sense, the familiar green curry that makes a roti or a plate of rice feel complete.
Where to Buy Curry Bodi Ingredients in the UK
Curry bodi is a homemade dish, and its ingredients are easy to gather in Britain from Caribbean food shops. You will want bodi, the long yardlong beans, along with curry powder, garlic, onion and a hot pepper such as Scotch bonnet, plus potato if you like it with aloo, or shrimp for the seafood version. Shops serving Caribbean customers carry the fresh long beans and the West Indian curry powders that give the dish its authentic flavour, so it is a simple, affordable curry to make at home. You can find Caribbean food stores near you to see what is nearby.
Frequently asked questions
What is curry bodi?
Curry bodi is a Trinidadian dish of bodi, the long green beans also called yardlong beans, chopped small and curried with garlic, onion, curry powder and hot pepper until tender. It is an everyday vegetable curry and a favourite side for roti. It is sometimes cooked with aloo (potato) or with shrimp, though the plain version is naturally vegan and gluten-free.
What does curry bodi taste like?
Curry bodi is savoury, warmly spiced and gently to properly hot, depending on how much pepper is used. The long beans cook down until soft and take on the flavour of the curry powder and garlic, so the dish is rich and full of seasoning rather than sharp. When potato is added it becomes a little more mellow and filling.
How is curry bodi made?
The bodi is washed and chopped into small pieces, then garlic, onion and hot pepper are fried in hot oil with curry powder until fragrant. The beans are stirred in and cooked down slowly until tender, drinking up the seasoning. Many cooks add potato, and a shrimp version cooks the seafood into the same curry; it is usually served with roti or rice.
Is curry bodi vegan and gluten-free?
In its plain form curry bodi is made only from long beans, oil, garlic, onion, curry powder and hot pepper, which makes it naturally vegan and gluten-free. Adding potato keeps it plant-based. The shrimp version, however, contains shellfish and is no longer vegan, so it is worth checking which version you are eating.
Where can I buy curry bodi ingredients in the UK?
Curry bodi is made at home, so Caribbean food shops are the place to buy the ingredients: fresh bodi (yardlong beans), West Indian curry powder, garlic, onion and hot pepper, plus potato or shrimp if you want them. Shops serving Caribbean customers stock the long beans and curry powders that give the authentic flavour. African Stores lists African and Caribbean food shops across the UK, so you can find one near you that stocks them.