Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Dal with vall beans

I love hyacinth beans (or avarakkai, in Tamil). The fresh green ones, I mean. I could probably eat a ton of them if only I could lay my hands on them. Unfortunately they're only available at South Indian (or Sri Lankan) greengrocers down South, and even then not all of the time - I think. I don't really know what the season is for these tasty beans, or I could at least try and make the trip to coincide with their availability!

I've had a small pack of vall beans (the dried ones) for YEARS, I think. I bought them I don't know when on a whim, without knowing what they were, and then proceeded to ignore them completely. I didn't ignore them on purpose - I'd merely forgotten about their existence. Then I rediscovered them at the bottom of the box in which I store my unopened supplies, and brought them back to the surface to try out.

But it was when I found out that val beans are the dried seeds (? right word?) of avarakkai that I was galvanised into cooking with them. (When I say galvanised, I mean my version of it. Other people when galvanised might immediately do whatever they've been galvanised to do, but I tend to take my time. Continental drift has nothing on it.) I decided to make dal with the beans and the last of a bag of fresh spinach.

Since I didn't how long the dal would take to cook on the hob, I pressure-cooked it. When I opened the container, I got quite excited as there was a distinct aroma of avarakkai... which in retrospect need not have come as quite such a surprise because they were after all avarakkai beans! The finished dish had an underlying flavour of the hyacinth beans, which I liked very much. I couldn't help wondering, though, if whole vall dal would have a stronger flavour... so I guess I'll have to be on the lookout for those babies!


Recipe for: Dal with vall beans

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Ingredients:

1 cup vall dal
2 tomatoes, chopped
2 small onions, chopped finely
2-3 green chillies, minced (to taste)
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp ginger, grated
2 cups spinach
1 tsp garam masala (I used Kitchen King)
1 tsp cumin-coriander powder
salt to taste
2 tsp oil

Method:

1. Pressure cook the vall dal for three whistles till done. Reserve.

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2. Heat the oil in a pan and add the onions, ginger, green chillies and garlic. Saute for 3-4 minutes, then add the tomatoes. Fry till the tomatoes are soft and mushy.

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3. Add the spinach now, cover with a lid and let it wilt on med-low heat.

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4. Add the garam masala, cumin-coriander powder and mix it in.

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5. Finally, pour in the cooked vall dal and stir to distribute the masala evenly. Add salt to taste.

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6. Serve hot with rotis or rice.

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7 comments:

Raaga said...

I love these beans. I shall try this version soon.

I make a few dishes with Vaal :)

http://chefatwork.blogspot.com/2007/09/avrya-bendi.html

http://chefatwork.blogspot.com/2008/11/rangoon-na-vaal.html

http://chefatwork.blogspot.com/2009/04/pooshnikkai-mochai-kootu.html

http://chefatwork.blogspot.com/2008/10/rangoon-mochai-sundal.html

Since you love these beans, I am sure you'll love these dishes.

Nupur said...

Ah, that looks tasty and comforting. So true- val beans have such a distinct flavor and aroma. I often have the whole ones on hand, to sprout or just use as they are, but have never tried the split ones, the val dal.

Inji said...

I love avaraikkai too and sadly, haven't eaten it ever since I moved to the US. Avaraikkai curry and poricha koottu are my favorites. I had no idea that Val beans were the seeds of avaraikkai - I've eyed them curiously at the Indian market and then walked away. I'm going to get a pack on my next visit and try this soon. Did you soak the beans before cooking?

brinda said...

sigh! so much drama about avaraikkai, a veg i can quite happily live without! When I opened the container, I got quite excited as there was a distinct aroma of avarakkai... remember shoba's first trip to sundaram's? or heard of it? she drank a pineapple juice and said (with immense surprise in her voice) "this tastes just like pineapple"

Maaya said...

this looks great. sadly my Husband does not like this.. but i guess its a matter of taste.. i like the twist u did with the recipe

Alisa said...

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shankari said...

I had no clue that Vaal was avarakai, but knew that hyacinth was avarakai. I buy the canned hyacinth beans and use it in salads. I love the paruppu you have made better