Yet another chavali kayi dish comes here. Cluster beans is popularly known as “Chavali kayi” and Sambar as “Huli” in Northern part of Karnataka (India). These are Kannada words (Kaarnataka). Basically, it is a lentil based veg stew, here we are using cluster beans as vegetable. This dish is served as side dish with main course like rice, roti and chapati. Cluster beans has it’s own taste and flavour which we don’t find in any other vegetable. This vegetable contains a variety of health benefits which are useful to the whole body. This one is the best vegetable you can ever have if you cook it in a right way by preserving all it’s nutrients. You can really make a tasty and healthy dish with cluster beans. While you are buying the cluster beans, make sure that the beans are not too hard, they should be soft and tender. Make sure that the beans should not have any dark or black spots on it, it shows that they are not fresh enough to buy. If you are using canned one then you need to ensure that the container should be airtight and sealed. This dish is quite easy to prepare and it is full of nutritions. Let’s see how to prepare tasty and healthy chavali kayi huli.
INGREDIENTS
- Chavali kayi / Cluster beans – 100 grams
- Togari bele / Pigeon peas split – 50 grams (around 1/2 cup)
- Dhaniya / Coriander seeds – 1 Tea spoon
- Kodali bele / Bengal gram – 1/2 Tea spoon
- Methi seeds / Fenugreek seeds – 1/2 Tea spoon
- Byadagi Menasina kayi / Red chillies – 4
- Chakke / Cinomon stick – 1/2 inch piece
- Dry coconut (chopped) – 1 Tea spoon
- Tomatoes – 2 (medium size)
- Cooking oil – 1 Table spoon
- Sasuve / Mustard seeds – 1/2 Tea spoon
- Jeerige / cumin seeds – 2 Tea spoons
- Haldi powder / Turmeric powder – 1/2 Tea spoon
- Hing – 1/4 Tea spoon
- Kari bevu / Curry leaves – 1 string (8-10 leaves)
- Kotambari soppu / Coriander leaves (chopped) – 1 Small cup
- Salt – 1 Tea spoon (Or according to your taste)
- Sugar – 1 pinch
- Red chilly powder – 1/2 Tea spoon (you can vary according to your taste)
- Tamarind pulp – 8-10 pulps
PREPARATION
- Wash the cluster beans with plane water. Remove the ends of beans (tip and tail) with hands so that strings will come out. Cut them into pieces or you can cut them into any size you want. Normally, I cut them into big pieces for Huli or sambar (approx 1 inch or more in length). Keep them in a bowl.
- Wash togari bele with plane water and pour it into pressure cooker (capacity of 2 or 3 litres). Add two cups of water to it and allow the gram to soak for 10 minutes.
- Cut tomatoes in to 4 pieces and pour it tino the cooker. Close the pressure cooker with lid and place the cooker on medium flame. Allow it to whistle thrice and remove the cooker from heat. Allow the cooker to cool down. It may take 10 minutes to cool down. Meanwhile you can do other preparation.
- Wash tamarind pulps and keep it in a bowl and add hot water to it. This process makes the tamarind pulp soft and helps in squeezing it easily. Close the bowl with a lid and keep it aside.
- Place a small frying pan on medium flame. Pour Bengal gram, Coriander seeds, Cinnamon, Fenugreek seeds (methi seeds), 1 tea spoon of Cumin seeds and Red chillies one after other keeping 1 minute gap. Mean while you have to toss them now and then. Roast them all together for 5 minutes or until they start getting brown colour and start leaving a pleasant aroma.
- Roast the grated coconut separately to light brown colour. Roasting of dry coconut gives more natural oil and aroma to masala. Allow them to cool, it may take 5 minutes. Grind all the roasted spices, one pinch of hing and coconut to a fine powder and keep it in a bowl.
- Place a sauce pan on medium heat, pour 1/2 cup of water to it. Lower the heat once water starts boiling and add chopped cluster beans(chavali kayi), a pinch of sugar and 1/2 tea spoon salt to it. This process of adding sugar and salt while boiling the beans helps in retaining the colour and flavour of beans. Close the sauce pan with a lid and boil it for 5 minutes. take off the pan from heat and keep the sauce pan aside.
- Place another sauce pan (capacity of 2 litres) on medium heat. Pour cooking oil to it, wait for 1 minute and add mustard seeds to it. Add cumin seeds, curry leaves and hing once mustard seeds splutter completely. Pour boiled cluster beans and haldi to it and mix it smoothly.
- Open the pressure cooker lid and pour all it’s content into the sauce pan. Add salt, red chilly powder and 2 tea spoons of grounded masala to it. You can store remaining grounded masala in a bottle and use it for some other vegetable sambar / stew.
- Squeeze the tamarind pulp and remove the husk and pour it to the sauce pan. Sprinkle chopped coriander leaves over it. Boil it for 10 minutes and serve it hot with plane rice or rotis or chapatis, even you can serve it with idli and dosa. It is a multipurpose curry, healthy and tasty as well.
- Isn’t it easy!
- Enjoy cooking.
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Food For Thought 