Crazy about flat beans
It’s the season of avarekalu! Flat lilva beans is an all-time favourite of many during the winter. While many Bengulareans relished avarekalu delicacies in the recent ‘Avarekalu Mela’, there is something you must know: you can prepare these delicacies too. And no, it won’t take much of your time or effort.
Rice rava upma
Ingredients: 1 cup rice rava (akki tari), 2 cups water, 6-7 finely chopped green chillies, few curry leaves, 1 cup avarekalu (steamed), 2 tbsp oil, ½ tsp mustard, a pinch of asafoetida, ½ tsp cumin seeds, 1 tsp channa dal, 1 tsp urad dal, sal to taste, few roasted cashew nuts, ½ cup freshly grated coconut, finely chopped coriander leaves for garnish.
Method: Fry the rava for 10 mins and keep it aside. Heat oil in a pan add mustard, cumin and when they begin to splutter, add channa dal and urad dal. Fry until light brown. Next add asafoetida, curry leaves, green chillies and fry. Add fried rava, salt and mix well. Then add steamed avarekalu, two cups of boiling water. Mix well. Cook till the water evaporates. Simmer and close the lid for 2-3 min.Garnish with coriander and coconut and serve hot with khara boondi.
Avarekalu sambhar
Ingredients: 2 cups avarekalu, 1 cup chopped onions, 5 tsp tamarind pulp, jaggery (optional), ½ tsp mustard and cumin, few curry leaves, 2-3 tsp oil, water, 1 tsp rasam powder.
For masala paste: 1 onion, 2 roasted onion, 6-8 red chillies, ½ cup grated coconut, ½ tsp coriander seeds, 1 tsp khus khus. Method: Soak avarekalu in water for around 7-8 hours and remove the outer skin and keep it aside. For the paste, heat oil a in a pan and add red chillies, coriander seeds and fry well, add little grated coconut and fry for some time. Separately roast onions with skin on the tava. Now grind all the above into thin paste. Also, grind coconut and khus khus with water into fine paste separately.
In a separate pan, heat oil and add mustard seeds, cumin, curry leaves and chopped onions, fry. Add the beans and fry for a minute and add the ground paste with some water. Once the beans are cooked well, add the tamarind pulp, salt and jaggery and salt. Mix well and keep stirring. Allow it to simmer and serve hot with rice or chapatis.
Menthya soppu avarekalu akki roti
Ingredients: 2 cups rice flour, 1 bunch finely chopped fenugreek leaves, ½ cup avarekalu, a handful of coriander leaves chopped, 4-5 finely chopped green chillies, 1 tsp cumin seeds, 2 tbsp oil, salt to taste, water as required, 2 tsp curd.
Method: Mix rice flour with chopped and washed methi leaves, avarekalu, salt, chilies and cumin seeds. Add water and mix well adding the curd.Cover and leave for some time. Dough should neither be too hard nor too soft. Next day, take a tava and smear some oil on in. Spread some dough around it, flattening it as you go. Keep this on medium heat, add oil around the roti and cover it. If you want it to be crispy, leave it on the heat for more time. Before making another roti, hold the pan upside down and run cold water all around it. As soon as the pan cools down, repeat the process. Enjoy these rotis hot with butter and chutney or pickle of your choice.