Baby Lima Beans, Tomato, Red Chilli Powder, Turmeric and Ginger-Garlic-Cilantro Paste
“Lima beans are a very good source of cholesterol-lowering fiber, as are most other legumes. In addition to lowering cholesterol, lima beans’ high fiber content prevents blood sugar levels from rising too rapidly after a meal, making these beans an especially good choice for individuals with diabetes, insulin resistance or hypoglycemia. When combined with whole grains such as rice, lima beans provide virtually fat-free high quality protein. You may already be familiar with beans’ fiber and protein, but this is far from all lima beans have to offer.” To know more about lima beans or butter beans nutritional information, click here.
Fresh baby lima beans in tomato gravy make a tasty comforting curry. Swift, simple to prepare and so good when served with chapatis, rice or pasta. A must try!
Recipe:
1 cup fresh baby lima beans (=butter beans)
1 cup finely chopped onion
6 ripe, juicy tomatoes – cut or pureedMasala Paste:
2 garlic cloves+1 inch piece of ginger+fistful of fresh coriander+ 1 tablespoon of coconut – grind into smooth paste in a blender
1 teaspoon each – chilli powder, salt and turmericFor popu or tadka:
½ teaspoon each – cumin, mustard seeds, minced garlic and few curry leaves
1 teaspoon of peanut oil
Heat peanut oil in a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat.
Add and toast popu or tadka ingredients in listed order above.
Add and fry onions first and then the masala paste.
Add tomatoes. Cook them on high heat to mush.
Add lima beans, 1 cup of water and the seasoning (chilli powder, salt and turmeric). Stir and cook them covered until lima beans are soft and the curry reaches the thickness you desire.
Serve warm with chapatis or with rice.
Lima Beans ~ Tomato Curry with Chapatis – Our Meal Today
Baby Lima beans are available in frozen section of US grocery shops year round.
Do you think Edamame would be an OK sub for the lima beans here?
Comment by Joe — October 18, 2005 @ 11:25 pm
Mmmm…looks so colorful and yummy! Off-topic, Indira, I tried your recipe for okra sambar last night. It was mouth-watering! The combination is amazing, thanks a lot for a great recipe 🙂
Comment by Nupur — October 19, 2005 @ 7:01 am
Joe…I would think that using edamame instead of the lima beans is possible, but you would certainly be getting something altogether different. They taste completely different,but no harm in trying out though.
Nupur..thanks.
yum.. okra sambhar, my favorite. I am happy that you tried and enjoyed the recipe.
Comment by Indira — October 19, 2005 @ 10:14 am
It sure is good looking. Must be good for health, too. 🙂
Comment by obachan — October 19, 2005 @ 10:46 am
Hi Indira
mee recipes chala bavunnayandi..
ee lima beans curry picture vundi kaani recipe ledu ?konchem post chestaara?
Thanks
Valli
Comment by Valli — March 15, 2006 @ 10:50 am
Tried this recipe tonight for dinner with roti’s. It was great, I have never ever cooked such a yummy recipe in less than fifteen minutes with the least number of ingredients…Thanks. I will try your other recipes too.
Comment by Jas — August 15, 2007 @ 6:40 pm
I tried this recipe. It tasted very good.
Comment by bindhu — January 30, 2008 @ 7:42 am
You have a great website and I absolutely love all the recipes and the photos that accompany them. You have been a life saver as my husband hates cooking and I get bored making the same things over and over again:).
I was wondering if I could substitute coconut or eliminate it from the recipes as my husband has high cholesterol and needs to avoid coconut as much as possible. Any suggestions will be appreciated, thank you!
Hi Aparna,
Thank you for the good words. I greatly appreciate them!
Even without coconut, most of the recipes taste very good and I often prepare in that way for my everyday cooking. And for gravy curries, poppy seeds work well in place of coconut. Poppy seeds have low calories, the fat content is also extremely low. Putnala pappulu or dalia also good to thicken the gravy.
I wanted to portray the traditional recipes in accurate manner on Mahanandi, that’s why I mention and add coconut. For health reasons, I recommend total elimination. There might be little bit of taste difference, but it’s very easy to get used to. Hope this helps.
– Indira
Comment by Aparna — April 30, 2008 @ 11:19 am
hey,
where are the lima beans or edamame beans available. are they available in indian or american stores like safeway etc.
please let me know.
Thanks,
–JYo
Comment by jyo — October 19, 2009 @ 3:58 pm
Just wanted to comment that this was great – loved it – just had it for brunch with some fried egg cooked on top. Delicious.
Comment by alcibiades — November 7, 2010 @ 9:33 am