It has been exactly one month since we moved to Houston, Texas. The move went well and we are slowly adjusting to radiant Houston climate. We made an offer on a new house. It is under construction and will be finished in another couple of weeks. Until then, we are staying at our kind friends Prasad and Lakshmi’s home. They are on India trip and we are babysitting their home and backyard vegetable and fruit garden. It has been a great experience so far.
The following is a bean plant called asparagus bean or Yardlong bean from the backyard garden. The mature seeds have pleasant and mildly sweet taste, like alasanda. I have been making a tomato based curry with the shelled beans following my friend’s suggestion. It is a household favorite here.
The Flower
The Beans
The immature beans have asparagus like flavor, so the name Asparagus beans. They taste ok, but we prefer the plump and sweet tasting red colored beans from matured pods for cooking.
Shelled Beans (Red Alasanda)
Asparagus Beans with Tomatoes and Potatoes and Chapatis
so happy to see ur post Indira. hearty congratulation on purchase of ur new home.
i have never come across asparagus beans but yes, they very much look like alasande as we call it in kannada. can u cook it as whole beans or only shelled beans can be used?
Comment by sia — August 20, 2008 @ 8:19 am
Good to see your post, Indira. Congratulations on your new home.
Comment by Jayashree — August 20, 2008 @ 8:26 am
Hello Indira Garu,
Congratulations to both of you.I am an ardent fan of your pictures, recipes and every little thing you put up on the website.This is my first comment and I can’t tell you how happy I am, cuz I live in Houston too…I really like the way you added trivia about Seattle like the farmers markets, the eateries etc…..I am looking forward to know Houston through your eyes.My congratulations and hello to kittayya too….
Best wishes
Anuhya
Comment by Anuhya — August 20, 2008 @ 8:45 am
Indira:
Welcome to Houston! I’ve been reading you for a few months now and am excited to have you here in Houston to help show me new places and new ways.
Bucky
Comment by Bucky — August 20, 2008 @ 9:13 am
Welcome back! Congratulations on your new home!
Comment by Priya — August 20, 2008 @ 9:21 am
Wow… lovely post Indira… Alasandulu look so fresh… Congrats on your new home…
Comment by kalva — August 20, 2008 @ 9:33 am
Congratulations on buying a new house Indira. Hope you are enjoying Houston.
Alasandalu were never a part of our pantry back home, but now that I see your tempting dish can’t wait to try.
Comment by Aparna Inguva — August 20, 2008 @ 9:46 am
Welcome to Houston! I cannot believe my favorite blogger is going to be my neighbor in Houston! Well I am a regular lurker at ur blog. It is quite a city different from Seattle..much different!
And anytime you need any help just holler! And congrats with your new house!
Comment by Pooh! — August 20, 2008 @ 10:02 am
Congratulations on the house Indira! Its great to have you back here.
Comment by ms — August 20, 2008 @ 10:28 am
I am ardent follower of your posts .I Love your recipes and pictures. For couple of days I keep getting an error message when I try to access your webpage.Was wondering if something was not fine from your end..
Comment by Raji — August 22, 2008 @ 12:43 am
Congratulations Indira, Vijay and Kittaya on your new home. Missed you so pleased to see you are back online.
Comment by Ranjan — August 22, 2008 @ 5:29 am
So happy to see your post Indira. Yesterday there was some problem in my comment appearing here. Congratulations and best wishes for the new house.
Comment by Madhuram — August 22, 2008 @ 11:16 am
Congratulations on the new home and welcome to the BIG state of Texas!
The beans look gorgeous!
Comment by Maya — August 22, 2008 @ 11:27 am
Hi Indira,
Congratulations on your new home. Exciting times I guess. I have been checking your site to see if there has been a new post and am really pleased to see you back.
Comment by Nithya — August 22, 2008 @ 11:28 am
Welcome back Indira! very happy to see you back again
Comment by Shalu — August 22, 2008 @ 11:48 am
Nice to have you back Indira. I’ve missed your recipes. I need a suggestion…I’ve recently started making dosas at home (using your recipe and rosematta rice!) but have an awful time grinding the batter. I use a kitchenaid blender. I’ve tried the food processor as well. Any suggestions. Is an Osteriser any better? should I soak the rice and lentils longer?
Any suggestions from anyone would be a help.
Thanks
Comment by beth — August 22, 2008 @ 12:30 pm
Nice to see you back Indira.
Congratulations on your new home
Comment by Lakshmi — August 22, 2008 @ 1:22 pm
Hurray! I have a home to stay at Houston.
Comment by Inji Pennu — August 22, 2008 @ 1:53 pm
Congrats Indira on the new home purchase. Now you can grow your own vegetables all year long and enjoy them. Good luck.
Comment by Sapna — August 22, 2008 @ 7:09 pm
Very happy to see your Website working….
Was trying to reach your website from last few weeks….I can’t express how i am addicted to ur cooking & photos actually everything…
BTW Congratulations on your New HOME…
Have fun.
Comment by Soumya — August 22, 2008 @ 10:42 pm
Congrats on ur new home…..I hope u have accustomed urself to ur new house…..hey why dont u post ur home pics for a change(if u wish to only)….just curious to know how beautiful it would be
Comment by raaji — August 23, 2008 @ 1:00 am
I feel fresh..on seeing your recipe after a long Time..Enjoy Your New Home..Looking forward for new recipe’s from new Kitchen:)
Happy Krishna Jayanthi..
Comment by Lavi — August 23, 2008 @ 4:53 am
Wow nice pic. I always use to see this in the market. But never thought of cooking them. Now i got the recipe i will try this soon. Happy to see you back.
Comment by Lubna Karim — August 23, 2008 @ 9:23 am
hi Indira and Vijay,
Congratulations on your new home!
Comment by anu — August 23, 2008 @ 3:11 pm
Welcome back and Congratulations!!!
What a wonderful news!
May this new house in new place be filled with happy memories and joy smiles, always!
Comment by Kay — August 23, 2008 @ 7:22 pm
I’m so glad you’re back! Yay!
Comment by Destiny — August 23, 2008 @ 10:00 pm
Congrats on your new Home. The next thing i can anticipate is indira’s vegetable garden.
Ensure you have a well planned backyard for produce. Houston is a good place to grow vegetables. All the best.
Comment by Lavanya — August 24, 2008 @ 2:28 am
Congratulations on your new home! I have been following your blog for quite some time now and am really happy to know you are here in Houston! Do share your veggie growing experience in Houston too!
Hope you have a wonderful time in Houston!
Comment by Usha Krishnamoorthy — August 24, 2008 @ 10:30 am
I am so happy for you both! Good to hear an update from you..take care!
Comment by Trupti — August 24, 2008 @ 1:02 pm
Your bread pic here: http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=204&sid=1867118
Copyright violation?
Comment by xx — August 24, 2008 @ 7:42 pm
Pictures look awesome
Comment by Lakshmi — August 25, 2008 @ 11:49 am
Congratulations on your move to Houston! It is my favourite city, hoping to come back there
Asparagus beans looks so much like the beans that we normally cook in Kerala. I know only its malayalam name but is usually available in Indian stores and Asian stores as ‘Chinese long beans’. It is called karamani in Tamil and just plain ‘payaru’ (means beans) in Malayalam. In Houston, it used to be vailable in HEB and Fiesta stores.
In Kerala, we just cook it and after it is 755 cooked, just saute it in oil, of course, coconut oil. you can add some curry leaves. It will be slightly crisp. The combination of this with green plantain is also quite excellent.
Comment by Seema — August 25, 2008 @ 6:28 pm
Hi Indira,
Glad to see you back. Was upset when I got an error message sometime back, while trying ur website.
I have been a regular reader of ur blog for more than a year, delurking for a comment once or twice. I can very well say, I learnt to cook (I cud cook only the basic sambar, rasam, kootus - regular tamil cusine, before) from Mahanandi. Everyday, I check ur site for something to cook.
Congrats on ur new house! Can imagine you already planning a kitchen garden. Would like to see ur new garden & Kitchen thro’ ur pics someday.
Comment by Akhila Krishnamurthy — August 25, 2008 @ 9:01 pm
Hello, Indira! Such exciting news — a new home!! Congratulations to you and Vijay!!
I can’t wait to see your new kitchen, and dear Kittaya in his new kitty-kingdom
Asparagus bean flower is really gorgeous
Comment by Linda — August 26, 2008 @ 6:12 am
Hello Indira garu,
Congratulations on new home!!!
Welcome back to Houston, I am so excited that you are in the same city as I am
Comment by Menaka — August 27, 2008 @ 10:00 am
hey Indira congrats on ur new house. and this veggies is wat we call “Alasande” in kannada and this is the season we grow this at home.
Comment by sushma — August 28, 2008 @ 6:53 am
Congratulations and Welcome back.
Comment by Cilantro — August 28, 2008 @ 10:36 pm
Hi Indira,
Congrats on your new home. I am an ardent follower. I got so addicted seeing your recipes at work too! Few times, few days ago I was trying to access your website, but it was showing some error.
Glad to see your website back.
I pretty much try your recipes and they come out so good. Love your pictures.
thank you,
Madhuri
Comment by madhuri — August 28, 2008 @ 11:10 pm
Hi Indira, Glad to see that the site is finally up. Meeku, Vijay gari ki Congrats! we r waiting to see ur new Home pics, esp kitchen pics along with u, hopefully
. Its a nice coincidence that our new home will also be ready with in 4 weeks. Its so exciting right! except for the rising mortgage interest rates 
Comment by prathima — August 31, 2008 @ 2:04 am
I’ve missed your beautiful pictures, descriptions and recipes. Welcome back!
Comment by Susan — September 4, 2008 @ 4:09 pm
Dear Ms. Indira,
I have never left a message on your blog but I follow it quite often. Anyway, to put it in few words, I really applaud you for your devotion to making many authentic South-Indian dishes and really just paying tribute to our culture. Great job!
So, what I really wanted to say is a I just moved to Houston from Seattle and am adjusting to the differences. One of the biggest adjustments is there is NO TRADER JOE’s and I havent yet found a GOOD farmers market kind of thing! I miss it very much. There is Whole Foods but I don’t quite like it; I had to make do with it till I found Central Market. In case somebody already didn’t mention that to you, I just wanted to throw this your way; you might really like Central Market. Let me know if excites you as much as it excited me.
Best Wishes,
Teja
Comment by Teja — September 9, 2008 @ 12:49 am
Hi Indira,
I am a fan of ur recipes from almost three years and I improved my cooking a lot. But these when I try to get some recipe from the website I see some error messages. Especially I get this when I try to access the recipes from Recipes by Ingredient. Just wanted to make sure you are aware of this and is being fixed.
Thanks,
Mrudula.
Comment by Mrudula — September 9, 2008 @ 12:21 pm
Dear Indira, glad to see the website up and running again.
Comment by Madhuram — September 16, 2008 @ 3:35 pm
Dear Indira
.. hope that you all are doing OK after the onslaught of Ike in Houston.
Comment by Jyotsna — September 16, 2008 @ 5:18 pm
hi indira,
how r u doing? i hope all is fine with u guys…its terrible to know abt the weather conditions there! take care
regards,
Veda
Comment by veda — September 19, 2008 @ 1:12 pm
The beans recipe was really nice because I tasted it and I loved it so much. I wanted to eat it over and over again.
Comment by Geetika — September 26, 2008 @ 9:25 am
It has been very long since you posted, Just hope you are doing Ok. Hope to see you back soon.
Comment by Cilantro — September 28, 2008 @ 11:34 am
hey indira
i visit your site regularly but of-late there have been no posts - its already oct…hope everything is ok at your place.
looking forward to new posts soon
warm regards
veena
Comment by veena — October 6, 2008 @ 1:51 am
I have’nt seen any postings from you for a long time. I hope you come out of your long hibernation soon. Duseera navaratri started and I am looking for some yummy posts from you.
Thanks - Bindu
Comment by Bindu — October 6, 2008 @ 1:48 pm
are you Ok? Why no posts — you are not obliged to put them up for our reading pleasure, but just want to know that you are Ok.
Comment by jillumadrasi — October 7, 2008 @ 9:40 am
Hello Indira Garu,
I hope you are doing well. If possible let us know that all is well with you. Its been so long since your last post.
Best Regards,
Sushma
Comment by Sushma — October 10, 2008 @ 9:12 am
Hi,
I follow ur posts though I have never commented before. I have recreated your Beet Borscht for T&T event. If time permits do visit http://tastycurryleaf.blogspot.com/2008/10/vegetarian-beet-borscht.html.
Thanks for the wonderful recipe.
Comment by Sweatha — October 12, 2008 @ 7:36 pm
Indira garu..ela unnaru?
mee posts ee madhya asalu levu..hope everything is good with you both.
Comment by Chandana — October 13, 2008 @ 2:06 am
Indira, hope you are all well. Look forward to hearing from you soon.
Comment by Ranjan — October 13, 2008 @ 7:13 am
Hi Indira Garu….Please do post something…at least that your are on a break….we all miss you.
Comment by shreya — October 14, 2008 @ 9:46 pm
Thank you all for the warm wishes.
We moved into a new home last week. Got the net connection yesterday. Preoccupied with setting up the things here. Can’t wait to get back to Mahanandi. Soon.
Take care. Wishing you all Shubha Dasara and Deepavali!
Comment by Indira — October 16, 2008 @ 9:11 am
Congratulations Indira Garu!!!
Glad to hear from you.
Regards,
Sushma
Comment by Sushma — October 16, 2008 @ 12:08 pm
Dear Indira Garu
Glad to see your comment saying all is well. We missed you and your wonderful posts. See you soon online
Balu
Comment by Balu — October 16, 2008 @ 4:40 pm
Congratulations Indira, Best wishes on your new home. Will be glad to see you posting soon.
Comment by Cilantro — October 17, 2008 @ 3:35 pm
Hello Indira,
Great to know that all is well at ur end. Congrats on the new home !! Will be waiting for the wonderful pics and recipes from ur new place.
Take Care
Vidya
Comment by Vidya Vaidyanath — October 20, 2008 @ 2:06 am
Hi Indira….
Nice to know you moved into your new place..
Comment by J — October 20, 2008 @ 3:02 am
Hello Indira,
Great to hear from you. And congrats on your new home. Shubha Deepavali to you and family.
Comment by Sapna — October 20, 2008 @ 12:51 pm
Dear Indira,
Best wishes for your new home. Wish you a very happy Diwali in your new home.
Comment by Madhuram — October 20, 2008 @ 8:43 pm
Dear Indira,
Congratulations on moving to the new house. Make this be a wonderful place filled with happy memories and happiness always!
Eagerly looking for a post from you.
Kay
Comment by Kay — October 21, 2008 @ 12:17 pm
Happy Dusherra and Happy Diwali to you too!
Comment by Kay — October 21, 2008 @ 12:18 pm
Hi Indira,
I just came back from India from 3 months vacation. I am happy to know you moved to Houston. We live in Houston too. Congratulations on your new home purchase. Call me if you need any Indian plants. We like to grow Indian vegetables and fruits. So I have collection of Indian plants. I want to tell you about persimmon picking farm and more. I like the way you post your recipes. Keep it up.
Comment by jyothi — October 22, 2008 @ 10:23 am
It’s good to know that I’m not alone when it comes to writing articles about quality, good food. And I love sharing good recipes too.
I’ll better check the archived posts from your site. Ciao! Hmm Indian food…appetizing.
Comment by Bob LaGatta — October 23, 2008 @ 1:42 am
Indira, Vijay and Kittaya, wishing you all happiness in your new home and a very happy Diwali and happy New Year.
Comment by Ranjan — October 23, 2008 @ 10:15 am
Indira..it’s been a long time! Hope you are doing good. What’s going on? No updates for a long time? Hope all is well.
Isn’t this your picture?
http://indiakhaana.com/aloo.html
Comment by RP — October 24, 2008 @ 12:25 pm
Dear Indira,
Deepavali Subhakankshalu!
Congrats on moving to a new Home. Hope to see more posts from you soon.
Madhuri
Comment by Madhuri.A — October 24, 2008 @ 12:34 pm
I am unable to access archives on this blog. Is it working?
Comment by Raj — October 24, 2008 @ 5:33 pm
Happy Diwali to you, Vijay and Kittaya! I hope you have settled down in your new home. Best wishes, always!
Comment by Manisha — October 27, 2008 @ 3:58 am
Dear Mrs.Indra
First time to blog. Though I have linked back many of my posts to this blog but got the opportunity to visit your blog only today. Great Blog. I know I am not the 1st one to tell it. Would like to see you posting soon.
Comment by Lakshmi Venkatesh — October 31, 2008 @ 3:55 am