Mahanandi

Living in Consciousness ~ Indi(r)a’s Food and Garden Weblog

Three-Bean Curry (French, Indian and Lima)

Green Beans, Shelled Indian Beans, Baby Lima Beans
Green Beans, Shelled Indian Beans, Baby Lima Beans

Here in the US, farmers’ markets are usually bursting with fresh green beans during this time of the year. When we first moved here, during my getting to know the US veggies better phase, regular staple in my kitchen was curries and pulaos prepared with frozen green beans. Frozen green beans are cheap, already cut and cook easily. Taste not that good, still I bought them. But after a year of frozen stuff, I had enough and I’ve sworn off green beans entirely. Then, I discovered the farmfresh green beans of springtime and how good they tasted. From then on, along with radishes, beans became a springtime staple at my home.

My recipe here is same as the old classic, the favorite of Indian cookbook authors, where beans are cut into quarter inch length pieces, saut?ed with onions and green chilli-coconut paste. To this basic recipe, I have also added two other types of shelled beans to increase the nutritional value as well as taste. The shelled Indian beans (Papdi Lilva, the middle ones in the photo above) are available in frozen section of Indian grocery shops here, year round and baby lima beans; you could get them from regular grocery shops. They both taste little bit sweet and starchy, compliments the mildly woodsy taste of fresh french beans.

Sauteing the three-bean curry
Sauteing the three-bean curry

Recipe:

Fresh Green beans – 2 cups of chopped quarter-inch length pieces
Shelled Indian broad beans – ½ cup
Baby lima beans – ½ cup
Onion – 1, finely chopped
Green chillies- 4 to 6 and coconut powder, a tablespoon – made into smooth paste
Turmeric – ½ teaspoon
Salt to taste
For tadka or tiragamata:
1 tsp of peanut oil
1 tsp of mustard seeds, cumin, minced garlic and few curry leaves

Heat peanut oil in a kadai or a wide pan. Add and toast the tadka ingredients. Add and stir-fry the onions for about 2 minutes. Add the green beans, Indian beans and Lima beans. Cook, covered for about 5 minutes on medium heat. Beans will soften within 5 minutes by cooking in their own moisture, sort of like steam cooking. At this stage, stir in green chilli-coconut paste, salt and turmeric. Cover and cook on medium heat for another 5-10 minutes stirring in between. Serve hot with chapatis or with rice and dal.

3-bean curry with chapatis
3-bean curry with chapatis

More about Indian Bean Seeds, Papdi Lilva or Chikkudu Vittanalu – Here

Posted by Indira©Copyrighted in Chikkudu Kaya (BroadBeans),Green Beans,Lima Beans (Tuesday May 30, 2006 at 1:17 pm- permalink)
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Lima Beans ~ Tomato Curry

Baby Lima Beans, Tomato, Red chilli powder, Turmeric and Ginger-Garlic-Cilantro paste
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!

Lima Beans Curry

Recipe:

1 cup fresh baby lima beans (=butter beans)
1 cup finely chopped onion
6 ripe, juicy tomatoes – cut or pureed

Masala 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 turmeric

For 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 Curry with Chapati
Lima Beans ~ Tomato Curry with Chapatis – Our Meal Today

Baby Lima beans are available in frozen section of US grocery shops year round.

Posted by Indira©Copyrighted in Lima Beans (Tuesday October 18, 2005 at 8:25 pm- permalink)
Comments (10)

The New Home of Mahanandi: www.themahanandi.org