Avarakkai (Hyacinth beans or Broad beans), spring onion sabzi

Fresh avarakkai beans make delicious sabzi, which can be a good accompaniment for both chapattis and steamed rice. They should be pressure cooked with at least five times water and salt for five minutes, and the water has to be discarded as they are toxic due to the presence of cyanogenic glycosides.

Ingredients:

2 cups of  avarakkai, pressure cooked and drained

1 bunch of spring onions cleaned and chopped

1 tbs oil

1/ tsp cumin seeds

1/3 tsp turmeric powder

½ tsp red chilli powder

1 tsp coriander powder

½ tsp dried mango powder

½ tsp garam masala powder

Salt to taste

Method:

-                          Heat the oil and add cumin seeds. When they splutter, add all the masala powders.

-                          Add the chopped spring onions, salt and stir for a few seconds on high flame.

-                          Reduce the flame and let the spring onions cook, stirring occasionally.

-                          Now add the cooked avarakkai beans and mix well and remove from fire.

Methi and mooli (fenugreek, radish) ka paratha

We make methi ka paratha and mooli ka paratha. Today my husband suggested combining both. It was a successful experiment. It had the predominant taste of fenugreek leaves, with the crunchiness and mild flavor of radish.

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups fenugreek leaves separated and washed

¾ cup grated radish

100 gms wheat flour (for 3 parathas)

Salt to taste

½ cup water

Method: 

-         Knead all the ingredients to a smooth dough

-         Divide into three portions

-         Roll them out and roast on a hot thava , flipping to cook both sides and apply ghee on both sides

-         Serve with any curry or raita

Methi and mooli ka paratha with banana raita and aloo matar ki sabzi (potato green peas curry)

Gooseberry pickle

Ingredients:

Gooseberries    - 20

Salt to taste

Oil        - 2 tbsps

Mustard seeds  - ½ tsp

Asafoetida        - a pinch

Powdered fenugreek seeds       - ¼ tsp

Curry leaves     - a few

Turmeric powder          - 1/3 tsp

Red chilli powder          - ½ tsp

Method:

-         Pressure cook gooseberries with a little salt and one cup water. Switch off the gas when the first whistle comes. Cool, open the cooker, drain the goose berries and cool them. Remove the seeds and separate the gooseberries into small portions.

-         Add salt, turmeric powder and red chilli powder to the gooseberries and mix well.

-         Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds. When they splutter, add asafetida, the curry leaves and after a second, powdered fenugreek seeds. Stir well.

-         Add the gooseberries, mix well, keeping the flame low.

-         Remove from the flame after two three minutes.

-         This can be consumed like a sabzi, and will not remain for many days without refrigeration. 

-     You can add more oil while making, and store in a bottle like pickle, so that the gooseberries are covered with oil. This has long shelf life without refrigeration.