Avarekaalu mixture is one of the most addictive, loved deep fried, tea time snack fromKarnataka. Avarekaalu mixture is a crispy, spicy snack with a hint of sweetness. Avarekaalu mixture is very addictive and mostly everyone fights for the fried dry coconut in it :), so go ahead and add more of it.
Avarekaalu mixture is made using hitkida Avarebele, which is the peeled broad beans. The beans are soaked in water overnight and they are pressed in-between fingers to peel off the thin layer. Every Avarekaalu will give two Avarebele. Bele stands for lentil. This is a very very tedious process and thankfully you do get the ready peeled ones in the vegetable shops and in the markets.
Also you could try the Menthya Soppu Avarekaalu Bhath that I made few days ago. We visited our friends Avarekaalu farm and picked fresh beans and made this yummy pulav. Do give it a try.
Ingredients
1 kilo – Hitkida Avarebele *
1/2 – Dry coconut, sliced
2 Tbsps – Red chilly powder
2 Tbsps – Salt
2 Tbsps – Sugar powder
A handful of groundnuts, fried gram, Beaten rice, curry leaves
1/2 ltr – oil for deep frying
- 1 kilo - Hitkida Avarebele *
- ½ - Dry coconut, sliced
- 2 Tbsps - Red chilly powder
- 2 Tbsps - Salt
- 2 Tbsps - Sugar powder
- A handful of groundnuts, fried gram, Beaten rice, curry leaves
- ½ ltr - oil for deep frying
- Wash the avarebele well and spread it on a muslin cloth and let it air dry for an hour.
- Heat the oil in a deep pan. Keep a tray ready to put the fried beans. I usually use my baking tray from the oven.
- In a bowl dissolve the salt in a cup of water and keep it aside.
- Keep a steel seive that fits the pan ready. The seive should be big and deep enough to touch the bottom of the pan.
- As soon as the oil reaches medium heat, put the dry coconut slices into the seive and dip it in the oil. Leave it there and deep frie the dried coconut slices till they turn brown, dark brown but not burnt. Lift the seive, strain them and put them on the tray.
- After this deep fry groundnuts, fried bengal gram and curry leaves one after the other using the steel seive and put them in the tray.
- Now put the poha on the seive place it in the oil and put a spoon of salt water to it and cover it with a lid immediately. Be careful as it will splatter. Poha fries very quickly and you will have to take it out quickly.
- Now add a handful of avarebele on the seive and dip it in the oil. Let it fry for a minute. Now add 2 tsps of salt water to the beans and cover it with a lid for a second. Once the splattering stops, open the lid and let the beans fry completely. The usual sign of well fried beans is when the bubbles in the oil comes down almost completely.
- Repeat this with the remaining avarebele.
- Once all the avarebele is fried, sprinkle the red chilly powder and sugar powder and give everything a good mix. If red chilly powder isn't sticking to the bele well then add some fried oil.
- Adjust spice, sweet and salt as per your liking.
- *Notes
- Avarekalu has to be soaked in water overnight and should be peeled. A tedious job and hence I buy the peeled beans.
- Adding salt water to the oil while frying helps salt stick to the beans well.
- Try not over fry the avarebele as there is a thin line between them being crispy and being hard and crunchy. If you like take out a few while frying to check if it has fried enough.
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