Avarekaayi is the name for indian broad beans.. The season for this beans is around the ‘Sankranti’ festival which is usually on Jan 14th. So avarekaayi is in season from december to march. But in bangalore its almost availabe through the year.
I cant say enough about this bean. Favourite of most of the people here. It is used in almost anything in this season. The list does not stop… Avarekaalu (kaalu means bean) is used in uppittu ( upma), rotti, usli ( usal) , saaru ( curry), dose (dosa), hithkid bele saaru ( the pith is removed by soaking the bean overnite), pulav, avarekaalu mixture ( deep fried) and used here and there in all currys, sambars along with other veggies. It is lying in a box in the fridge and freezer and 1 handful in this , a handful in that is what i do 🙂
When we were young i remember my father would get atleast 10 kgs at a time and we as a family would sit till late in the night and peel it. Now a days you get it peeled which saves a lot of time. We have a fixed vendor who we pay and go back in sometime so that he peels it fresh…
This bean like most of the beans is gassy in nature.
To cut down on the gassy nature of the bean and to balance that nature a lot of jeera, garlic and oil is used in the dishes.
Ingredients
5 cups – Avarekaalu
1/2 cup – Oil
1 cup – Garlic pods
1 cup – Chopped coriander
10 to 15 – Green chillies ( use as per your taste)
Salt to taste
A dollop – Unsalted butter
1 tsp – Mustard seeds
Method
In a pressure cooker heat the oil, add mustard seeds to this. Let it crackle. To this add the green chillies and saute for a sec or two. To this now add avarekaalu and saute till all the beans are coated well with oil. Keep stirring for couple of mins. To this add just enough water to cover half the level of beans. Add salt and pressure cook it for two whistles.
open the lid of the cooker once cooled and place it on the flame again. Now add garlic and 3/4thnof the coriander and cover the lid of the cooker and cook it for an other whistle or two.
Open the lid once the pressure is released, and continue boiling. Add butter to this and mash few beans to give a thick consistency to the sauce at the bottom.
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