Black Eyed Beans Curry a.k.a. Lobia / Chawli Sabzi

Comfort foods come in many tastes and textures; it is one of those dishes that we crave for on those days that we need a little cosseting. Hot rice mixed with black eyed beans or chawli curry on a cold day is one such food for me. But I don't necessarily need a cold day to enjoy a plateful of chawli and rice. We normally avoid making basmati rice unless making biryani, but for this once I made basmati rice because it pairs off well with the black eyed beans / chawli curry.

At our home, like with upma which my husband loves and I don't, the chawli curry is liked by me and hated by my husband. So whenever I cook this, the portion size is reduced further to only a one person size!  But what also happens is I don't make it often enough. Knowing how I enjoy Tomato Pachadi (find my recipe here) and this chawli sabzi, my mom had made this for lunch on one of the days on my last visit. There's nothing more comforting than mom's cooking, whatever the food!

Ingredients
Black eyed beans / Lobia / Chawli - 1/2 cup
Onion - 1
Tomato - 1
Garlic - 2 cloves
Coriander pwd - 1 tsp
Turmeric pwd - 1/2 tsp
Red chilli pwd - 1 tsp
Coriander leaves - 1 tbsp
Salt as per taste
Oil - 1.5 tbsp
Wash the black eyed beans in water and pressure cook it with a cup of water for 2 whistles. Open and take the cooked beans out once the pressure is released.
Chop onions, tomatoes and garlic separately and keep aside.

Heat oil in a saucepan and add the chopped onions. Sauté the onions for a few minutes and then add the garlic. Sauté both of them till the onions are light golden then add the chopped tomatoes. Continue sautéing till the tomatoes start softening then add the turmeric powder, coriander powder, salt and red chilli powder and sauté. Add the boiled black eyed beans to this masala mix. Add water as required if you like it with gravy. Give it a couple of boils so the beans and the masala mixes well and the tastes intermingle.

Black eyed beans can also be made without gravy as a side dish to rice and curry or it can be paired off with chapati. In which case don't add additional water when adding the boiled beans and let some of the liquid evaporate. It thickens a little if kept for some time before serving.

This recipe goes to 'Side Dish Mela' hosted by Cooking4allseasons.blogspot.in
 

Payar (Achinga) Chenna Mezhukkupuratti / Yam and Long Beans Stir Fry

In Kerala, subzi is made either with grated coconut called thoran or with coconut oil called mezhukkupuratti. Here I have a recipe of payar and chenna mezhukkupuratti. a stir fry of sorts from Kerala. Many households in Kerala have a vegetable garden outside or near the kitchen and achinga / payar and chenna are usually homegrown in it. Payar or achinga mezhukkupuratti can be made on it own or can be  paired with chenna (yam / suran) or kaya (raw plantain / kacha kelaa). For me, chenna with either the yard long beans or the french beans is what touched the taste octave.

Ingredients
Achinga / Payar / Chawli / Yard Long Beans - 1 cup
Chenna / Suran / Yam - 1/2 cup
Green Chilli - 4 slit
Turmeric pwd - 1tsp
Curry Leaves - 6 to 8
Coconut Oil - 1tbsp
Salt as per taste

Wash the beans and cut it in 1inch long pieces. Chop the chenna into the same size and wash nicely. Heat a pan, add the yard long beans, the chenna pieces, turmeric powder, green chillies, curry leaves, salt and about half cup water. Mix well and cover with lid which has a little depth; add some water in the lid and cook on low heat. Check after 10 minutes, if its not cooked cover with the lid again and cook for another 5 minutes. The vegetables should retain a little crunch and this may not take more than 15 to 20 minutes. When done drizzle the coconut oil on the achinga and chenna and stir fry for a couple of minutes on a high. Check for salt, adjust if necessary.

 

If you do not like coconut oil use your normal sunflower or vegetable oil and stir fry. But to get the authentic Kerala taste use only coconut oil. Sliced sambhar onions can also be added, in which case heat the coconut oil separately in a kadhai and fry the sliced onions, then add the achinga and chenna to it and stir fry for a few minutes.

 

Have the payar and chenna mezhukkupuratti with hot rice and rasam with a few drops of ghee on it. It is a great comfort food.