Beans Sambhariya

On our Indian trip this summer I spent a lot of time watching 'Food Food' channel on TV especially when we were on our Leh trip. I made note of some of the recipes that were interesting and looked tasty. Turban Tadka was one of my favorite chefs on that channel since his recipes were easy to make and was absolutely entertaining the way he went about doing it.

One of the recipes I watched and made a note of was beans sambhariya. Beans recipes are always welcome. Beans here are plentiful but the recipes are a few. The bland tasting beans needs some serious spices to make it interesting. That is exactly what this recipe does.

The original recipe called for using roasted Channa Dal (pottukadalai, dalia) but I chose to use cooked Channa Dal (Kadalai Paruppu). The channa dal should be just cooked and not mushy (mine got mushy). The end result would have been much better if I had controlled the cooking time.

Saute the ginger, garlic and green chilies along with the other seasonings. Add cooked beans and the turmeric, chili and coriander powders
Add the cooked dal (or roasted dal) coconut and salt and let cook till everything comes together.

Beans Sambhariya
Preparation Time:10 minutes
Cooking Time:20 minutes
Ingredients

1. 2 cups of finely chopped green beans
2. 3 cloves of garlic finely chopped
3. 5 green chilies finely chopped
4. 1 tbsp of grated ginger
5. 1 cup cooked channa dal (kadalaiparuppu) or roasted channa dal (pottukadalai)
6. 2 tbsp of grated fresh or frozen coconut (I skipped this)
7. 2 tsp turmeric powder
8. 1/2 - 1 tbsp red chili powder
9. 2 tsp coriander powder
10. 1 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
11. salt to taste
12. seasonings: cumin seeds, curry leaves
13. 2 pinches of asfoetida
14. 1 tsp of oil

Method

1. If using Channa dal cook it but let it maintain its shape slightly undercooked would be fine.
2. Cook the green beans sprinkled with water and covered with a lid for about 6 minutes. Set aside. Do not use plenty of water, just sprinkling a tbsp or two should be sufficient. When cooked all of this water should be gone.
3. Heat oil in a wide mouthed pan and when hot add the seasonings. When the mustard starts to pop add the asfoetida, green chilies, ginger and garlic and saute till the chilies are nice and crispy. (You will not be able to fish out the green chilies later so make sure it well roasted).
4. Add in the cooked green beans, give a gentle mix. Add in the turmeric, chilli powder and coriander powder. Mix them together.
5. Add in the cooked channa dal, coconut and salt and let it cook for 5 minutes.
6. Sprinkle the coriander leaves on top and cook for another 5 minutes.
7. Note: This should be a dry kind of dish. Overcooking resulted in mine getting a bit mushy. Use roasted dal for a much better results.

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