Dalimbi or Val, also known as butter beans or Bitter Beans and some call it field beans is a very staple pulse in Maharashtra state, Gujarat state etc. Its funny that in most of my posts I have to mention various names of 1 ingredient - such is the culture and global influence we live in today! It can be cooked as a nice dry Usal or as a nice slurpy Rassa. Some even make it with full fledge ground coconut masala called Birde. This is basically my Mother In Laws recipe, which she makes fondly for her ladla beta ..yes.. you heard me right :) Intentional or not the biaseness oozes out in one form or the other hehe.. Well thats how most moms are. Who knows I may turn out the same way, only time will tell :)
Dalimbi Rassa
Frankly at my home while growing up this dish was not cooked very often but I had tasted it at my neighbors home and I simply love anything that is slurpicious with exquisite red color along with that oil floating on top of the curry. I will never say NO to that, cross my heart. After I married, and as my husband loved it so much, I started getting a bag of split Val or whole Val at home. Usually I get split one. But right now beggars are not choosers applies to us because of lockdowns in most of the states. Just grabbing whatever is found :) in the aisle or in shopping cart online.
Veg Thali
Coming to the recipe, I have already posted Dalimbi dry Usal on my blog. You can take a look if interested. I like Curry style with more Rassa any day. This particular beans has a nice soft bitter taste to it which has to be complimented with sweet so the usage of gud/jaggery is important and as well as sourness, so kokum water is used in this recipe to give that particular unique flavor to the curry. Use of ginger/chillies and goda masala are few other ingredients that bring out a lovely taste to it.
Lets take a look at the recipe:
Ingredients:
3/4 cup val (or butter beans)- soaked and sprouted preferably- yields approx 2 cups
1 sprig curry leaves
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp jaggery
4-5 kokum petals - washed and soaked in 1/2 cup of warm water for 10 min
2 tbsp oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
pinch of asafoetida (hing)
1 tsp chopped ginger
1 small onion chopped
1 tsp red chili powder
big pinch turmeric powder
1 1/2 tsp goda masala (or onion masala or garam masala pwd)
handful cilantro finely chopped
1 tbsp fresh coconut for garnish (optional)
salt to taste
Boiled Butter Beans
Kokum Petals
Chopped other ingredients
Preparation:
Soak the val beans in the water overnight or for 8 hours. If you want to make sprouted val beans (which is more nutritious) then drain the water and keep it to sprout for 8 hours in a muslin cloth tied up.
In a saucepan add enough water till val beans is immersed and on med heat cook for 15-20 minutes. Keep a close eye after 15 minutes. It must be just soft. ( It gets mushy quickly and we don't want that). Switch off the gas and drain the water out. Keep cooked val beans dal aside.
During this time also soak kokum in half cup water and keep aside for 10 min.
In a pan, heat oil , add cumin seeds- once it starts to splutter add curry leaves, then add hing and then chopped ginger - saute for couple of min on med flame.
Add chopped onion, saute onion till light brown, then add the powders, red chili pwd, turmeric, goda masala - stir quickly on a low flame.
Transfer the cooked butter beans to this mixture, add kokum water and discard the kokum leaves, add jaggery, salt to taste.
Now add 1 cup + more water as per your required consistency and let the curry simmer for few minutes where you will see a nice red color and some oil floating on top!
Add cilantro and grated coconut(optional) Your curry is done, serve hot with rice or rotis.
Val or Lima beans (butter beans), like any other beans, are rich in dietary fiber. It is a slow burning complex carbohydrate. Val Beans gives you much energy to burn while stabilizing blood sugar. Also, has a good amount of Iron which is very crucial for the body. It is a power packed protein. A good source of manganese and folate along with potassium and has low sodium content.
Many names and one magical sweet dish that melts in the mouth. Holi, festival of colors and Puran Poli go hand in hand, it is a must to do dish during this festival in the state of Maharashtra. It is offered into the fire which is lit for Holika Dahan and after that everyone gets to eat and enjoy it. It is a fun dish and one may need a little practice to roll out these stuffed polis. It basically contains 2 parts, puran(huran) the stuffing (chana dal/jaggery mixture) and all-purpose flour dough called kanik. It feels like an accomplishment when you make these polis successfully :)
Let's quickly check the recipe:
Ingredients:
1 cup chana dal
1 cup jaggery (grated)
1 cup all-purpose flour (maida)
2 tbsp whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp turmeric powder (haldi)
4 tbsp Oil (vegetable)
1 tsp cardamom powder
puran and dough
Preparation:
In a pressure cooker, add 3 cups of water and washed chana dal. Pressure cook for 3 whistles, then switch off the gas and let the cooker cool down.
Open the pressure cooker, strain the cooked chana dal and reserve the water. This water can be used to make katachi amati. Drain water completely from the dal. Then add this dal into a deep pan.
Add jaggery in it and let this mixture cook over medium heat. Keep stirring over medium heat until the mixture becomes thick (keep stirring for like 7-8 minutes).
Let it cool down a bit. Then using a mesh strainer try to gather all the smooth mixture and keep aside else you can use mixer to blend this mixture smoothly too or if you feel lazy you can skip this step, just see to it that dal and jaggery is nicely mixed.
Add cardamom powder and mix. * Keep aside, this is your puran.
In a mixing bowl take all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour and turmeric pwd. Add 4 tbsp oil and mix well. Now add water little by little and make a smooth consistency dough.
Knead the dough until the it becomes very elastic. Put this dough into a bowl and cover it with lid. Let it rest for 30 minutes atleast.
Make small balls of the stuffing. Then make balls (smaller than stuffing) of the dough. Grease your fingertips and spread one dough ball gently to make a small round disc. Put one stuffing ball on it. spread the dough gently over the stuffing with fingers and cover the stuffing. Use dry rice flour to roll the poli. Heat the frying tawa, place rolled roti in the center and roast on both sides over medium heat, add little ghee while roasting. Serve hot with Ghee. Puran-poli tastes good with cold milk too.
These puran polis stay fresh for approximately 1 week at room temperature.
njoY!! happY cookinG!!
Note*: The huran has to be nice and dry for rolling out the Poli without breaking it. If you feel that the huran has moisture you can either freeze it for some time or microwave it for a couple of minutes stirring it after every minute. Knead the kanik nicely for couple extra minutes before making balls and rolling out.
I made one batch with 3/4 cup whole wheat flour and 1/4 cup maida without adding turmeric, see the picture below.
Maida Poli are more fluffy and soft.
HAPPY HOLI Making of Puran Poli in pictures:
Soft Ubbati
Health Benefits: Puran Poli made with whole wheat is rich in complex carbs, fibre and certain minerals. Jaggery used in the preparation is loaded with iron, calcium, phosphorus minerals. It digests slowly and hence helps to release energy slowly. Cardamom used also aids in digestion.
There are various versions of stuffed brinjal recipes. This is one of the easiest and yummiest recipe you can find anywhere which is based out of Maharashtra. I grew up eating stuffed brinjal cooked in coconut base curry, but that recipe some other time. I simply love this sabjiyon ka raja (king of vegetables) Baingan/Brinjal/Eggplant in any form, be it fried, baked, fire roasted, grilled, in lasagna, rice or in curry. This spicy preparation will send you drooling, guaranteed!
Ingredients:
8 medium sized brinjals
1 big onion chopped
1 tbsp chilli powder
1 tsp garam masala
2 pod garlic chopped (optional)
1 inch ginger chopped (optional)
1/2 cup peanuts roasted and powdered
1/2 tsp jaggery (or brown sugar)
salt as per taste
1/2 tsp tamarind pulp
1 tsp mustard seeds
10 curry leaves (optional)
2-3 tbsp oil
cilantro for garnish
2 cups water (or more)
Preparation:
Slit the brinjals in 4 parts keeping the stalk intact. Soak it in salt and tamarind water for 30 minutes.
In the meantime make a mixture of chopped onions, peanut powder, chilly powder, garam masala, ginger garlic, salt.
Drain the water from brinjals and stuff it with this onion mixture. Keep the remaining onion mixture aside.
In a wide non-stick pan, heat oil, add mustard seeds, once it splutters add curry leaves and the remaining onion mixture and saute it for few minutes.
Now slowly add the stuffed brinjal and let it slightly roast on all sides, for a couple of minutes on each side.
Now add 1 cup water and close the lid, let it cook for 8-10 minutes on low-med heat. Add jaggery and tamarind pulp. Now very gently turn brinjals over and let it cook till done. Last few minutes cook uncovered. Curry thickens, adjust water and spices accordingly. Garnish with cilantro and serve hot with bhakri, roti or paratha. It's finger licking good!
njoY!! happY cookinG!! Health Benefits: King of vegetables, better provide some royal benefits :) It helps in iron production in our body, keeps chronic diseases at bay, helps quit smoking(who knew?), has good amount of vitamin C and is effective as antiviral and antibacterial source, helps to have healthy strong hair, keeps the skin soft and supple, prevents skin cancer etc. Research on eggplant has focused on an anthocyanin phytonutrient found in eggplant skin called nasunin. Nasunin is a potent antioxidant that has been shown to protect cell membranes from damage.
Delicious South Indian dessert, sweet Pongal with jaggery… Sweet Pongal is a traditional South Indian dessert made with very simple ingredients like rice & moong dal, sweetened with jaggery & topped with ghee roasted cashew nuts & raisins. This is made during festivals like Pongal- the Indian harvest festival. If a dish has rice, lentils […]
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