This is a traditional kannadiga dish. It can be prepared with either spinach or eggplant. The bean used in this dish is called Avarekalu in Kannada. The freshest avarekalu is available during the winter months in India. It is also available, frozen, in indian stores as surti papdi lilva, which I believe is its Gujarati name.
Avarekalu Huli
Ingredients
- Avarekalu : 2 cups
- Fresh Grated Coconut : ¾ cup
- Chopped Spinach or Thin long eggplant : 2 cups
- Coriander Seeds (Dhania) : 2 tablespoons
- Tamarind paste : 1 teaspoon
- Red Chillies : 8 – 10
- Raw Rice : 2 teaspoons
- Cumin seeds (Jeera) : 2 teaspoons
- Turmeric (Haldi, Arshna) : ½ teaspoon
- Mustard seeds (Rai, Sasve) : ½ teaspoon
- Asafoetida (Hing) : a pinch
- Vegetable oil : 4 tablespoons
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- In a pan, heat about 2 tablespoons of oil. Shallow fry the coriander seeds, red chillies and raw rice.
- Grind it with cumin seeds, coconut and turmeric powder to a fine paste. Set this masala aside.
- Cook the avarekalu in boiling, salted water. When it is almost cooked, add the chopped spinach or eggplant and continue to cook. If you are using eggplant, cut it into inch long pieces and then quarters.
- When it is fully cooked, add tamarind paste and salt. After a couple of minutes, add the masala and bring it to a boil.
- In a pan, heat about 2 tablespoons of oil. Add mustard. After the mustard pops, add asafoetida. Add the seasoning to the huli. Enjoy!