Well I must say I had enough with trying to find the English equivalent to this Bean, that’s so common. Infact I was on the verge of giving up on this post. Not only was I confused, I confused Amma also. I spent a long distance call on trying to find the exact name of this. I was very particular that I was clear on which bean I was referring too. We finally hit the right one. Since I went to the extreme point of goggling this, I might as well list out all the names for posterity…This goes by the botanical name Dolichos lablab L (I have to confess I felt so stupid that this was that), English – Hyacinth bean, Hindi – Bhaja vasu, Telugu – Anumulu, Tamil – Avarai, Kannada – Anvare. Phew!…so many names and yet we feel we know all of them.
Coming to the dish, this falls under the “the most wanted dish” at my place. I first had it in one of our family friends place. The dear Aunty was one of those types, who cooks things in a jiffy but never appears to have even extended her hand otherwise. Memories of that fine day when I had tasted this, is still faintly lingering somewhere…still its good enough that I always relate to that. Amma has, since prepared it many times for me to even count how many times. I guess I am giving too much of a build up, if you understand the slang, for this simple bean which gets stripped down, sorry peeled out to be cooked unfortunately in a gravy. We get the fresh ones only during a season. So during the entire season, its only Pithikina pappu kura at home. Pithikina means “pressed out” in telugu. We soak the bean seeds overnight or for some 6 hrs, then remove the skin and use the inner seeds for this gravy. This is an ultimate combi with Dosa.
Not only am I a fan of this, fortunately I have got my hubby and daughter into this fan club. You see, I strongly believe, you like something, you get everybody aboard, it only gets easy to get access to that…nice right…:)
Well before I just go on and on…lets get on the fancies of this humble yet delicious bean.
Preparation Time : 15 mins (not including the soaking time and of course time spent on peeling the bean off)
Cooking Time : 20 mins
Cuisine : Andhra
Ingredients Needed:
Annumulu – 250 gms
Potatoes – 1 (optional)
Onions – 2
Tomatoes – 3
Ginger Garlic paste – 1/2 tsp
Chilli powder – 1 tsp
Coriander powder – 1 tsp
Turmeric powder a pinch
Salt to taste
Oil – 1 tbsp
Coconut paste – 2 tbsp
Fennel seeds – 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves
Coriander leaves and mustard seeds for seasoning.
Method to prepare:
Chop Onion, tomatoes to fine pieces.
Make a paste of fennel seeds with coconut.
Heat oil in a cooker, add seasoning, then sauté onions till brown, add tomatoes with salt. Cook till its soft.
Then add chilli powder, coriander pw and turmeric pw. Cook well.
Then add in the peeled beans and fry well. After 5 mins, add coconut paste and water. Cover with lid and pressure for 1 to 2 whistles or till its cooked.
I normally use potatoes if I want to make extra gravy. Normally pressure cook both potatoes and the beans. Else you can chop into cubes and fry with onions.
Finally garnish with chopped coriander leaves.
This goes excellently with dosas.
24 comments
sri,
so iam the first to comment on this:)
the gravy looks good for dosa. we call this as amarakka in malyalam .thanks for sharing it.
I have never tried this bean. Next time I am in an Indian shop, I am going to look for it. You have recruited me.
Avarekalu in Kannada ,also called Field beans in India.I love those,I have one too at FH.You can never have enough of ths beans.Yummy.In K’taka,we have a dish like this when you soak,take the peel off and split the beans.Thanks for osting this Sri,looks yummy:)
Nice looking kura, hmm I learnt some names here:)
Hey Srivalli,
Wow I’m so excited to see someone blog about Pithika Pappu. Its one of our favorites at home too. In Kannada it is called Avarekaalu. We make pithika pappu chaaru (same kura u made) and u’re right it tastes great with dosa. We also love it with puri and rice.
This is absolutely new to me, never heard/tried/tasted. Wish if you could post the picture of those raw beans. Curious to know how they look and as always nice post n authentic recipe from your Amma and your build-up has already builded a curiosity on this pappu kura @_@
Is it the mochchai bean??? do u have the pic of the bean. sounds easy to cook. Iam tired of making chutneys and sambars for dosa and this sure would be different.
I make this Kura and now in India it is season for hyacinth beans, I heard. I love it with dosa, well feeling its aroma virtually………..
What is Annumulu?
sri, in maharashtra they often sprout it. it’s yummy sprouted too.
looks delicious!i love this with chapatis too 🙂
Liked the curry masala, it is something like kurma 🙂
Sri, the gravy look great with dosa….i never have had anything like this before
Glad you stopped by Prajusha …I am learning the name in all languages I guess…
Saju…glad I did…:)…pls do try this …sure will be yummy
Asha…I think most names are common in Telugu and kannada…will check out your recipe too…
me too Sharmi..thanks for the comments..
Thanks for stopping by…Latha…will try your recipe next time…
Then you must try it out Padma…this is the simple val…forgot to include this in the post…
You are right Prema…this is a sure variety to try..
Annumlu is Hyacinth bean or Val in Hindi…will give you the link to see how this looks…Cynthia
Will sprout this next time and cook bee..thanks for the tip…
It should be good Roopa
Thanks Lakshmi
Yeah its more like kurma archana..
I make just curries with this. Pappu kura looks yummy. So this can be had with dosa too…imm good.
Hi Srivalli,
It would be very nice if u post the picture of the beans. So that I can recognize easily. Sounds interesting. Very interesting recipes I am learning from u. Thanks for all your efforts.
cheers
rajani
hi srivalli,
it’s my hubby’s favorite, we too prepare this dish, exactly the same way.
looks good valli.
lakshmi
SeeC..thanks for the comments
Rajani ..thanks for the appreciation..this is the chikkudu seeds or annumulu as we call it..refer the url for Val for more details…http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/ejones/ufdi/topics/dalrec/ddef.html
…thanks lakshmi, good to know you also prepare it the same way…
Oh total yum! I can see how you would have a fan club for this- will add the link to my post and also try it soon.
Does anyone know why you have to peel the bean? That's a lot of work/time! The skin of the bean looks thick, but it is not tough to chew. I've found websites that say that the hyacinth bean is poisonous, so maybe the skin of the bean is toxic?
Cheryl, Cooking the peeled bean is just one of the methods to prepare this beans. We also make dishes with the skin also. But the peeled beans tasted awesome. So we don't mind the hard work. Also we normally soak the beans in water overnight or for about 6 hrs, which will make the peeling a bit easier.
But I don't think the skin is toxic as we do eat it along with it also.
hi srivalli..
what u wrote was not the exact pithiki pappu….
the preparation for this is sooo hard and it will take lot of time…
first of all we have to soak all beans and remove the peel of ecah and every bean.. to make pithiki pappu..w hich will be awesome in plain dosa….
Anon, Guess you should read the post more properly I have mentioned clerly that these beans have to be soaked overnight and then peeled. It is best served with Dosas. Thanks for stopping.
Anumulu is mochakota in tamil…the posts are super..