Indian Broad Beans ( Avarakkai in Tamil / Chikkudukai in Telugu / Sem in hindi / Avarekayi in Kannada / Avara in Malayalam ) curry made in South Indian style, little baby prawns or salad shrimp adds a classic homely touch to this dish. This type of broad beans is termed as Naatu avarakkai in tamil, looks thin and broad with soft seeds inside, but the one which we get in US is called seema avarakkai and looks different, long and thick and might take little longer to cook. Sometimes the closest substitute which can be found is Scarlet runner beans. Haven’t explored much about this veggie, will keep an eye and update the exact name. Here are some links from wikipedia, which I found useful while googling…http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broad_beans
| Ingredients | |
|---|---|
| 15 nos | Avarakkai |
| 1 cup | Onion (chopped) |
| 1/2 cup | Tomato |
| ½ tsp | Ginger (crushed) |
| 2 clove | Garlic |
| ¼ tsp | Turmeric powder |
| 1/2 teaspoon | Red chilli powder |
| 3/4 tsp | Coriander /dhania powder |
| 10 nos | Prawns(tiney) |
| 2 tsp | Freshly ground coconut paste |
| ¼ tsp | Mustard |
| ¼ tsp | Cumin seeds |
| 1 no | Dry red chilli |
| 5 nos | Curry leaves |
| ½ tsp | Salt (or to taste) |
| 3 tsp | Oil |
| 1 cup | Water |
| ¼ tsp | Split black gram |
Wash and cut avarakkai cross width wise as shown in the picture. Put the cut pieces in a pressure pan along with chopped onions, tomatoes, crushed ginger garlic, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, coriander powder, salt and water. Pressure cook for 2 whistles, meanwhile wash and devein the prawns / salad shrimp and keep aside. Now heat oil in a small pan or kadai and splutter mustard, red chilli, cumin seeds, split black gram and curry leaves. Transfer the pressure cooked veggie to this seasoning and mix well. Add in the ground coconut paste and prawns to it. Simmer the whole mixture until it becomes a thick curry. Serve hot with sambar satham.
Notes
This is a typical Gramathu samayal or Country side preparation and they include tiny prawn in it. You may skip if you like.
Serves 2-3 adults
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