Gorikai Palya ( Cluster beans/ Matwadi curry )

Gorikai palya ( Matodi/Matwadi curry)

Gorikai, also known as cluster beans are a slightly bitter variant of beans, which of course makes them highly nutritious! In order to overcome the slightly bitter taste, they are cooked with a variety of taste enhancing ingredients such as red chillies, lentils and coconut. This is a two step recipe to a very popular curry known as Baroda palya, matwadi or matodi palya. Call it whatever, when made right, it tastes yummy with fresh white rice!

Ingredients: Serves 4

 3 cups cluster beans cut into 1-1.5” pieces

 1/2 cup grated coconut

1/2 cup chana dal and ½ cup toor dal soaked overnight

4-5 red chillies

1 string of curry leaves

1 pinch of hing

1 tsp mustard seeds, urad dal and chana dal for seasoning

4 tbsp oil

1tsp tamarind paste

First of all steam cook the beans with little salt. Do not pressure cook as the beans lose their firmness and crisp taste.

 In a blender, grind the coconut, soaked chana dal, red chilies into a smooth paste, adding very little water.

 Heat 4 tbsp oil in a frying pan. Let the mustard seeds splutter, add  urad dal, hing, chana dal into the seasoning. Once the dal turns golden brown, add curry leaves and the ground paste. On a low flame stir the ground paste till the dal loses it’s raw taste and the oil separates from the pan. Then gently mix in the cooked beans with the ground paste. Garnish with additional coconut as needed. Best served with hot rotis or fresh white rice!

Variations:

 Some people use only chana dal to make the paste, I add toor dal just for variety.

 The same curry can be made with methi leaves or regular beans as well.

 Avoid cutting the beans into too small pieces as it will bring out the bitter taste of the beans if you chop too fine.

Gojju avalakki/ Poha

Gojju avalakki is a common breakfast dish in Karnataka especially Bangalore and Mysore areas. Eaten with yogurt makes for a hearty carb laden breakfast. avalakki means poha or beaten rice in kannada. It is tangy, sweet, spicy all at the same time and hence the term gojju.

Ingredients : Serves 4-5

Beaten rice/poha 5 cups

1 1/2 – 2 tablespoons rasam powder

1 1/2 tablespoons tamarind pulp

2-3 table spoons jaggery powder

Salt to taste

2 cups water

For seasoning

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

1 tablespoon chana dal

1 tablepoon urad dal

2 tablespoons groundnut/peanuts

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1 sprig of curry leaves

4-5 tablespoons oil

Using a blender, powder the poha until it looks like bread crumbs. In a mixing bowl, add rasam powder, jaggery,salt, tamarind pulp and add water. mix well until the jaggery dissolves. To this mixture add the powdered poha. Adjust the consistency such that you should be able to gather the mixture into a ball. It should neither be too dry or runny.

Heat the oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds. Once they splutter, add the peanuts and saute for a minute. Now add the chana dal and the urad dal. Saute till golden brown and add the curry leaves. Now add the poha mixture and mix well. Cook on low heat until the poha becomes soft.

Avarekai akki tari upma

If you have lived in Bangalore, avarekai ( flat bean or surti liva papdi ) is no stranger to you. At certain times of the year, usually in the winter every house hold probably makes atleast 6-7 different kinds of dishes with this bean. The avarekai mela that happens in Bangalore is a gastronomic delight for foodies and serves an incredible number of tasty treats made from this simple bean! With it’s inherent aroma compared to most other beans, any dish made with avarekai is a sure winner. Here’s one of my favorite breakfast foods made from avarekai.

Ingredients: Serves 4

Rice 2 cups

Avarekai 1 cup shelled beans

Green chillies 3

Coconut 1/4 cup

Mustard seeds 1/2 tbsp

Jeera seeds 1/2 tbsp

Chana dal 1/2 tbsp

Hing 1 pinch

Salt to taste

Cilantroe for garnishing

Dry roast 2 cups of rice for about 4-5 mins on medium flame. Once the roasted rice is luke warm, grate it into a coarse powder in a blender and set aside. Be sure not to over grind the rice as the upma will turn out very sticky. Boil 1 cup of the beans in 4 cups water till the beans are soft.

Using 2 tbsp of oil, temper the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, green chiilies, curry leaves and hing. Add the dry roasted ground rice. Then transfer the water containing the cooked beans gently into the pan, stirring in the rice evenly so no lumps form. Add salt and let the rice cook for about 10 mins on a low flame. Once the rice is cooked, turn the stove off and garnish with shredded coconut and cilantroe. Serve hot.