In Karnataka hotels,Poori is usually served with Sagu. Sagu is nothing but a masala gravy/kurma made with freshly ground coconut + spices. Vegetable sagu is the most popular side dish for poori & chapathi here. But during avarekalu season, it is used instead of mixed vegetables.Last weekend I tried Avarekalu Sagu ( Lilva beans/Hyacinth beans in English, Pachai Mochai in Tamil) for the first time following the recipes from my hand written cook book & this blog. It came out really well and tasted yummy with poori. I served the same with dosa for my daughter. I was happy that I made a healthy,protein rich gravy for our breakfast.
Now Avarekalu season has almost come to an end. Sorry for this late posting. I hope this recipe would be useful to you all at least for the next season. If you wish to try this masala sagu, just replace avarekalu with potato, cauliflower or mixed vegetables like carrot,beans & peas. The ingredients I have used for grinding masala is the highlight of this recipe more than the vegetables. Do try it and leave your feedback here. Lets see how to make this yummy Karnataka style Avarekalu sagu/Kurma for Chapathi & poori.
How to make avarekalu sagu/Kurma for chapathi,poori
Cuisine:Indian
Category:Side dish for chapathi/poori
Serves:Serves 3
Prep time:10 Minutes
Cook time:20 Minutes
Total time:30 Minutes
INGREDIENTS
1 cup = 200ml
Avarekalu / Hyacinth beans - 1 cup
Big onion – 1 no
Tomato – 1 no
Potato – 1 no
Mint + coriander leaves – 1 tbsp
Sugar – a pinch
Water & salt - as needed
To grind
Grated coconut - 1/4 cup
Khus khus - 1 tsp ( optional)
Big onion – 1/2 no
Garlic cloves – 4 nos ( small)
Dhania/coriander seeds - 1 tsp
Green chillies - 3-4 nos
Cardamom - 1 no
Cloves – 3 nos
Cinnamon - 2 inch piece
Dalia/Pottukadalai/fried gram dal – 1/2 tbsp
To temper
Cooking oil – 2 tbsp
Mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - few
METHOD
Remove the outer covering of avarekalu and wash them.No need to peel its skin.Grind the ingredients given under “ to grind” to a smooth thick paste.
Heat oil in a pressure cooker base and temper mustard seeds,curry leaves.Add onions,tomato pieces. Saute until tomato turns mushy.Now add turmeric powder, avarekalu,potato pieces and ground masala.Mix till raw smell goes off. Add the finely chopped mint+coriander leaves, required water and salt.Check for taste and add some red chilli powder if its less spicy.
Pressure cook in low flame for 2-3 whistles.Remove the lid and serve hot with poori or chapathi.
Enjoy !
Note
Add more or less chillies based on your taste.You can replace green chillies with red chilli powder too.
Add 1/4 tsp of garam masala powder at the end for more flavor.
Adding mint+coriander leaves is optional.
Sprinkle some lemon juice at the end if needed
Yummy,flavorful Side dish for Poori & Chapathi,enjoy !!
Avarekalu(Cow pea/Hyacinth beans/Lilva beans in English, Mochai in Tamil) season is around in many parts of Karnataka. In Bangalore, every year during winter, december-Janurary Avarekalu Mela is conducted in Food street, VV puram. Recently when I met my School moms friends,Tara was telling me about the varieties of avarekalu dishes she tasted in Avarekalu Mela. I got tempted to try some recipes with it and post here.
Last year during this time, I shared Hitkidabele Avarekalu saaru and Avarekalu Pulao recipes. So this year i tried a yummy Avarekalu Huli recipe and Avarekalu dry palya for rice by getting the recipes from my friend Megha. She shared her mom’s recipe which was very different from the ones I saw in various blogs.So i tried it & came out really well.We loved this gravy with rice. It was tasting more likeArachuvitta Vathakuzhambu. I used less oil than what Megha suggested. Still it was very tasty. Ok, Lets see how to prepare Karnataka style Avarekalu Huli.
Avarekalu Huli Recipe
Avarekalu Huli Recipe - Gravy for rice adding field beans
Cuisine:Indian
Category:Side dish
Serves:Serves 2
Prep time:15 Minutes
Cook time:15 Minutes
Total time:30 Minutes
INGREDIENTS
Avarekalu with skin / Hyacinth beans - 1/2 cup
Potato - 1 no
Brinjal - 1 no
Big onion – 1 no
Garlic bulb – 1 whole ( with 15 cloves)
Salt & water - as needed
To grind
Tamarind - A big gooseberry size
Grated coconut – 1 tbsp
Red chilli powder – 1 tbsp
Dhania powder - 2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/8 tsp
Coriander leaves - 1 sprig ( optional)
To temper
Cooking oil or gingely oil - 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds/Jeera - 1/4 tsp
Urad dal - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - few
HOW TO MAKE AVAREKALU HULI - METHOD
Wash and keep the avarekalu.Wash and peel the skin of potato. Chop into 4 big pieces.Wash and cut brinjal into chunks.
Pressure cook avarekalu,chopped brinjal & Peeled,chopped potato adding required water & salt. Set aside.
Soak tamarind in a cup of water. Brush the onion with oil. Burn the whole onion(with skin) over direct flame.Use a tong & hold the onion. Roast it all the sides in low to medium flame. When the skin of onion turns black, remove & let it cool. Similarly roast the greased whole garlic bulb on all sides till its skin turns black.( Refer Notes for variations)
Peel the outer skin of garlic & onion. Grind it to a smooth paste adding soaked tamarind, coconut,chilli powder, turmeric powder, dhania powder and coriander leaves. Mix this paste with the cooked avarekalu,potato & brinjal pieces. Check for consistency & taste and add some water or chilli powder, dhania powder if needed.
Let the gravy boil for few minutes.Gravy will thicken as it boils. Switch off the flame & temper mustard seeds, cumin, urad dal & curry leaves. Add to gravy and mix well. Enjoy !
Note
Adjust the quantity of chilli powder & dhania powder as per your taste.
This gravy is meant to be thick. If you want to make it slightly thin, add little water.
If you don’t want to burn the onion & garlic, Just chop them and saute in a tbsp of oil.
You can also replace red chilli + dhania powder with 1 tbsp of sambar powder.
Try this yummy avarekalu huli saaru recipe for rice & enjoy !!
Hitikida avarekalu saaru is an easy, yummy, flavorful gravy prepared using freshly peeled hyacinth beans. It is also known as hitikida avarekalu masala saaru or hitikida bele saaru in Kannada. It is the best side dish for rice and ragi mudde. But people here love to have it with idli, dosa, akki roti, ragi roti and even with uppittu. Avarekalu is a winter season vegetable that is available all over Karnataka during december to february. I was waiting for Avarekalu season to start just to post this gravy recipe in my blog.
Now the season is started and you can see avarekalu ( Flat beans/Hyacinth beans/Indian lilva beans in English, Mochakottai in Tamil, Surti papdi in Hindi) everywhere in Bangalore. My apartment residents buy in kgs almost everyday and add them in almost all the dishes like uppittu/upma, pulao, sagu/kurma and even sambar.
Thanks a ton to my friend Megha for teaching me this wonderful Karnataka style hitikida avarekalu saaru recipe. Myself & Sendhil started liking Ragi Mudde only after having it with this gravy as side dish. Not only ragi mudde, this avarkalu saaru tastes great with rice, idli , dosa and chapathi too. Last year this time, I went to Megha’s house to learn making ragi mudde At that time, she gave me this gravy to taste with mudde. I loved it very much and noted down the recipe. She immediately packed some and told me to give Sendhil too. He liked it a lot. He also appreciated me that I have learnt 2 healthy and yummy authentic Karnataka dishes from my friend. I started making this gravy with ragi mudde regularly in weekends. I am yet to perfect ragi mudde recipe. I will try to post with a video soon after I get it right.
This particular gravy tastes more like kurma/Saagu and this has no tamarind/Huli. Coconut masala & tomato makes the base for this gravy. It can be done very easily in one pot / pressure cooker and its one of the best side dish for Ragi mudde. Scroll below to see how to make this yummy hitikida avarekalu saaru recipe with step by step pictures and video.
Hitikida avarekalu saaru recipe
Hitikida avarekalu saaru recipe for rice !
Cuisine:Indian
Category:Gravies
Serves:2
Prep time:10 Minutes
Cook time:15 Minutes
Total time:25 Minutes
INGREDIENTS
1 cup - 250ml
Avarekalu/Flat beans - 1 cup ( add more if you like)
Remove the seeds ( avarekalu ) and soak it in water over night or for 4 hours. Peel the skin by pressing it between your thumb finger & fore finger. It will come off easily. After removing the skin, wash the seeds & set aside. This is called as Hitikida avarekalu (avare bele).
Grind all the ingredients given under ”To grind " to a smooth paste adding enough water. Remove in a bowl. ( You can use Karnataka sambar powder in place of red chilli powder and dhania powder).
Heat oil in the kadai OR pressure cooker and splutter mustard seeds, cumin seeds. Now add chopped onions & tomatoes. Saute till tomato turns mushy ( this step is optional). Then add the hitikida avarekalu / chilkavare ( peeled seeds) and curry leaves, mix well. Now add the ground masala paste. Saute till its raw smell leaves it. Add a cup of water. Cover & pressure cook it in low flame for one whistle.
Open the cooker after the steam is released completely. Mix well & allow it to boil for sometime if you feel there is excess water. Else remove in a bowl & garnish with coriander leaves. Serve with ragi mudde, rice, idli, dosa or roti.
Enjoy !
Note
For variations, you can add avarekalu ( whole hyacinth beans) instead of peeled hyacinth beans.
Adjust the quantity of red chilli powder / sambar powder as per your spice level.
You can use coriander leaves for garnish. But use less for grinding. Adding more may change the flavor.
Enjoy this hitikida bele saaru with ragi mudde. Tastes yum !!
Today I have shared a simple Karnataka special avarekalu rice bath / avarekalu pulao with methi leaves (menthya soppu). Its Avarekalu (Hyacinth beans / Flat beans / Indian liva beans in English, Surti papdi in Hindi, Chikudukaya/Anapakayalu in Telugu and avarekai/Mochakottai in Tamil) season in Bangalore. Here people buy them in Kgs and make avarekalu pulao / rice bath, avarekalu saaru/sambar, uppittu/upma, avarekalu sagu etc with it. You can find avarekalu recipes in all the houses, hotels and even in marriage feast in this season. I too learnt few yummy recipes with avarekalu from my School moms friends.
Yesterday we had a small get together at Tara’s house to celebrate this new year and we all prepared a quick and yummy lunch menu. I madeeggless chocolate cake. Megha made this avarekalu-methi pulao also known as avarekalu bath and Tara made Karnataka’s one of the most popular masoppu saaru recipe along with white rice, onion raita and gram flour bonda. It was a simple yet very filling, delicious and healthy lunch menu. I learnt this pulao from Megha and clicked the stepwise pictures too for my reference.
Today I made it in my house for our lunch and for the sake of my Sunday special lunch recipe series too. So here you go my second recipe in this series, Avarekalu Methi Pulao. Its a very yummy, flavourful one pot meal which can be made under 15 minutes. You can prepare this pulao easily for your lunch box during busy morning hours easily in a pressure cooker if you have avarekalu ready in hand.
For variations, you can skip methi leaves and make it with avarekalu alone. Very less chopping works and moreover this recipe would be apt for avarekalu sesaon. I used sona masoori raw rice instead of basmati rice as I felt this recipe tasted yummy with raw rice. Finally the choice of rice is yours ! Do try this easy and yummy avarekalu methi pulao recipe with simple onion raita as side dish for your Sunday lunch menu, enjoy and spend time with your family.
Avarekalu methi pulao recipe / avarekalu bath recipe - Easy rice recipe to prepare in weekend & lunch box !
Cuisine:Indian
Category:Lunch
Serves:Serves 3
Prep time:10 Minutes
Cook time:15 Minutes
Total time:25 Minutes
INGREDIENTS 1 cup= 250ml
Avarekalu/Flat beans/Mochakottai - 1/2 cup
Methi leaves/Fenugreek leaves - 1/4 cup
Good quality sona masoori raw rice - 1 cup ( soak for 15 minutes)
Cooking oil + Ghee - 2 tbsp + 1 tsp
Bay leaf - 1 no
Big onion - 1 no
Water - 2 cups
Salt - as needed
To grind
Grated coconut - 2 tbsp
Green chillies – 3-4 nos (medium)
Cinnamon - 2 inch stick
Cloves - 3 nos
Cardamom - 2 nos
Big onion - 1/2 no
Coriander leaves - 3 sprigs
Turmeric powder - 1/8 tsp
Ginger – A small finger size
Garlic cloves - 5 nos
HOW TO MAKE AVAREKALU PULAO - METHOD
Wash and chop methi leaves. Keep avarekalu ready. For avarekalu, you don’t need to remove the skin. Just wash and keep aside. Wash and Soak rice in water for 15 minutes.
Grind all the ingredients given under “to grind” to a smooth paste adding water. Set aside.
In a pressure cooker base, heat oil+ghee. Add the bay leaf, saute for a while. Now add the chopped onions and saute till transparent. Add methi leaves & avarekalu.
Mix well for a minute and add the ground masala paste. Saute till its raw smell goes off. Now add the soaked rice with the required water and salt. Cook in low flame for one whistle. Remove and serve hot with raita !
Enjoy !
Note
For variations, you can use only methi leaves & make this pulao.
You can replace methi leaves with mint leaves along with avarekalu. But use mint leaves in very small quantity.
Adding more oil+ ghee makes this rice taste yummy. So use accordingly.
Use less coconut and onions for grinding else coconut make the rice look dry.
U should use more spices to get a nice aroma. So I used 3 cloves, 2 cardamom and 1 big stick cinnamon.
My friend used 1.75 cups of water for fluffy rice.
Enjoy this yummy averakalu pulao recipe with simple onion raita & curd rice !
How to make avarekalu sagu/Kurma for chapathi,poori 
