Organic Homegrown Yardlong Beans Curry

It is the letter O today and what better than organic veggies from my garden? Organic Homegrown Yardlong Beans Curry or Lobia ki phalli & aloo ki sabzi is a simple side dish served with flat bread. I use very few spices and yet this vegetable is great in taste and packed with nutrition. We know it by various names such as Long podded Cowpea, Snake bean,Yardlong Bean, Chawli, Lobia ki phalli and in the local Telugu language as Bobbarlu. Long yard beans are a type of green vegetable, available throughout the year. It is quite long, slender, is generally pale green to dark green coloured, depending on the variety.

My mom knew how to get me to eat vegetables. I loved potatoes, so she added them to most of the curries. You can make a sabzi or curry out of long beans by chopping them into small pieces and adding potatoes. We use them in stir-fries in Chinese cuisine. As a healthy option, you could add them to your omelette. We can prepare, Spicy Szechuan Long beans by mixing stir-fried beans with soy sauce, cooked chilli peppers, ginger-garlic paste and sugar salt to taste.

We know long Bean to be an energy food and is low in calories. It is rich in Vitamin A as well as fair amounts of vitamin C. As it is a green vegetable; it is rich in phytochemical and antioxidants, thus playing an important role in fighting cancer and delaying ageing.

My Organic Garden

I had just thrown a few mixed vegetable seeds in my garden and added some organic manure to the soil. Within a few days, I had cherry tomatoes, ridged gourd, okra, cucumber, spinach, green chillies and these long-yard beans growing profusely. I am excited like a little child these days and as soon as I wake up; I rush to the backyard to collect the day’s spoils. There is so much pleasure in plucking your own grown, garden-fresh vegetables and cooking them, isn’t it? These beans and cucumbers seem to grow longer overnight!

I plucked enough to cook a bowl full, and it really tasted yummy. The dish looks colourful. It barely takes any time to cook, and it is so easy with minimum ingredients. I love colour in my food and it looks so bright and vibrant. If it looks great, then it surely tastes exceptional.

Long beans are easily available in most vegetable markets. If you are buying them, then buy those that are young and slender. Break one bean into two halves to check the freshness.; If it breaks crisply, it is fresh.

Recipe for Organic Homegrown Yardlong Beans Curry i

INGREDIENTS:

1 tbsp Oil

1/2 tsp Cumin seeds

1/4 tsp Turmeric powder

1 cup of Long beans ( lobia ki phalli) chopped finely

2 Potatoes-chopped into small cubes

1 large Onion chopped finely

1/2 tsp Red chilli powder

1 medium chopped finely

Green Chili slit in the centre

Salt – to taste

Coriander leaves to garnish

METHOD:

Wash or rinse the long beans well. Remove the top and bottom tips and chop them into small pieces. You can chop 4-5 beans at a time.

Heat the oil in a non-stick kadhai or heavy-bottomed pan on medium heat. Add cumin seeds and let them sizzle a bit.

Then add the finely chopped onions and sauté till pink. Add the slit green chilli and keep stirring. Once the onion browns a bit, add the chopped potatoes and stir. Potatoes take a longer time to cook than beans; hence, I add them first.

Now add chopped long beans, turmeric and red chilli powder. Stir nicely, cover and let it cook on simmer for five minutes.

Now you can add salt and let it cook nicely with the lid on. Once you add salt, the vegetables release water and get cooked faster.

Cook till beans and potatoes are tender. Do stir once or twice in between to make sure that it is not sticking to the pan. While cooking, if the moisture is less, then splash a little water. Do not drown it!

Transfer to a serving bowl and garnish with the coriander leaves. Long yard beans and potato curry is ready to serve.

Long yard beans or Lobia ki phalli curry is best served hot with flatbread or roti. We can eat with rice too. (I can eat anything with rice)

If you want to add some variety to your meals, try this option of Organic Homegrown Yardlong Beans Curry

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