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Balareddipalle Pithikipappu Chaaru

A light, subtle and flavorful dish, made with de-skinned avarekaalu or hyacinth bean seeds when these flood the markets each winter—this recipe is one I have learned from the women in my husband’s family and the women in their ancestral village, Balareddipalle, north of Bangalore.
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Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 3-4 cups of anapaginjalu or hyacinth bean seeds
To grind:
  • 15 sambar onions/kutti vengayam or the equivalent in shallots, chopped
  • Garlic cloves from one whole garlic bulb
  • 1 ” piece of ginger
  • 2-3 green chillies
  • ½ cup fresh grated coconut
  • Some coriander leaves and stems
To temper and fry:
  • 3 tablespoons oil
  • A small piece of cinnamon
  • 2-3 cloves
  • ½ teaspoon jeera or cumin seeds
  • ½ teaspoon mustard seeds
  • 2-3 sprigs of fresh curry leaves
  • 5 sambar onions/kutti vengayam or the equivalent in shallots, sliced
  • 1 teaspoon coriander powder
  • ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
  • Salt to taste
To finish
  • 1/2 cup sour curd (optional)
  • Chopped fresh coriander leaves, to garnish

Method
 

Prepare the beans
  1. Either soak the hyacinth beans overnight, or immerse them in almost-boiling water for 15-20 minutes. Drain.
  2. Hold the thin edges of each seed between your fingers and press the pulses out. Seeds will always have greater volume than the pulses, so be prepared for a fairly drastic reduction in volume!
Prepare the masala paste
  1. Grind together all the ingredients under “to grind.” Set aside.
Prepare the chaaru
  1. In a kadhai or other wide sauteing pan, heat the cooking oil until almost smoking
  2. Drop in the cinnamon, cloves, jeera, and mustard seeds (in this order). Once the mustard seeds start popping, add the curry leaves.
  3. Follow quickly with the sliced onions/shallots and fry until they are softened.
  4. Now add the coconut/masala paste. Use a little water to wash out the blender/mixie jar and add that, too; it will keep the paste from sticking and burning too easily.
  5. Reduce the heat and continue to cook slowly for a few minutes.
  6. Add the dhania and turmeric powders.
  7. Follow with the pithiki pappu or deskinned pulses. Add a cup or two of water and allow this to cook on low heat until the pulses are cooked, about 15-20 minutes.
  8. Add salt, to taste.
  9. If you are using the sour yogurt, beat it well and add it now. It's a little bit of sourness to balance out the other tastes, a nice way to round things off--but also can be left out if you want to go dairy-free.
  10. Also thin with water if necessary--aim for a thin-ish gravy that a hot rice can soak up readily, not a very thick one.
  11. Garnish with fresh coriander leaves and serve over a soft, piping hot rice. Arcot kichli samba (raw or parboiled) works very well!