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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
  

  • 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

Instructions
 

Prepare the beans

  • Either soak the hyacinth beans overnight, or immerse them in almost-boiling water for 15-20 minutes. Drain.
  • 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

  • Grind together all the ingredients under “to grind.” Set aside.

Prepare the chaaru

  • In a kadhai or other wide sauteing pan, heat the cooking oil until almost smoking
  • Drop in the cinnamon, cloves, jeera, and mustard seeds (in this order). Once the mustard seeds start popping, add the curry leaves.
  • Follow quickly with the sliced onions/shallots and fry until they are softened.
  • 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.
  • Reduce the heat and continue to cook slowly for a few minutes.
  • Add the dhania and turmeric powders.
  • 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.
  • Add salt, to taste.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Garnish with fresh coriander leaves and serve over a soft, piping hot rice. Arcot kichli samba (raw or parboiled) works very well!