Avarakkai Thoran/ Broad Beans Thoran

Life feels so easy and carefree when mom is around. Her mere presence makes me feel at peace with myself. She has always been a source of strength and encouragement to me.

I have been married for 10 years now. Though she has come and stayed with me for long periods of time, but mostly it was when I was working and she used to take care of the entire household for me. I never realized how much she did for me until we moved to a different city far away from her, left alone to fend for myself. This is when I missed my mother a lot. During the initial months after our move, I used to call my mom atleast 10 times a day, for something or the other.

Then after a year or so, my mother came to Hyderabad to live with me for a few days. I wanted to make her happy in every possible way. I did not want her to sit in the kitchen and start doing all the chores for me again, though she can hardly keep away from it. But I did do my best. We went for morning walks, then for grocery and vegetable shopping. I prepared all her favorite dishes; she also prepared some of my favorite dishes, which I have not been able to master yet. In short we both had a fun time together.

My mother generally loves simple food, and here is one such recipe that both me and my mom love. 

Serves - 2

What you’ll need

1. Broad Beans/Avarakkai – 250 gms
2. Tuar Dal – 2 tbsp
3. Scraped Coconut (Fresh or Frozen) – 2 tbsp
4. Green Chilly - 1
5. Turmeric – a pinch
6. Salt to taste
7. Oil – 2 tsp
8. Mustard Seeds – ½ tsp
9. Black split gram – 1 tsp
10. Curry Leaves – few

Method

1. Wash, string the broad beans and chop them into small pieces.
2. Wash the dal well and pressure cook it with just enough water for about 2 whistles. The dal should not get mushy.
3. Grind together green chilly and coconut without adding any water.
4. Heat a kadai with oil, once heated add mustard seeds.
5. After the mustard crackles add the black gram, once it starts turning brown add the curry leaves.
6. Now add the chopped beans, turmeric powder and salt to taste. Mix well.
7. Sprinkle some water, cover and cook till the vegetable is done. Keep stirring once in a while.
8. Now add the cooked dal and the coconut green chilly. Mix well.
9. Remove from heat.

Serve as an accompaniment with plain rice and Sambar or Rasam.

Linking this to Kerala Kitchen hosted by Prathibha, to Nupur's For U Mom, to Rasi's I'm the star, to Only South Indian and to Srav's Vegan Diet.