Minty Black Eyed Beans Curry ~ Alasandala Koora With Pudina

Radhika of Tickling Palates had sent out an email about couple of weeks back about this new concept called 'Blog Hop Wednesdays'. I jumped in and then a flurry of emails later, it was decided that we (about 40 of us and counting!!) would be paired with one blogger every other week and we need to post a recipe from our partner's blog on alternate wednesdays. The pairing schedule has been painstakingly worked out by Radhika for the next 4 months. 


I thought this would be another opportunity to get to know new bloggers and also push us into not only visiting other blogs but also going through them in detail and learning new things along the way! For this first week, I have been paired with Bhagyashri of Taste buds. 


After going through some confused moments as to what to showcase from her blog, I chose this Masala Chawli after realizing that I needed an accompaniment for the day's dinner!! I am glad I chose this recipe as the flavor of mint-kasuri methi combo was unbelievable!! I have made very few changes to the original recipe keeping the ingredients mostly as is.

Ingredients - 


Black Eyed Beans (Alasandalu) 1/2 cup 
Cinnamon 2 inch piece
Cardamom 2 pods
Onion, finely chopped 1/2 cup
Kasuri Methi 1/2 tsp (dried fenugreek leaves)
Turmeric 1/4 tsp 
Milk 1/4 cup (Optional)
Oil 1 Tbsp
Salt as needed


Masala Paste -
Tomatoes 2 medium, (or pureed 1 cup)
Mint leaves handful
Ginger 1 inch piece
Green Chillies 2-3 (or as needed)

Method Of Preparation - 


Wash and soak the black eyed beans for 2-4 hrs. Drain and wash again. Pressure cook adding 2 cups of water, salt, cinnamon and cardamom pods.


* I actually like to pre-treat all kinds of beans to reduce the discomfort caused by beans in general. But this time I skipped that process.


* Also I like to boil the beans by adding cinnamon, salt, cardamom and turmeric. (The original recipe mentioned only salt and turmeric)


In a heated pan, add oil and saute the chopped onions until golden brown. 


Add the masala paste, kasuri methi, turmeric and water if needed and let it cook for 5-6 minutes until oil oozes out.


Discard the cinnamon and cardamom pods and transfer the cooked black eyed beans into the simmering masala and cook for 3-4 min.


Adjust salt if needed. I added some milk to get a richer gravy. Water can be substituted for milk if preferred.

Remove from fire and squeeze in some lemon juice if preferred. I didn't add lemon juice as the tomatoes I used were pretty sour. 


Serve hot with Roti/Puri/Rice.


This Curry happens to qualify for Radhika's 'Let's Cook - Subzis For Rotis' .


Also take a peek at what our fellow hoppers have showcased for this week.


Preparation Time 40 min
Serves 4-5