What is Val (Field) Beans? and How to Sprout Val (Field) Beans?

What is Val/ Field Beans ?
Field beans are small and relatives of Broad Beans. It's botanical name is Dolichos lablab. They are found and popular in mostly western-southern part of India. They are rich in protein as well as vitamins A, B-complex, C and E, as well as various minerals and enzymes.

They are available in different types like 'Kadave val', 'Gode val', 'Surati val', 'Pavta' etc. You can use any type of this which is available at your place. We use 'kadave val' which is easily available in my place. My place (Pen-Maharastra) is famous for this 'Kadave val'. Kadve val are considered to be superior in quality and taste and are mainly used for making birde.


These are pods of val and fresh tender val beans. val beans are mostly use in dried form. but we also use these fresh beans for curry. This curry is also equally tasty. You may use fresh 'Pavta' beans for this curry.
Read this recipe....  Maharashtrian Mix vegetable Curry (click on recipe name to get recipe)

 

And these are dried val beans.....
Val has a delicate flavour that complements a wide variety of dishes. This beans are used commonly in Maharashtrian kitchens in traditional recipes like Valache Birde, Valachi khichadi, Dalimbichi Usal etc. Birade means sprouted val beans curry. It is made during important occasions and functions.

Val/field beans have thick skin as compared to other beans, so they take more time to soak as well as to sprout. It takes around 3 days for the vaal to sprout.

How to sprout val (field) beans ?
Wash and soak field beans overnight or for at least 10 hours in double quantity of water.
They would soak water and would swell. Drain the water in the morning. Wash again in the running water and drain again. Thus they they don't become sticky.

Wrap in a thin cotton cloth or muslin cloth and keep them in a large bowl and cover it with lid. 

Place it in a warm place to sprout. It would take around 16 to 20 hours depends upon weather. If there is cold weather, then would take more time and there is hot weather, then would take less time. Due to the warming the sprouts come out nicely. The val have bigger sprouts now.

Pour  plenty of lukewarm water on the sprouted beans and keep aside for minimum 30 minutes.This would get moisturize to the beans and peeling off the skin would be easy. 
By using the thumb and the index finger press the bean lightly to take out the bean, which will automatically peel off the skin. Take care to keep the sprout intact. This way peel off all the val beans and keep these white peeled val beans in the bowl. After removing the skin, val beans are ready to be used for cooking.

Though the preparation looks lengthy and tedious but the actual making of the recipe is easy and the final taste is worth it. 

Notes:

• Eating more amount of val beans, you may suffer from acidity and gas trouble.
• Due to over cooking of val beans, the taste would ruin and partially cooked val beans are difficult to digest. Experience gives you perfection.

How to know that val beans cook properly? 
If you press the kernel by finger,  it mashes means val are cooked properly. They should not look like mash lentils (dal). They should not mash/break due to just stirring in the curry with spoon.

So here's some recipes using sprouted val: (click on recipe name to get recipe)

• Valache Birde ( Kokani Style Sprouted Val Beans Curry)
• Valachi  Khichadi /Dalimbyacha Bhat (Val beans Pulao)
• Kantolichi Bhaji (Spicy  Stir-fry Kantola / Indian or Spine Gourd)
• Phanasachi Bhaji With Val Be ं 4ans (Raw Or Young Jackfruit Dry Curry)
• Dindyachi Bhaji (Wild vegetable 'Dinde') 
• Dalimbichi Usal-Recipe is coming soon.

We have some recipes in which we use 'val' or 'pavta' beans without sprouting them.  (click on recipe name to get recipe)

• Pavatyachi Aamati - Recipe is coming soon.
• Bharangichi Bhaji (Spicy  Clerodendrum Serratum Stir-fry)

Split or dal also is made from val beans. This dal also use in some dishes. 

• Valachya Dalichi Aamati 

You can't belive, but Tender, young plants of val beans are also used for curry. These plants available in only monsoon. We can grow also in a tray at home. How to make curry? 

• Valachya Ropachi Bhaji ~ Tender plants of Val Beans Stirfry  ((click here to get recipe)

Potato Kachori For Fasting (Vratki Kachori)

This batata kachori is a nice alternative for people who keep weekly fast or vrat. It is savory tea time snack also.  

हि पाककृती मराठीतून वाचण्यासाठी इथे क्लिक करा.  


Yield- 12 kachori

Ingredients:

• Potatoes, boiled- 4 med. (or 250 gm)
• Arrowroot or sabudana (sago) flour - approx ½ cup (as much required to make a soft dough)
• Red chilli powder- ¼ tsp
• Cumin powder- ¼ tsp
• Fresh coconut, scraped -  ½ cup
• Cashew nuts- 2 tbsp 
• Golden raisins (sulatana, manuka)- 2 tbsp
• Chopped green chillies, finely chopped or crushed- 2
• Cumin seeds -½ tsp
• Sugar- 1 tsp
• Salt- to taste
• Ghee- 2 to 3 tsp
• Groundnut oil or ghee- as required for frying.

Method:

• Soak cashew nuts in water for 1 hour. Then cut into med pieces.
• Mash or grate boiled potatoes.
• In a bowl, add mashed potato, salt, cumin powder, chilli powder and arrowroot flour. Mix well and knead into a soft dough.
• Heat ghee in a pan and saute crushed chilli and cumin. 
• Add cashew nuts and saute a while.
• Add  scrapped coconut  and raisins. Saute for 2 minutes. Add sugar and salt to taste. Mix well.
• Divide the dough and make small lemon sized balls. 
• Grease your palms ,and take a small ball of potato mixture ,and flatten it or give shape like katori. 
• Stuff with coconut mixture and seal properly, and roll in  sago or arrowroot flour.
• Deep fry these kachori's on medium heat till golden brown in colour. 
• Drain on a tissue paper.
• Serve hot with coconut chutney or sweet curd.

Notes:

• These kachoris should be served hot otherwise they become soft and tastes bad.
• You may add chopped fresh coriander in stuffing. 
• You can use sweet potato, arbi (taro root) or raw banana instead of potato. 
• On non-fasting day, you may use corn flour instead of arrowroot flour.
• You may shallow fry them also. But before shallow frying, lightly press on your palms and give them kebab shape. 
• You adjust the sugar quantity as your like. You can use more sugar. Because this kachori known also sweet kachori.
• You can add juice of half lemon. 

Coconut Burfi/Vadi (Naralipak / Khobaryachya Vadya)

Happy Rakshabandhan & Narali Pournima!!!

"Rakshabandhan" and "Narali Poornima" festivals are celebrated on the full moon day of the holy month of Shravan. Coconut burfi are called "Naralipak" or "Khobaryachya/naralachya vadya" in our Kokan region.

मराठीतून हि पाककृती वाचण्यासाठी इथे क्लिक करा. 

Ingredients:

• Fresh coconut, scraped- 1 cup  (When you measure it, fill as much as possible scraped coconut in the cup by pressing)
• Sugar- 1 cup
• Green cardamoms powder- ½ tsp 
• Milk with cream- ½ cup
• Clarified butter (desi ghee)- 1 tbsp + 1 tsp

Method:

• Scrap the coconut (grated coconut don't work here), use only white part.  For this quantity requires approx 1 large size coconut. 
• Grease a plate or square tray with 1 tsp ghee.
• Heat 1 tbsp ghee in large non-stick or heavy bottom pan.  Add scraped coconut, milk, sugar in  and mix well. Stir continuously for 15-20 minutes on medium heat or till the mixture reduce, thick & separate from pan edge. Add green cardamoms powder & sauté for 2 minutes. ( Do not over cook the mixture otherwise it will become too dry to make burfis.)
• Remove from heat. Pour immediately this mixture to greased plate or tray. Spread evenly as fast as possible with the help of s.s. bowl (katori). Cut in to diamond shape (remember cut burfis when the mixture is hot).
• Cool and store in airtight container.
• Fresh coconut has a short life, so consume this vadi/ burfi as soon as possible or store in refrigerator. 

Variations:

• Add 2 pinch of saffron threads in the milk for color and aroma. Saffron color used in readymade narlipak which is available in our native place. 
• Use 100 gm Khoya/mava or half tin of condensed milk instead of milk, taste goes to most similar to actual barfi.
• You can add beetroot or carrot in this vadi. how? plz read my recipe "Beetroot delight" (click on recipe name)

Vratki Khandvi /Khantoli /Sanjori (Samo Burfi)

One of the forgotten recipe of my granny for fasting. It is easy to make and simply delicious. 
We can make  this recipe with rice semolina/rava on non fasting day.

Ingredients:

• Vari/ Bhagar/Sama ke chaval (Morayo or Samo seeds)- 1 cup 
• Sugar or jaggery, grated- 1 cup 
• Fresh coconut, scraped- 1 cup 
• Cardamom Powder- 1 tsp 
• Pure desi ghee- 2 tsp 
• Water- 1½ cup 

Method:

• Wash vari tandul with water and drain completely with strainer. Keep aside. 
• Heat the water in a sauce pan. 
• And other side, heat ghee in non-stick pan. 
• Add washed vari and saute till color turns to light pink or for 2-3 minutes. 
• Add hot water in roasted vari pan. 
• Stir well and cover it. Cook properly for 2-3 minutes. 
• Once vari absorbs all the water and cooked, add sugar, grated coconut and cardamom powder. Stir well and remove all the lumps. 
• Cover the pan and let it cook for 2-3 minutes. 
• Grease a plate or tray with little ghee. 
• Pour all the mixture in the plate and spread evenly. Let it be cooled. 
• Cut into pieces of desired shape.

उपवासाची (वरी तांदळाची) खांडवी /सांजोरी /खांटोळी

साहित्य:

• वरीचे तांदूळ- १ कप 
• साखर किंव्हा चिरलेला गुळ - १ कप 
• खवलेले ओले खोबरे- १ कप 
• वेलची पूड- १ टीस्पून 
• साजूक तूप- २ टीस्पून 
• पाणी- १ १/२ कप 

कृती:

• वरी तांदूळ निवडून, धुऊन चाळणीत निथळत ठेवावेत. पूर्ण निथळून द्यावेत. 
• एकीकडे पाणी गरम करत ठेवावे. 
• नॉन-स्टीक कढईत तूप गरम करून धुतलेले वरीचे तांदूळ गुलाबी रंगावर परतून घ्यावेत.
• त्यावर उकळते पाणी घालून हलवावे. झाकण ठेऊन दोन वाफा काढाव्यात. 
• वरी तांदूळ शिजले की ओले खोबरे, साखर किंव्हा गुळ, वेलची पूड घालावी. चांगले ढवळून झाकण ठेऊन वाफ काढावी. 
• थाळीला तूप लाऊन शिजलेले मिश्रण थापावे. 
• थोडे थंड झाले की त्याच्या वड्या कापाव्या. 

Gujarati Laganni Dal

This dal is specially made for Gujarati Wedding (Lagan). For such grand occasions, the dal is boiled over and over again to get the best flavour. The only difference between everyday Gujarati dal and laganani dal is few ingredients. It is mild spicy, sweet and sour compared with any other Indian dals .
This dal could be a part of the everyday meal..... try it.  

Serves: 4

Ingredients:
Step #1:
Split pigeon peas/Tur dal - ½ cup
Peanuts, raw - 2 tbsp
Tomato, chopped - 1 medium
Green chilis, chopped - 2
Ginger, minced or grated- 1" piece
Water- approx 1 cup (for soaking and cooking)

Step #2:
Jaggery, grated  - 1 tbsp to 1 ½ tbsp
Red chilli powder - ½ tsp (optional)
Turmeric powder - ½ tsp 
Kokam petals -  2 to 4
Dry dates (kharik), chopped- 2 to 3 (optional)
Fresh coriander, finely chopped- ¼ cup
Water- approx 2 cups 
Salt to taste 

Step #3 (For tempering/tadka):
Desi ghee/Oil - 2 tbsp
Mustard seeds - ½ tsp
Cumin seeds - ½ tsp
Fenugreek seeds (methi dana) - ¼   tsp 
Asafoetida - ¼ tsp
Dry bor chilli- 5 or dry red chilis, tear - 2
Cinnnamon stick - 1"
Bay leaf - 1 
Clove – 1
Curry leaves - 1 sprig 


Method: 

• Wash dal properly. Soak dal for 3 to 4 hours with approx. 1 cup of water. (Don’t drain this water, cook the dal in same water.) 
• Soak also peanuts for min 1 hour with water. After soaking drain them.
• Add peanuts, minced ginger, chopped chili and tomato in the dal.
• Pressure cook this dal till 3-4 whistles are given out. (You may cook it casserole with lid. Cook till dal become soft, but it takes more time.)
• Open the lid of the cooker when the pressure reduces completely. Whisk well with a ladle so that the dal gets slightly mashed. Take care that peanuts should not be mashed. 
• Add 2 cups of water, chopped dry dates, chopped coriander, kokam, red chili powder, turmeric  powder, jaggery and salt in the mashed dal and simmer for 12-15 minutes on low-medium flame. Keep stirring in between. 
• Meanwhile heat oil or ghee in a small/tadaka pan. 
• Once the oil is hot, add mustard seeds and allow to splutter. Add cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds, red chilis, bay leaf, cinnamon stick. asafoetida and curry leaves and saute for a few seconds. Turn off flame. 
• Pour this tadaka/tempering into the simmering dal and mix. Cover dal with lid and turn off flame.
• Serve with rice. 

Variations:

• You can omit dried dates and kokam. 
• You can add ½ tsp of coriander powder. 
• Traditionally this is not a thick dal. The dal has thin consistency but you can make a medium consistency.
• It should have tangy and sweet flavors. Adjust red chili powder, kokam and jaggery as your like.
• Gujjus add also yam, raw banana, potato in this dal. 

When you keep the dal in a bowl for few minutes. Water should float on top and dal should settle at the bottom. If this happens than it is perfect consistency of Gujarati dal. So whenever you serve you need to stir first and then serve.