‘I’ was another difficult letter. I could not think of any dish or vegetable starting with ‘I’, that fits my theme in this A-Z Challenge,Journey Through the Telangana Cuisine, except inguva (hing~asafoetida). And I could not think or find any recipe where inguva is the main ingredient. All I could think of is ‘I’ for inguru and I was unsure if the word iguru is a common usage in Telangana to refer to kooralu or dry curries. I do remember hearing this word when growing up but could not remember who used it. I checked with my mom and cousins and all of them said we call dry curries koora and not iguru.
When chatting with one of my friends, I had brought this up and she said none of her family uses it except her mom and her maternal family who hail from Khammam. That was good enough for me to do ‘I’ for iguru as Khammam is in Telangana. The best part of all is, I didn’t even have to cook as I found today’s recipe in my drafts, which I prepared back in October hoping to participate in November’s BM. I had a rough draft of the recipe, pictures clicked and edited, and all I had to do was an intro! Well, I take that back, I had to re-edit the pictures and resize them but that wasn't a big hassle as the pictures were already sorted. 🙂 I was still happy and to be honest, I did not want to do ‘I’ for ivy gourd as I had already used English names for both ‘F’ and ‘H’, and have few more down the lane.
I could have done 'I' for idly but idly and also fermented dosa were not a common food in Telangana households until 25 - 30 years ago. In fact, I do not remember idly and dosa ever been prepared at my maternal grandmother's place. It was a different story at my paternal grandmother's place. Though my paternal grandparents are from Telangana, couple of my dad's sisters are married into Andhra families and couple of his sisters-in-law are from Andhra. So, idly dosa were often prepared at home. However, in last few decades these have become part of everyday breakfast menu even in Telangana households.
Coming to Iguru, it is a curry which is cooked until all the liquids are evaporated. It is dry curry and can be prepared with any vegetable or meats, as long as it is cooked until dry.
Ingredients:
- 500 grams Goruchikkudu Kaya ~ Cluster Beans ~ Gawar
- 2 tbsp. Oil
- 2 - 3 Curry Leaves
- ½ small Onion, chopped
- 3 small Green Chilies, chopped (adjust to heat tolerance level)
- 1 tsp. Garlic Paste (I used garlic crushed with some cumin seeds)
- ¾ - 1 tsp. Chili Powder (adjust to taste)
- ¾ - 1 tsp. Salt (adjust to taste)
- ¼ tsp. Turmeric Powder
- Fresh Kotmir or Cilantro to garnish
Preparation:
- Wash cluster beans, trim the edges and cut into ½ - ¾” pieces or to desired size.
- Heat oil in a pan, add curry leaves, onions and saute until onions are translucent.
- Add green chilies and saute until chilies begin to change color.
- Add garlic paste and saute for few seconds.
- Add chili powder, salt, turmeric and give it a good stir.
- Add cluster beans and stir well. Stir fry for couple of minutes until spices coat the beans and beans are lightly roasted in the spices.
- Add some water, about ¼ - ½ cup, give a good stir.
- Reduce the flame to medium - medium low, cover and cook until the beans is tender. Keep stirring every few minutes for even cooking of beans. This will take about 10 - 15 minutes or even longer depending on the size and tenderness of beans.
- Remove the cover and stir fry for few minutes until all the water evaporated and the iguru is dry.
- Garnish with cilantro and serve with rice or roti. I prefer this iguru with rice.
Note:
- I cooked the beans in a frying pan. It can also be cooked in a pressure cooker. Follow the steps as mentioned but cook in a pressure cooker for 1 -2 whistles. I always cook in a pan. An other method is to first cook chopped cluster beans in a pressure cooker, then do the tempering and stir fry the beans.
- Sometimes I add roasted sesame seeds powder few minutes before turning off the flame.
This day in 2014: Kashmiri Rogan Josh
This day in 2015: Ham Cheese Mini Corn Muffins
Events: This post also goes to A-Z Challenge for day 9, letter 'I'.
Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 63
So far in this A-Z Journey Through Telangana Cuisine,
A for Attu Tunukala Koora
B for Biyyapattlu
C for Chegodi
D for Dondakaya Barada
E for Ellipaya Karam
F for Fenugreek (Menthi) Aaku Pesaru Pappu Koora
G for Garela Pulusu
H for Hyacinth Beans (Anapakaya) Annam
[inlinkz_linkup id=601059 mode=1]
VEENA KRISHNAKUMAR says
Now this is a new recipe to me. A different way to cook this vege...looks inviting
Mireille Roc (@ChefMireille) says
its always a lucky day when we find something in our drafts to use....great one!
Smruti | Herbivore Cucina says
Such an interesting way to use cluster beans. Lovely recipe!
harini says
Very interesting read, Usha. Love this version of goruchikkudukaya
Nalini says
Nice to read the food habits,cluster beans curry looks delicious and easy to make.Love the way you styled it.
Rajani says
Good that your draft folder could help you out 4 this alphabet. Sometimes some alphabets can be pretty tricky . I couldn't help but notice the cloth napkin. Love it!
Kalyani says
nice to read ur post... I think I LOVED this styling a LOT !! perhaps also coz I love the lilac / lavender background u have used !! the curry looks inviting !
gayathriraani says
That is interesting to read about the food habits of states. I make a little bit different curry with cluster beans by adding some tomato. This looks so tasty..
Srivalli says
How lucky that you had this in your draft..but then I guess all of us need such magics to happen once in a while yaar...Though I have heard this term being used by mom, we never used in our actual cooking and eating terminology...Of course, mine is now a mixed cooking and eating habits and I can't clearly mark a line..:)..Nice reading about our older generations eating habits..
Vaishali Sabnani says
Cluster beans are one of my favorite veggie and we cook them nearly in the same manner, I am loving that bowl and wish there were a couple of chapatis so I could polish this bowl.
Pavani says
This is one of my favorite way to cook goru chikkudukaya. It is so simple and soooo delicious.
srividhya says
Great curry love this with puli kuzhambu or with sambhar. yum
Sandhya Ramakrishnan says
It is fun to read about the eating habits and food from different regions. Love this way of preparing the cluster beans and lucky that you had a recipe in drafts.
Priya Suresh says
This beans fry is my all time favourite, just a bowl of rice is enough for me to enjoy this delicious fry.
Suma Gandlur says
Even we don't use the term iguru , Usha. I am still confused about the consistency. However the goruchikkudu iguru is looking inviting.
BTW, I am curious to know what people in olden days ate for breakfast in Telangana?
MySpicyKitchen says
Rottelu, thinner version of parathas, upma, poori, atukulu were and are common breakfast items.
pradnya says
u r converted to vegetarian this month...this looks very flavorful
MySpicyKitchen says
No I haven't. I have a few non-veg recipes coming up later this month. 🙂
Amara says
Iguru looks really inviting Usha, nice share:)
Padma Rekha says
A semi gravy curry is called as Iguru in my home. Even for me it is only inguva I got in my mind for this letter but till now I didn't use english name so used ivy gourd. goruchukkudu iguru look s yumm..
cookingwithsapana says
Custer beans curry looks absolutely divine.Love how the fabric matching with the bowl.