Sauteed Indian Beans ~ Sauteed Valor Lilva

For the second day of low carb recipes I have sautéed Indian Beans. Indian beans ~ valor lilva ~ chikkudu ginjalu are low in carbs and rich in fiber. It has about 13 - 15% of protein per serving, 2.5 serving per packet based on the nutritional information on the back of the beans packet. I usually make it for dinner when we want to eat something light. To make it a balanced meal, I finish off the meal with a glass of buttermilk or bowl of yogurt or some raita.

This can be served for breakfast, as a tea time snack or for dinner. I can eat it any time of the day. In fact I made these sautéed beans again yesterday to take more pictures. I made it for breakfast and ate it for lunch too. I was craving for some dessert and ate an apple after lunch. The meal was quite filling and I was really stuffed and thought of skipping dinner but did not. I will post my dinner recipe tomorrow. I enjoyed sauteed beans for both breakfast and lunch but did not take any pictures. 🙁

I used frozen beans here. Beans are cooked until tender and then sautéed with some onion, garlic and green chilies. Chili powder can also be used to season the beans but for the fresh or frozen Indian beans, green chilies taste a lot better. Although green chilies can be added when sautéing the beans, I prefer seasoning the beans with green chilies and salt when it is almost cooked and then cooking it until tender.

Cooking Time: 12 - 25 minutes
Servings: 1 ½

Ingredients:

• 1 packet (12 oz. / 340 grams) frozen Indian Beans ~ Valor Lilva ~ Chikkudu Ginjalu (available in Indian stores)
• 6 – 10 Green Chilies (adjust to taste)
• ¾ - 1 tsp. Salt (Adjust to taste)
• 2 Green Onion or Scallions chopped (opt.)
• 1 ½ - 2 tbsp. Oil (I used 2 tbsp.)
• ¼ tsp. Mustard Seeds (opt.)
• ¼ - ½ tsp. Cumin Seeds ~ Jeera
• 4-6 Curry Leaves
• 1 small Onion sliced
• 5-6 Garlic Cloves crushed or approx. 1 tbsp. crushed Garlic
• ⅛ – ¼ tsp. Turmeric Powder
• Cilantro for garnish
• Chopped Onion for garnish (opt.)
• Lime Juice (opt.)

Preparation:

1. In a saucepan cook frozen beans with some water for about 5 minutes. When the beans are completely thawed, discard the water, wash and cook the beans with some water. When the beans are almost tender, about 90-95% cooked, discard the water leaving about ¼ cup of water. Or just drain all the water and pour ¼ cup water and put it back on the stove.
2. Add chopped green chilies, salt and 1 chopped green onion. Cover and cook for another 5 minutes are until the beans are tender. Do not overcook the beans. This step is optional. If skipping this step, in step 1 add some salt to water and cook the beans until tender. Once the beans are 100% tender, then drain the water.
3. Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds, cumin seeds and when the seeds splutter, add curry leaves and onion. If you skipped step 2, add green chilies at this point.
4. When onions are translucent add garlic, remaining chopped green onion and sauté for few seconds. Add turmeric and mix well.
5. Add cooked beans and sauté for 5 – 10 minutes until beans are well coated with the tempering and sautéed. Taste and adjust salt.
6. Garnish with cilantro and serve hot. Sautéed beans can be served with some chopped onions and some lime juice.

Suggestions:

• Green chilies can be chopped or ground to paste. In step 2, instead of chopped chilies, green chili paste can also be used. When I made it couple of days ago, I used chili paste.
• Before sautéing the beans, taste the beans. If you need more heat or spice and add some chilies to the tempering, along with onions.
• I used 2 green onions but more can be used. Although I listed green onions as optional, it enhances the taste.
• Frozen black eyed peas or fresh green garbanzo beans can be substituted with Indian beans and here is the sauteed fresh green garbanzo beans I posted sometime ago.

This day in 2008: Mango Pie
This day in 2012: Chikkudu Annam ~ Valor Lilva (Indian Beans) Rice

Blogging Marathon: Checkout what my fellow bloggers are doing this week on blogging marathon page.

Events: This is my entry for Radhika's My Legume Love Affair # 73, an event started by Susan currently organized by Lisa.