Beans Palya (Coconut Based Beans Dry Curry)- Udupi Special

Beans Palya is one more popular dish of the Udupi Brahmins. This is my 3rd post on Udupi Special. I got this recipe from a magazine. Hope you all will try and enjoy it.

This is one of my favorite dish. I have also eaten palya made from young raw jackfruit (not sure of its recipe). The palya (made in temple) turns out so perfect that it has the right balance of sweetness, spiciness and tanginess.

Ingredients:

• Beans*, chopped- 2 cup
• Green chilli, slit- 1
• Jaggery- 1 1/2 tsp
• Tamarind- A small piece soaked in water
• Turmeric powder- 1/8 tsp
• Oil- 1-2 tsp
• Mustard seeds- 1/2 tsp
• Dry Red chilli- 1
• Salt- To taste

For Masala:

• Grated Coconut, Fresh/ Frozen- 1/2 cup
• Dry Red chilli- 2-3
• Mustard seeds- 3/4 tsp

*You can as well use Indian yam (suran) or Raw banana instead of beans.

Procedure:

Heat oil in a kadai and add mustard seeds. Once it starts spluttering, add broken red chilli and slit green chilli. Fry for few seconds and then add turmeric powder. Mix well and then add chopped beans. Give it a good mix and add salt and sufficient water (The final consistency of the curry should be dry. Hence don't add too much at a time while cooking the beans) .Allow it to cook by closing a lid. While the beans is getting cooked, prepare the masala.

To make masala- Grind mustard seeds and red chilli to get a powder. Then to this add the grated coconut and grind it coarsely. Masala is ready (don't add water).

Once the beans looked almost cooked, add in the jaggery and tamarind pulp. Mix it and finally add the ground masala. Fry it until everything comes together (say for 3-4 minutes). Turn off the heat. Beans Palya is ready!!

Serve it hot as a side dish to rice or rotis.