Kirlaile Bagade Ambat (Sprouted Red Beans Curry)

Kirlaile Bagade Ambat is a very popular Konkani dish. The peeled sprouted red beans is cooked in a mild coconut masala and then seasoned with caramelized onions. My mother used to make this once in a while and we used to enjoy it a lot. We never demanded to make this curry often as the peeling of the sprouts (which is the most difficult) was given to me and my brother. The peeling process takes hours which was never pleasant. But trust me the effort is worth at the end :-)

Ingredients:

• Dry Red Chori Beans (Bagado) - 3/4 cup
• Yellow Cucumber* - Half of a small one
• Grated Coconut, fresh/frozen - 1 cup
• Roasted Red chillies- 5-6
• Tamarind - A small ball
• Onion, medium sized- 1
• Oil- 1-2 tsp
• Salt- To taste

*I used a medium sized potato instead of yellow cucumber.

Procedure:

Wash the beans and soak them in enough water for 8- 10 hours. After soaking, they plump up. Now discard the water and rinse the soaked beans 1-2 times (drain the water completely). Then put them in a closed container or in a cloth and leave them in a warm, dark place for 7-8 hours. You can check out the detailed process of sprouting here. 

Now add the sprouts in a bowl containing water. 

Then start peeling it one by one without causing any damage to the sprout.

Then chop the onion and potato (or yellow cucumber).

Now take the pieces of potato ( or yellow cucumber) in a cooking pot along with peeled sprouts, half of the chopped onion. Then add water (just enough to cook it) and salt. Start heating it. Close it with a lid. 

While the veggies are getting cooked, prepare the masala.

To make Masala - Grind grated coconut, roasted red chillies and tamarind to get a fine paste. Add little water, which helps everything to come together.

After 20- 25 minutes, the cooked sprouts looks like this (don't over cook the sprouts).

Now add the coconut based masala.

Mix well. Adjust the consistency of the gravy by adding water (if required). I made it medium thick. Let the mixture come to a boil. 

Once it comes to a boil, continue heating for 2-3 more minutes and then turn off the heat and finally add the seasoning.

For seasoning - Heat oil and add the other half of the chopped onion. Fry it until it turns golden brown. 

Add this to the cooked mixture and mix well. Kirlaile Bagade Ambat is ready!!

Serve it hot as a side dish to rice. Above measurement serves 3-4 people.