Indian Broad Beans Curry | Avarakkai Poriyal

Indian broad beans curry or avarakkai poriyal, as we say in Tamil, is a simple stir-fry with peanuts but without coconut. This avaraikai poriyal with peanuts pairs well with both rice and roti. Check out how to steam Indian broad beans in Instant Pot and to make this delicious curry.

A typical meal in my household is incomplete without a veggie side. Our family loves all greeny vegetables, and these Indian broad beans are our favorite. 

Indian Broad Beans:

These broad beans are quite popular in India and are known by different names like field beans, flat beans, lablab beans, etc. Broad beans are a type of hyacinth bean and are members of the Fabaceae family. They contain a decent amount of minerals and are a good source of dietary fiber, as well.

As I mentioned before, in the Tamil language, we call Indian broad beans as Avaraikai, and during the Pongal festival season, you can find it in abundance. It is a typical back yard vegetable, and it is popularly known as “naatu kai” meaning country vegetables in Tamil.

You know what it grows well in California too. I am planning to grow this year, and I will keep you posted. 

You can find Indian broad beans in all the Indian groceries here and also in the Farmer’s market. I got mine from the farmers market. 

Poriyal: 

Poriyal is a Tamil word, and it’s a dry saute or stir-fry. You can make it different vegetables, likes beans, cabbage, chayote squash, carrot, etc. You can find both beans poriyal, beets poriyal, and cabbage poriyal on my blog. 

How to Clean and Chop Avarakkai?

Indian broad beans are flat and slightly curvy. They have fibrous strings on both sides that we need to remove. Wash the broad beans thoroughly and drain the water.

Now snap one end of the bean and pull the string. In the same way, snap the other end and remove the string. Discard the strings and also the snapped edges. Then chop the broad beans into small pieces. The tender beans will not have strings, and in that case, trim the edges and cut them. 

I know this process is time-consuming, but you can do this over the weekend and keep it ready. The chopped beans stay good for about five days in the refrigerator. 

How to Steam Indian Broad Beans in Instant Pot?

Steaming avarakkai in Instant Pot is pretty straight-forward. Clean, de-string, and chop the broad beans. I used my 6-quart Instant Pot to cook the vegetable. 

I highly recommend the steamer rack or the steaming basket accessory for the Instant Pot. It comes in handy for steaming all the vegetables. Place the chopped broad beans in the steamer basket.

You add 1 cup of water to the inner pot and place the trivet. And then keep the steamer rack with chopped broad beans on the trivet and cook the veggies using the manual/pressure cook setting for two minutes. When the cooking complete, quickly release the pressure after 5 minutes, and that’s it. :-) If the beans are hard, you can cook up to 4 minutes but not more than that, or you can cook for two minutes and release the pressure naturally. 

You can then saute it with your favorite set of spices.

I could have sauteed the vegetable in the Instant Pot itself; I went with stove-top sauteeing. But you can do it on Instant Pot as well. 

PS: If you love South Indian recipes and want to learn how to make them in Instant Pot, then don’t miss to check out my 25+ South Indian Instant Pot Recipes.

Steaming Avarakkai in Stove-Top Pressure Cooker:

Add the chopped beans directly in the pressure cooker and add about ½ cup of water. Pressure cook for two whistles and let the pressure release naturally. If the beans are tender, you can release the pressure quickly.

Steaming Avarakkai in Open Pot:

After tempering and sauteing onions, you can add the chopped broad beans and sprinkle some water. And cover and cook until it becomes soft and tender. Depending upon the tenderness of the beans, usually, it takes about 12 to 15 minutes, and you need to mix at regular intervals as well.  That’s why I always prefer steaming it in Instant Pot or Pressure Cooker. It saves a lot of time!

Avarakkai Poriyal without Coconut: 

Usually, for most of the stir-frys, we add coconut. But for this curry, I decided to go without coconut but added a lot of semi-crushed peanuts.  I love curries with peanuts like okra curry with peanuts. It adds a nice crunch and a flavor to the recipe.

After cooking, the avaraikai, all you need to do is the tempering and saute some onion and garlic. Then add the cooked broad beans and spices. Finally, add some crushed peanuts and lime/lemon juice, and that’s it. 

Now without any further ado, let me share how to make this avarakkai poriyal with peanuts.

Cook the Avarakkai:

• Cook the broad beans in your preferred way. I steamed it in Instant Pot.
• Add the chopped broad beans to the steamer rack. Add 1 cup of water to the inner pot and place the trivet. Then keep the steamer basket with the broad beans on the trivet and close the lid. Make sure the vent is in the sealing position.

• Press the manual or the pressure cook button and set the cooking time to two minutes at high pressure.
• When the IP beeps, wait for five minutes and then move the vent to the venting positing and release the pressure quickly.

• Carefully open the lid and take the steamer basket out.

Prepare the Poriyal:

• Heat a pan and add oil. When the oil is hot, add the mustard seeds, urad dal, chana dal, and hing. 

• When the mustard seeds splutter, add the chopped onion and garlic and saute until the onion turns translucent. I missed taking the picture here. 
• Then add the beans, salt, and red chili powder. Mix well, and you may notice salt oozing out some water. It is normal. Cook until all the moisture is absorbed for about 4 to 5 minutes over medium heat.

• Now add semi-crushed peanuts. I used raw peanuts and pulsed them roughly. Mix thoroughly and turn off the heat.

• Finally, add the lemon or lime juice and mix.
• Serve hot with rice or roti. I served with rice as you can see in the first picture.

Recipe Notes:

• Instead of Indian broad beans, you can use snow peas, and the recipe comes out well. If you are using snow peas, you can cook it open pot as it cooks faster or steam in Instant Pot for zero minutes.
• I used raw peanuts. But you can use roasted but unsalted peanuts. If you are using salted peanuts, then adjust the salt measure.
• I went with simple spices. All I used here is red chili powder. But you can add sambar powder or rasam powder to spice up the curry.
• As always, adjust the salt and spices according to your preference. 

PS: Follow me on Instagram or join my Facebook Group for more gardening and recipe updates. If you try this avarakkai poriyal recipe, please don’t forget to comment and rate this recipe. If you have any questions, please leave a comment, and I will get to it asap. 

I am sending this post to Blogging Marathon 105 under the theme “Easy Sides for Rice and Roti.” Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#105

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4.50 from 2 votes

Indian Broad Beans Curry | Avarakkai Poriyal

Indian broad beans curry or avarakkai poriyal is a simple stir-fry with peanuts but without coconut. Serve this with rice or roti for a delicious meal.

Prep Time20 mins

Cook Time20 mins

Total Time40 mins

Course: Entree

Cuisine: South Indian

Servings: 4

Calories: 106kcal

Author: Srividhya G

Ingredients

• ▢ 5 cups Indian Broad Beans chopped and loosely packed
• ▢ 1 tbsp coconut oil
• ▢ ½ tsp mustard seeds
• ▢ ½ tsp whole urad dal
• ▢ ½ tsp chana dal
• ▢ ½ cup onion chopped
• ▢ 1 garlic clove chopped
• ▢ ½ tsp red chili powder
• ▢ 1 tsp salt
• ▢ ¼ cup peanuts crushed roughly
• ▢ 2 tsp lime/lemon juice

Instructions

• Cook the broad beans in your preferred way. I steamed it in Instant Pot.
• Add the chopped broad beans to the steamer rack. Add 1 cup of water to the inner pot and place the trivet. Then keep the steamer basket with the broad beans on the trivet and close the lid. Make sure the vent is in the sealing position.
• Press the manual or the pressure cook button and set the cooking time to two minutes at high pressure.
• When the IP beeps, wait for five minutes and then move the vent to the venting positing and release the pressure quickly.
• Carefully open the lid and take the steamer basket out.
• Heat a pan and add oil. When the oil is hot, add the mustard seeds, urad dal, chana dal, and hing.
• When the mustard seeds splutter, add the chopped onion and garlic and saute until the onion turns translucent. I missed taking the picture here.
• Then add the beans, salt, and red chili powder. Mix well, and you may notice salt oozing out some water. It is normal. Cook until all the moisture is absorbed for about 4 to 5 minutes over medium heat.
• Now add semi-crushed peanuts. I used raw peanuts and pulsed them roughly. Mix thoroughly and turn off the heat. Finally, add the lemon or lime juice and mix.
• Serve hot with rice or roti. I served with rice.

Notes

• Instead of Indian broad beans, you can use snow peas, and the recipe comes out well. If you are using snow peas, you can cook it open pot as it cooks faster or steam in Instant Pot for zero minutes.
• I used raw peanuts. But you can use roasted but unsalted peanuts. If you are using salted peanuts, then adjust the salt measure.
• I went with simple spices. All I used here is red chili powder. But you can add sambar powder or rasam powder to spice up the curry.
• As always, adjust the salt and spices according to your preference. 

Nutrition

Calories: 106kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Sodium: 592mg | Potassium: 163mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 316IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 26mg | Iron: 1mg

I am not a nutritionist. The nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. It varies depending upon the product types or brands.

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