Navy Beans poduthuval

Navy beans is versatile. I usually soak and cook up a large batch, freeze them, and conveniently forget about them :)

A handful in soups and stews, a cup or two mixed in with vegetable pulao, or cooked as in this poduthuval recipe here to be eaten as a snack, salad or a side, navy beans feels wholesome.

I like the navy beans to be cooked through, soft, but not mushy - still holds shape.

Poduthuval is a term I have heard my dad and grandpa use. I just use the term "curry" for everything - with gravy or dry as in this recipe :) I am not sure of the origin of the term, but, it fits the characteristics of this navy beans recipe here - dry spice powder (usually with coconut) used to flavor vegetables in Palakkad recipes my mom taught me.

Ingredients
1 cup cooked navy beans
1 cup frozen peas
½ medium onion finely diced
1 Tbsp grated ginger
1 tsp brown sugar
salt to taste

tempering: 1 tsp oil, 1 tsp mustard seeds, 1 tsp cumin seeds, 4-6 curry leaves

for the spice powder:
¼ cup grated coconut
¼ cup coriander seeds
3 Tbsp chana dal
1 Tbsp urad dal
4-5 dry red chilies


Preparation

toast the spice powder ingredients till aromatic, and grind to a fine powder, no water needed

tempering: heat oil in a pan, when shimmering add the mustard seeds and when they pop add the cumin seeds and curry leaves; throw in the onions and ginger, a pinch of salt, and sauté till onion turns translucent

add the navy beans, frozen peas, brown sugar and the spice powder, stir well, cover and cook till peas are soft; adjust salt to taste

Serve warm as a side with rice and sambar, or rice and mor-kozhambu, or just eat it as-is, like a salad, which is what I prefer :)

This Navy beans poduthuval is my 'N' dish for lovely Nupur's A to Z of Indian Vegetables event.