Lab-Lab Beans aka Hyacinth Beans Chundal

Chundal ('ch' as in chair, not choir) is a specialty around Navarathri time - the nine nights, ten days long Indian festival going on right now. Each of the nine evenings, a different chundal is on the menu along with a sweet dish.

Almost all beans and pulses and lentils are fair game for making this style of chundal, referred to as sundal by most Tamilians. Black chickpeas, green chickpeas, chickpeas, dried peas,  kidney beans, white navy beans, black turtle beans, black-eyed peas, as well as the top favorite Lab-lab beans aka hyacinth beans aka mochakottai.

Soak the dried lab-lab beans overnight. Drain and pressure cook with salt till cooked but not mushy. This is the tricky part as lab-lab beans is pretty tough to cook quickly. Sometimes, I've had to pressure cook it twice to get the right consistency - firm to the touch and holding shape, but soft melt-in-the-mouth texture when eaten.

Fairly quick and easy to make, with the main flavoring coming from tempering*, plus grated ginger and green chilies, this is a low-fat protein-rich snack that kids enjoy at home.

*Tempering: Heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil, add a teaspoon of urad dal; when it turns golden brown, add mustard seeds; when they pop, add some cumin seeds, torn curry leaves, grated ginger and finely sliced green chilies. Add in the cooked lab-lab beans, adjust salt to taste and serve warm. Optionally, fresh grated coconut can be stirred in as well.

Hyacinth Beans with Home-garden Butternut Squash

Short, dark, broad, green Hyacinth beans, (Avarakkai in Tamil), used to be a favorite bean variety in my mom's kitchen. Avarakkai poduthuval simply saut ed and tossed in with dry grated coconut + green chilies paste is still one of my favorite sides, not to mention Avarakkai Paruppusili.

The dried seeds of Hyacinth green beans goes by the name of Mocha Kottai in our family. It is versatile - can be used in sambars, curries - but the most I remember it for from childhood is Mocha Kottai Chundal ('Ch' as in chair) / Sundal. It was a staple during Navarathri festival - the nine-nights ten-days long festival which incidentally is going on now, today being the 10th day, Vijayadasami.

The first of the half-dozen or so home-garden butternut squash we harvested, together with Hyacinth beans makes this wonderful side which can be served with roti, naan, paratha, rice and sambar.

Ingredients
1 medium butternut squash, peeled, cleaned, diced
1 cup dry Hyacinth beans, soaked overnight, cooked till done but not mushy
1 tsp cayenne pepper powder
½ tsp turmeric powder
1 Tbsp coriander powder
1 Tbsp coconut oil
1 green chili (optional)
tempering (optional): mustard seeds, urad dal
salt to taste

Preparation

1. Heat the oil in a pan; add the tempering if using and allow mustard seeds to pop and urad dal to turn golden brown
2. Add the squash, chilies, spices, toss well, add a few Tbsp of water, cover and cook till squash is done but not mushy
3. Add in the cooked Hyacinth beans, adjust salt to taste, sauté together and allow to brown a bit