Category: Chikkudu(Papdi Lilva)

Broad Beans with Baby Green Brinjals (Vankaya Chikkudu)

This is another dish I prepared with my winter broad bean harvest. In this recipe, I have paired the plump, proteinaceous broad beans with delicious baby green brinjals. Green brinjals should be small, with firm texture and barely-there white seeds. Recognizing these qualities in green brinjals will make this a tasty, successful dish.

Baby Green Brinjals and Broad Beans
Baby Green Brinjals and Broad Beans

Broadbeans with Baby Brinjals (Vankaya Chikkudu Kura)
(for four, for one meal)

Prepare the Ingredients:

    Take 10 small green brinjals. Wash and trim the ends off and cut lengthwise into thin slices. Add them to salted water to prevent the onset of bitterness. Shell broad beans from plump pods. We need a cup of broad beans (Chikkudu Vittanaalu or Papdi Lilva).
    Ginger-green chilli paste: Take 1×1 inch piece of fresh ginger. Peel the skin. Take it in a mortar or mixer. Add 4 green chillies and pinch of salt. Pound or grind to smooth paste.

Prepare the Kura:

    Heat a tablespoon of peanut oil in a cast-iron pan over moderate heat.
    When the oil is hot, do the hing tadka: Add a pinch each – cumin, mustard seeds and hing (asafetida) and toast for couple of seconds.
    Add brinjal pieces and broad beans. Saute until two-thirds cooked, for about ten minutes.
    Stir in the ginger-green chilli paste, quarter teaspoon of turmeric and salt to taste. Mix well and continue to cook for another five minutes. If desired, sprinkle a tablespoon of sesame powder or fresh grated coconut for some extra taste.
    Serve hot over rice or with chapati.

Broad Beans with Baby Brinjals
Vankaya Chikkudu Kura ~ for Meal Today

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Chikkudu Vittanaala Kura for Sankranthi

Chikkudu (Telugu) also known as papdi lilva (Hindi) is a type of broad bean from India. The tasty pods and plump seeds are culinary delight and part of the menu on Sankrathi festival in our part of Andhra.

The photographed chikkudu are from my garden. I shelled those seeds last month just before the onset of freezing temperatures. With that hearty harvest, it was a glorious goodbye to plentiful 2010-growing season.

Broadbeans, Chikkudu Vittanaalu
Indian Broadbean Seeds (Chikkudu Vittanaalu, Papdi Lilva)

Chikkudu Vittanaala Kura (Chikkudu Seeds Kurma)
(for 2 to 4, for 2 to 1 meal)

Chikkudu Seeds: 3 cups. Bring 2 cups of water to boil. Add half teaspoon of salt to water. To the boiling water, add the chikkudu seeds. Partially cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Drain the water and set aside the seeds.

Masala Paste: In a skillet, toast a cup of unsalted peanuts. Cool and remove the peanut skins.
In the same skillet, add 1/4 teaspoon each – cumin seeds and black peppercorn, a tablespoon of coriander seeds, 4 cloves and one inch piece of cinnamon stick. Toast to fragrance on low heat constantly stirring. Cool.
Take roasted peanuts in a mixer. Add the toasted spices and also 1×1-inch piece of fresh ginger, 2 peeled garlic cloves, 2 tablespoons of tamarind pulp and 2 tablespoons of crushed jaggery. Add quarter teaspoon of salt. Blend everything together into fine paste. Add half cup of water for easy blending.

Chikkudu Seeds Kura: In a skillet, heat a tablespoon of peanut oil. Do the cumin tadka.
Add the chikkudu seeds and masala paste. Add about a cup of water. Season with quarter teaspoon each – turmeric, chili powder and salt. Mix well. Taste for salt, spice and sweetness, and adjust to your liking. Cover and simmer the kura on medium heat for at least ten minutes, until the seeds have reached buttery texture.

Serve warm with rice or roti. For Sankrathi festive meal experience, serve the kura with pongali or sajje rotte with some ghee and pickle on the side.

Chikkudu Seeds Kura
Chikkudu Seeds Kura with Chapati and Lemon Pickle ~ Meal on a Cold Day

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