Farasbi Upkari
Fresh young, green beans (haricots), or tender runner beans make this a delightfully healthy and crunchy salad. Ideal to eat by itself or as a fresh side dish at meals or as accompaniment to a BBQ. Fresh green chilli, supplements your daily trace minerals. In India fresh green chillies are chopped very fine and added to most salads. We relish the touch of spice and the bold burst of flavour it contributes. It is in the salads that I taste the distinct flavour profiles of the chillies of different regions. The crunchiness and bite of this emerald green salad is enhanced by adding nutty oil-roasted urad dal and cashew nuts. If I run out of urad dal, I add roasted hempseeds for their oily nutty flavour and crispness.
For 4- 1 tsp=5ml/ 1 tbsp=15ml / 1 cup=225ml
| 300g green haricot beans/ tender runner beans, washed, topped & tailed, cut in 2 cm long pieces | |
| 1/2 tsp salt / to taste | |
| 1 tsp sugar | |
| juice of half lemon | |
| 1/2 cup roasted cashewnuts roughly chopped in bits | |
| 2 1/2 tbsp desiccated coconut ( if using dried, soak in 2 tbsp hot water/ then drain before adding to the salad) | |
| For seasoning/ tadka: | |
| 1 tbsp coconut oil | |
| 1/2 tsp mustardseeds | |
| 1 tsp urad dal | |
| 1/8 tsp asafoetida (if unavailable, 1 clove garlic grated) | |
| 2 green chillies cut in 2 each (ideally finely chopped for spicy flavour) |
Farasbi Upkari Fresh young, green beans (haricots), or tender runner beans make this a delightfully healthy and crunchy salad. Ideal to eat by itself or as a fresh side dish at meals or as accompaniment to a BBQ. Fresh green chilli, supplements your daily trace minerals. In India fresh green chillies are chopped very fine...
| 1. | Steam the cut beans for 4-5 mins, till they are not raw anymore, yet crunchy. |
| 2. | Remove to a bowl, add the salt, sugar & the lemon juice to it and mix through. |
| 3. | Heat a small saucepan, add the oil for seasoning/tadka |
| 4. | When the oil is hot, add the mustard seeds and fry till they pop. |
| 5. | Add the chilli, fry it for a few seconds then add the asafoetida/garlic. |
| 6. | Pour immediately over the beans and cover with a plate to seal in the aroma of the tadka. |
| 7. | After 3-5 mins. add the coconut and the chopped nuts. If using roasted hempseeds, add these too now. |
| 8. | Mix all well together, taste to check salt. The salad should taste sour, sweet & lightly spicy. Adjust salt/sugar or lemon juice if needed. |
| 9. | Serve the salad at room temperature. Can be made in advance and stored in a sealed container in the fridge, but do remove it an hour before serving. |