The recent rains have brought back memories of how paradisiacal it used to feel hiking the trails of California.   After four years of drought, it feels so great to squelch in wet mud rather than tread on parched earth.  I can’t wait to see what this spring brings forth.  It seems like it has been forever since we had a proper one with abundant seasonal waterfalls, vast fields of swaying wildflowers and baby deer, quail and rabbits galore.

 

 

But, let me not count my quails before they hatch.   We still need steady rains through February and March and maybe some April showers to bring us May flowers.

The year however is off to a running start and January is already over!  One of the new year’s resolutions V and I made is to have friends over more often to our place for food and fun.   And that’s exactly what we did last weekend.  To accommodate everyone’s health needs, we kept the menu simple, sugar-free, and minus any fried foods.

 

 

One of the appetizers on the menu was a simple, nutritious snack with frozen Lima beans.   This is a variation of an ubiquitous South Indian snack called “sundal”.    In its most basic form, sundal comprises simply of cooked beans (of any kind) tempered with mustard seeds, red chilies, and grated coconut. The most common sundal is made with chickpeas or garbanzo beans.   Sundal is also a quintessential street food in South India.  On the beaches of Chennai, sundal served in newspaper cones, gets an interesting twist with the addition of raw mango pieces!   Yummy!   The recipe below is very simple in comparison but quite tasty.

 

Recipe for a simple Lima bean snack

[Printable Recipe]

Ingredients:

• 2 packs frozen baby Lima beans
• 1 Tbsp vegetable oil (You can use coconut oil as well)
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 2 dried red chilies, broken in to 2 pieces
• 2 Tbsps yellow lentils/split chick peas (chana dal in Hindi – you can find it in an ethnic Indian grocery store)
• Optional – 1 pinch asafoetida (hing in Hindi – you can find it in an ethnic Indian grocery store)
• Optional – 1 sprig Curry leaves (you can find fresh or frozen curry leaves in an ethnic Indian grocery store)
• Grated coconut (you can find frozen packs of freshly grated coconut in an ethnic Indian grocery store, but feel free to use dried unsweetened coconut flakes if you cannot find grated coconut)
• Salt to taste

Method:

• Rinse the frozen lima beans under running water in a colander and set aside to drain
• Heat the oil in a pan
• Add the mustard seeds when the oil is hot and when the mustard seeds sputter, add the red chilies and yellow lentils.   Lower the heat and stir until the lentils are golden in color – around 2-3 minutes.  Be careful not to let it burn.  (The lentils add a bit of crunch to the recipe.)
• Add the asafoetida and curry leaves if using
• Finally, add the grated coconut and saute on low heat for a couple of minutes
• Add the drained lima beans to the pan, and add salt to taste
• Close with a lid and let it cook for around 10 mins on low heat occasionally giving it a stir
• Serve warm or at room temperature

 

 

This appetizer was a big hit at our dinner party.   Little did our guests know that hardly any effort went in to making this nutritious, filling, delicious snack.   You can also make this recipe with chickpeas, blackeyed peas, fresh peanuts and a variety of other beans!