Avarekalu sagu recipe is a creamy delicious gravy made with fresh butter beans from Karnataka cuisine. Here I have used skinned beans where the thin translucent cover from the beans are removed. This is done by lightly pressing and squeezing the beans. Thus the name hitikida avarekalu sagu in Karnataka language, where the word ‘hitikida’ means pressed or squeezed. This butter beans curry has complex flavors and tastes very good with pooris or chapatis.
Avarekalu is easily available during winters and there are many regional Indian recipes in which they are added. In Gujarat, Maharashtra and Karnataka many dishes are made with these beans. They are also called as mochai in Tamil language, pavta in Marathi language and surti lilva in Gujarati language.
Shelling the beans from the pods takes time. Then some more time is also spend in skinning the beans. So its better to take some help while doing so. You can also use frozen and packed beans to make this sagu.
I have used my Veg Saagu to make this tasty gravy with some changes. I avoid adding garlic, onion and tomatoes as I feel adding them overpowers the taste and flavor of the beans. But feel free to add them if you want. I have used pressure cooker to cook the beans. You can also cook in a pan or pot.
Avarekalu sagu recipe is best served with poori or chapati. You can also serve with Ragi Mudde or Neer dosa or Sponge dosa or Aval dosa or Thayir dosa.
How to make Avarekalu Sagu
Skinning beans
1. Soak 1.25 to 1.5 cups shelled beans (avarekalu) in enough water for a couple of hours. Or you can soak them overnight in the fridge.
2. Later drain all the water.
3. Remove the outer sheath or cover from the beans (avarekalu). Just press the avarekalu and the outer cover comes out easily.
4. Do this with all the beans. Its a minute work. So consider it as a zen meditation ????
5. Remove the outer husks in a separate plate and then discard them. You will need ¾ to 1 cup of the skinned beans. I usually skin the beans and then freeze them for a couple of days.
Pressure cooking beans (avarekalu)
6. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a 2 litre pressure cooker. Add ½ teaspoon mustard seeds and let them crackle.
7. Keep flame to a low. Then add 8 to 10 curry leaves and 1 pinch asafoetida (hing). Stir and mix. At this step you can add 1 small to medium tomato (chopped) if you want. Then sauté chopped tomatoes till they soften.
8. Then add ¾ to 1 cup skinned avarekalu. Also add 2 medium potatoes, chopped in large pieces.potatoes are optional and can be skipped.
9. Mix well.
10. Add 1 cup water.
11. Season with salt as required.
12. Pressure cook for 1 to 2 whistles on medium flame or for 5 to 6 minutes on medium flame.
C) making green masala paste:
13. When the avarekalu and potatoes are cooking you can make the masala paste. In a grinder jar, take ¼ cup grated fresh coconut, 1 inch ginger (chopped), 2 green chilies (chopped), 1 tablespoon roasted chana dal and 1 teaspoon poppy seeds. Skip poppy seeds and roasted chana dal if you do not have them.
14. Now add 1 tablespoon coriander seeds, 1 teaspoon cumin seeds, 1 inch cinnamon, 1 green cardamom, 2 cloves and ¼ cup chopped coriander leaves.
15. Add ¼ to ⅓ cup water and grind to a smooth fine paste. Keep aside.
Making avarekalu sagu
16. When the pressure in the cooker falls down on its own, open the lid of the cooker.
17. Add the ground green masala paste.
18. Mix very well and keep the cooker on stove top on a low to medium-low flame.
19. Simmer avarekalu sagu gravy for 8 to 10 minutes stirring at intervals. If the gravy becomes thick, then you can add some more water.
When cooking the sagu gravy will become more thick. If the gravy splutters, then cover cooker partly with its lid and simmer. Do check the taste and add more salt if required.
20. Garnish avarekalu sagu with some chopped coriander leaves. Also sprinkle some lemon juice on top. Or you can serve lemon wedges as a side when serving this butter beans curry.
Some sour lemony hints really enhances the taste of hitikida avarekalu sagu. Serve avarekalu sagu with chapati or poori. you can also serve with ragi mudde, neer dosa or set dosa.
If you want to check few more curry recipes then have a look at:
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Avarekalu Sagu Recipe
Ingredients
for pressure cooking:
- 2 tablespoons oil
- ½ teaspoon mustard seeds
- 8 to 10 curry leaves
- 1 pinch asafoetida (hing)
- 2 medium potatoes – chopped in large pieces (optional)
- ¾ to 1 cup skinned avarekalu, butter beans, surti lilva, pavta, mochai
- 1 cup water
- salt as required
for green masala paste:
- ¼ cup grated fresh coconut
- ¼ cup chopped coriander leaves
- 1 inch ginger – chopped
- 2 green chilies – chopped
- 1 tablespoon roasted chana dal
- 1 tablespoon coriander seeds (sabut dhania)
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)
- 1 teaspoon poppy seeds
- 1 inch cinnamon (dalchini)
- 1 green cardamom
- 2 cloves (lavang)
- ¼ to ⅓ cup water for grinding
other ingredients:
- 1 to 2 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves for garnish
to be served with:
- 1 small lemon, chopped
Instructions
skinning beans (avarekalu):
- Soak 1.25 to 1.5 cups shelled beans (avarekalu) in enough water for a couple of hours. Or you can soak them overnight in the fridge.
- Later drain all the water.
- Remove the outer sheath or cover from the beans (avarekalu). Just lightly press the avarekalu and the outer cover comes out easily.
- Do this with all the beans. Its a minute work.
- Remove the outer husks in a separate plate and then discard them. You will need ¾ to 1 cup of the skinned beans.
pressure cooking beans (avarekalu):
- Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a 2 litre pressure cooker. Add ½ teaspoon mustard seeds and let them crackle.
- Keep flame to a low. Then add 8 to 10 curry leaves and 1 pinch asafoetida (hing). Stir and mix.
- Then add ¾ to 1 cup avarekalu. Also add 2 medium potatoes, chopped in large pieces. mix well.
- Then add 1 cup water and season with salt as required.
- Pressure cook for 1 to 2 whistles on medium flame or for 5 to 6 minutes on medium flame.
making green masala paste:
- In a grinder jar, take all the ingredients mentioned under the list “for green masala paste”
- Grind to a smooth fine paste. Keep aside.
making avarekalu sagu:
- When the pressure in the cooker falls down on its own, open the lid of the cooker.
- Add the ground green masala paste.
- Mix very well and keep the cooker on stove top on a low to medium-low flame.
- Simmer avarekalu sagu gravy for 8 to 10 minutes stirring at intervals. If the gravy becomes thick, then you can add some more water. When cooking the sagu gravy will become more thick.
- Garnish avarekalu sagu with some chopped coriander leaves.
- Also sprinkle some lemon juice on top. Or you can serve lemon wedges as a side when serving this butter beans curry. Some sour hints really enhances the taste of hitikida avarekalu sagu. Serve with chapatis or pooris.
Hi Dassana, I am originally from Bangalore, and was delighted to see the hitikida avarekalu sagu recipe here. Thanks for posting it. I grew up eating this delicious curry in winters. The version we made at home however never had potatos in it. Also, I would like to add onions, garlic and tomatoes. Should I grind the onion and tomatoes along with the green paste, or add them just after mustard seeds? I now live in London, and we have canned butter beans available here throughout the year. Your recipe has now inspired me to cook them!
thank you geetha. potatoes are optional. i forgot to mention in the post. will update. i have to add potatoes in most of the recipes i make as without them i have few takers in the family ????
for adding onion, garlic and tomatoes, its better to sauté after adding mustard seeds as we are not cooking the paste for a long time after adding it. for garlic, you can add garlic paste which has been crushed in a mortar-pestle. sauté garlic well so that raw aroma goes away.