Vaal papdi, fenugreek and aubergine curry (vaal papdi, ringna methi nu shak)
Vaal Papdi beans are botanically classified as Dolichos lablab. I love these beans but don’t often get them as they require quite a lot of topping and tailing and removing the stringy fibre from each bean – very similar to fresh peas or valor. More information about the vaal papdi and the various names it’s called can be found here.To clean and prepare the Vaal papdi, you cut the top and bottom stalks and the stringy part holding the two stalks. Once the stringy part is removed, divide the Vaal papdi into two or three small pieces just by breaking them by hand. Both the green outer cover and the seeds are used in the curry. Fresh vaal papdi doesn’t take long to cook and is often cooked on it’s own, with aubergine and fenugreek like I have done in this recipe or added to the mixed vegetable Gujarati curry called undhiyu.Once you have cleaned and washed the vaal papdi, you can even freeze it if you have bought extra.
Prep Time20 minutesmins
Cook Time29 minutesmins
Course: curry, dinner
Cuisine: Indian
Keyword: vaal papadi methi ringa nu shak
Servings: -4
Author: Mina Joshi
Ingredients
2 cups fresh Vaal papdi ( can also use tinned or frozen)
2 medium aubergines - cut into cubes
1 cup of fresh fenugreek (methi)- Can also use frozen
1 cup tomatoes (fresh, tinned, passata all fine)
1 tbls oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
salt (to taste)
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp dhana jiru (a mixture of coriander and cumin powder)
chili powder to taste
3-4 cloves garlic which should be really crushed finely
2 tablespoons cooking oil
Instructions
Heat the 1 tablespoons of oil in a saucepan with a lid and add the mustard seeds to the hot oil and cover until the popping stops.
Lower the heat and add the vaal papdi. Add the garlic, chili powder, turmeric and the dhana jiru and stir. Add half a cup of water and allow this to cook for 3-4 minutes.
Add the fenugreek and aubergines to the curry and allow it to cook for five minutes with the lid on. If the curry looks too dry, add half a cup of water to it.
Once the aubergines and vaal papdi have softened add the tomatoes to it and allow to cook for a further 2-3 minutes. Don’t worry if your curry does not have the traditional red colour as it is difficult to get that red sauce with the kind of vegetables we have used. Taste and adjust any spices to your preference.