Pressure Cooker Sem Ki Sabzi| One-Pot Double Beans (Lima Beans) Curry

I am a big, big fan of double beans in the dried form. Recently, I spotted fresh double beans (also called sem or lima beans) at the Jayanagar market, and couldn’t resist picking up some. I used them to make this beautiful pressure-cooker curry to go with rotis, for lunch today.

The curry tastes absolutely delectable, if I may say so myself. I made it in a pressure cooker, something I often do with curries, a super-duper easy way to cook stuff. And.. the best part? The curry used just 1 teaspoon of oil in all its entirety!

Let’s check out the recipe now, shall we?

Ingredients (makes 4-5 servings):

1. 3/4 of a medium-sized serving bowl fresh double beans (aka lima beans or sem)
2. 2 medium-sized tomatoes
3. 1 medium-sized onion
4. 1 teaspoon oil
5. 2 generous pinches of asafoetida (hing)
6. 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
7. 1/2 teaspoon cumin (jeera)
8. Salt, to taste
9. 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
10. Red chilli powder, to taste
11. Sugar, to taste
12. 2 teaspoons chana masala, or to taste
13. A few fresh coriander leaves, to garnish

Method:

1. Wash the double beans thoroughly under running water. Place in a colander, and let all the excess water drain out.
2. Chop the tomatoes into large pieces. Puree in a mixer. Keep aside.
3. Finely chop the onions and coriander leaves. Keep aside.
4. Heat the oil in a 3-litre pressure cooker bottom. Add in the mustard seeds, and let them sputter. Add the asafoetida and cumin seeds, and let them stay in for a couple of seconds.
5. Add the chopped onions. Saute on low flame till they begin to turn brownish.
6. Now, add the tomato puree, along with salt and red chilli powder to taste, as well as the sugar and turmeric powder. Mix well. Cook on low-medium flame for a minute or so.
7. Add in the washed and drained double beans, along with the chana masala.
8. Add about 1 cup water. Mix well.
9. Close the pressure cooker and put the whistle on. Turn the flame to high. Let the curry cook for 4-5 minutes on high flame. Let the pressure come down naturally.
10. Once all the pressure has come down, add in the finely chopped fresh coriander. Mix well.
11. Serve hot with rotis.

Notes:

1. Garam masala or pavbhaji masala can be used in place of chana masala.
2. Omit the sugar if you don’t like a hint of sweetness in your curry.
3. You could add a dash of lemon juice to the curry after preparation, too.
4. After preparation, if you think the curry is too thick, you could add some water, adjust spices and salt, and let it simmer on low-medium flame for a few minutes.
5. A tablespoon of thick curd added to the curry (while adding the tomato puree) will improve the taste drastically. You could add a dollop of fresh cream, instead, as well.
6. If you are afraid of burning, you could add slightly more water to the curry. Post cooking, you could simmer the curry on low-medium flame to make it thicker.
7. If fresh double beans aren’t available where you stay, you can use dried ones to make a similar curry. Just soak the dried double beans in water overnight, discard the water in the morning, pressure cook them for 4 whistles in just enough water to soak them, and then proceed with the above recipe.
8. If you want, ginger-garlic paste can be added in the curry, while adding the onions.
9. You could even add in a 1-inch piece of cinnamon, a few cloves, cardamom and a couple of bay leaves, to make the curry more flavourful. If using, add these in along with the chopped onions.

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This post is for the Foodie Monday Blog Hop. The theme for this week is ‘Recipes with just 1 teaspoon oil’.

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