Kethandapatti Avaramani Kuzhambu is a tangy, sweet curry made with fresh lima beans, or avaramani in Tamil, that pairs well with steaming hot white rice or tamarind rice. This recipe can be traced to a small town called Kethandapatti in the North Arcot district of Tamil Nadu. Sugarcane is a major crop in the region and so jaggery is used extensively in home recipes, including this one. If you can’t find fresh lima beans, you can use dried lima beans or dried black eyed beans.

  • Serves

    5

  • Cook Time

    45m

Ingredients

For Powder

  • 4 red chillies
  • 3 tsp coriander seeds
  • 2 tsp sesame oil
  • 1.5 tsp whole black pepper
  • 1 tsp toor dal
  • ½ tsp cumin seeds
  • ½ tsp asafoetida

For Kuzhambu

  • 200 gm fresh avaramani (lima beans)
  • 200 ml tamarind juice (extracted from tamarind the size of a large lemon)
  • 100 ml water
  • 3 tbsp cooked toor dal
  • 2 tsp jaggery
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  • 1 tsp turmeric powder
  • Salt to taste

For Tempering

  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  • 1 tsp mustard seeds
  • 2 red chillies
  • For Garnish
  • Fresh coriander

Preparation

  1. Heat 2 tsp sesame oil in a wok and roast the ingredients mentioned under ‘For Powder’ until aromatic.
  2. Cool this spice mixture and grind into a powder. Set aside.
  3. Pressure-cook the fresh avaramani with sesame oil, tamarind juice, salt, turmeric powder and just enough water until 3 whistles.
  4. Once the pressure settles, open the cooker, stir in the cooked toor dal and bring to a boil.
  5. Add jaggery and the roasted spice powder. Adjust seasoning.
  6. In a separate wok, temper sesame oil with red chillies and mustard seeds, and pour it over the kuzhambu.
  7. Garnish with fresh coriander leaves.
Rakesh Raghunathan

Rakesh Raghunathan

Rakesh Raghunathan is a food traveller and chef, with a deep and abiding interest in the history of food, food practices and its interaction with socio-cultural norms. He has travelled to far-flung towns and villages in South India to discover indigenous food and culinary knowledge. His travels are documented in the TV series ‘Dakshin Diaries’ on Zee Entertainment’s Living Foodz channel. The show’s unique format and content sees him tie in food with the larger social and cultural landscape as he spends time engaging with communities, and observing the manner in which they grow food, cook, eat and live.

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