Sem aloo ki sabzi (Green fava beans with potatoes)

Sem Aloo ki Sabzi
(Flat Beans with Potatoes)

Sem Aloo ki sabzi is a very simple side dish. Sem ki Phalli (Sem beans) are known as flat beans. They are wide and 2” to 3” long. These beans are delicious and nutritious.

Compared to Green Beans Sem Beans have a more prominent beany taste and the seeds inside are plump and sweet. These beans have hard fibrous strings which are preferably removed before chopping. Some choose not to remove these strings as it provides fiber to the diet.

Sem beans are usually chopped in small pieces and cooked with potatoes with very few spices, but still taste delicious. Addition of Mango powder at the end, give the unique taste to the dish.

Ingredients:

1    Pound Sem (Flat beans)
1    Medium potato - peeled
      and chopped into small pieces
1    Teaspoons cumin seeds
1    Pinch of asafetida (Hing)
2    Teaspoons coriander powder
1    Teaspoon red chili powder
½   Teaspoon turmeric powder
1    Teaspoon mango powder
      (Amchoor)
2   Tablespoons vegetable oil
1   Teaspoon salt or to your taste

Cooking measurement conversion
Measurement converter

String of Sem Beans

Sem Beans (Flat Beans)

Potato (Aloo)

Directions:

1. Wash the beans. Sem ki phali have hard fibrous strings which are preferably removed before chopping them. The method to remove these strings is to simply take a bean at a time and tear the tip of the bean with hand or with a knife and pull away the string from each side in one motion.

Wash Sem Beans

Pull the string from the Bean out

2. Once you remove the strings from the beans take a sharp knife and with the edge of the knife or the side of your hand line up a handful of beans on one side and chop the beans in small pieces.

Chop Sem Beans

Chop Potato

3. On medium high heat add 1 tablespoon oil in a non stick frying pan or heavy bottomed stainless steel pan, add cumin seeds and asafetida and fry them for 2 to 3 minutes or until cumin seeds become dark brown.

Chopped Beans and Potatoes

In a pan add oil, cumin seeds, asafetida & fry

4. Add coriander powder, red chili powder and turmeric powder and mix all the
spices together with the oil and fry for few seconds.

Cumin seeds become brown

Add Coriander powder, Red chili powder & Turmeric powder

5. Add chopped beans, chopped potatoes and salt, and mix them with the spices,
     stir fry for 2 to 3 minutes.

6. Cover the pan and cook on low heat for 20 to 25 minutes or until beans become
  tender but firm. (Vegetables cooks with their own steam)

7. While cooking stir periodically so that spices coat the beans all the time, if it
    required add little water.

Mix spices with oil and fry

Add chopped Sem Beans and Potatoes

Mix Sem & Aloo with spices

Sem Aloo are mixed with spices

8. Once beans and potatoes become tender and if there is water in the bottom of
     the beans then turn the stove to high so that water evaporates quickly, once all
  the water evaporates turn the heat down to low.

9. Once the beans become tender, sprinkle mango powder and 1 tablespoon oil
      over the beans and mix, and fry and keep turning the beans around for 5
      minutes or until spices becomes brown, turn the stove off.

Cover the Pan and cook

Sem Aloo are cooked

Check if Potatoes & Beans become tender

Sprinkle Mango Powder (Amchoor)

Sprinkle Oil over Sem Aloo

Sem Aloo are cooked

Sem Aloo

Please take the time to let me know what you think about my recipe. Your comments would be helpful to me to improve the recipe.

Thank you

Geeta Seth

Other recipes:

Gawar ki phalli (Cluster beans)                Gajar methi (Carrot with feneugreek)

Lobia ki phalli (Green long beans)          Cauliflower bhurji (Gobi ki bhurji)

Green beans (French beans)                    Cabbage curry (Bandh gobi)

Sem Aloo ki Sabzi (Flat Beans with Potatoes)

Sem Aloo ki Sabzi
(Flat Beans with Potatoes)