Alsande' Beeyeche Saar Upkari/Black Eyed Bean (Lobia Bean) Patla Bhaji.

Simple "Alsande' Beeyeche Saar Upkari/Black Eyed Bean (Lobia Bean) Patla Bhaji" ...... These are also known as Black Eyed Bean / Cow Peas / Lobia / Chawli ..... Goes well with Hot Rice ...... 

Saarupkari is a simple dish prepared using pulses. This is a sort of patla bhaji seasoned either with Mustard Seeds ~ Hing ~ Curry leaves or garlic. Green chillies are slit and added to make it spicier. So in all this is simple Dal sort of a dish that is served with rice. Sometimes veggies are added to the same depending upon the pulses used. We amchies prepare this when we do not prepare Dalitoy / Spiced tuvar dal for rice. Being rice eaters we always have some sort dal prepared from pulses to be served with the rice as spicy gravy curries are usually served as side dishes. 

This saar upkari I have prepared using Alsande Bee as called in konkani. It is known as Lobia in the Northern parts of India, also as cow peas or black eyed bean while in Maharashtra it is called as chawli. Many dishes can be prepared with this pulse. To name a few saar upkari, koddel, sambar, cutlets, fritters etc. This pulse is freely available all round the world. However, it has to be soaked overnight or 6-8 hrs before you pressure cook it.

Soak 3 cups of Alsande Bee / black eyed bean in plenty of water overnight or for minimum 6-8 hrs. Wash, rinse, drain and put it in a pressure cooker with about 2 cups of water. The water level should be about 1 inch above the pulse level in the cooker. Cover with the lid and pressure cook to 2-3 whistles on medium flame. Let the pressure drop on its own. Once you are able to open the lid, uncover and let the steam pass off before you pour the same into a thick bottomed vessel.

Add in another cup of water, salt to taste, 4-6 green chillies slit lengthwise, 2 tsp of prepared hing water (if anot available and using hing powder keep the powder to be used in seasoning). Bring all ingredients to a boil on medium heat. Let it simmer well for 5 minutes. Remove from fire and keep aside.

For Tempering : Heat 1 tblsp of oil in a small pan, when hot add in 1 tsp of mustard seeds, when they begin to spluter add in 8-10 curry leaves and fry for a minute. If adding hing powder add along with curry leaves. Remove from fire and pour over the saar upkari. 

Cover and keep aside the Alsande bee saarupkari aside for 10-15 minutes for the flavours to seep in. Saarupkari is ready. Serve saar upkari as a dal along with rice and some other dishes for accompaniment. Goes very well with sanna khotto, bhutti, sagle, patrado etc.

** Prepared Hing Water : Hing water is prepared by putting a small marble sized gummy hing (available in South Indian Stores) into a glass bottle and adding about a small cup of boiled and cooled water to it. Within a few hours the hing will slowly melt and you will get a thick whitish liquid. This is hing water. You can keep this in the fridge and use sparingly as and when needed. We GSB / Saraswat Konkani people usually prepare the same and keep it in the fridge always and use the same for dal, patrado or any other humman etc.