In India, or at least in Goa, bhaji means Vegetable.
When you go to a local restaurant, which serves up simple food, you can ask for a bhaji.
For example potato bhaji, beans bhaji and so on are readily available on the menu.
Those food places which serve up tasty bhajis are quite popular with their Vegetarians.
You will not just only see locals but even foreigners ordering their spicy food there.
The prices are reasonable and the food is quickly served, reason enough for every one to take a round there.
As you already all know, I used to have my troubles to get used to the highly spiced food in India, and so I took my time to explore “the bhaji” scene.
Depending where you go, every little street restaurant has their own style, and so different bhajis are differently spiced.
I remember going early mornings to a bhaji place some years back with my friends, that place had the best bhaji around, in my opinion at least.
Well you know, everyone has their own preferences…
How spicy would you like your bhaji?
After some time I got used to prepare my own batch of bhaji.
We eat it simply with bread or accompanied by fish curry rice, which is a huge delight too!
Step by step I ventured into the uncommon South Asian vegetable types, and so I discovered the Yard long beans.
Those uncommonly long bean type reminds me of french beans.
Just that they are literally about 60 cm long, which makes them for sure the longest bean I have ever seen.
In Goa the beans are known as Iriel in other parts of the world they are further called snake beans, long-podded beans, Chinese beans and asparagus beans.
They taste nice and simple like the common beans, so there isn’t much difference so far.
What makes them stand out are the nutritional values while consuming the vegetable.
The Yard long beans are filled with Proteins, Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2, Iron, Phosphorus and Potassium.
Yard long beans can be cooked like any other bean types too.
If you ever come across these beans you might wanna try to incorporate them in soups, salads and other continental dishes.
With certainty I’ll be posting a couple of Yard long bean recipe ideas in the coming months.
For now I’ll be sharing my top yard long bean recipe, which has been prepared like that for some time already in my husbands family home.
It’s a quick and easy dish to prepare, with only a few basic ingredients.
Garnish the finished dish with some freshly scraped coconut and I guarantee that you ll be in the Veg food heaven!
Oh, by the way if you are looking for more bhaji recipes, then feel free to check out the Tendli Bhaji, Karela Bhaji or here the Pumpkin Bhaji!
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Wooden Cooking Spoon with Pyrography
- 3 Yard long beans
- 1 small Onion
- 1 small Tomato
- ½ cup Water
- ½ Tsp Turmeric Powder
- ½ Tsp Red chilli Powder
- pinch Salt
- pinch Pepper
- freshly scraped Coconut
- First of all rinse your beans well, secondly cut them approximately into 1 cm long pieces.
- Slice the Onion and cut the Tomato into cubes. Fry them with little oil in a pan.
- Add the cut beans and stir well for 1-2 mins. Now add the water.
- Continue to season the bhaji with Turmeric, Chillie Powder, Salt and Pepper. Let it cook for 10 min or until the water dissolves and the beans are cooked.
- Plate up and sprinkle the bhaji with freshly scraped coconut!
Maureen @ Orgasmic Chef says
They’re snake beans to me too. I’m okay as long as the dish isn’t so hot my lips start to hurt. 🙂 We went out for curry last week and I thought I was going to die. LOL
Helene says
ha lol! na even I don’t enjoy crazy hot food, so with this recipe you will be for sure save Maureen. 😉
Kitchen Belleicious says
never had these but I am thinking from your post and maureen’s comment that I need to start off slow! LOL!
Helene says
When you cook with spicy food, it is always a good idea to start with a few pinches so that you get used to the intensity and flavoure direction of a spicy. After some time you get an idea on how each of them works and effects and you ll be able to create some amazing dishes. =)
Eha says
Well, I know these as snake beans also. Often available in Australian supermarkets and greengrocers, but they certainly don’t grow as long in our less fertile [ 🙂 ! ?] soil! Perhaps 2/3 of those you show. Thanks heaps for the recipe: there does not seem to be too much heat but quite some taste in it. Anyways, LOVE hot food – legacy of two curry-loving and -making husbands, I guess 😀 !
Helene says
really? I didnt know that they grow smaller in australia. Odd how vegetables grow differently on different type of soils…
So In this case I guesse you d have to use around 6-8 of those beans for this recipe. If you love hot food then you can think of adding more turmeric and chilli powder too, I a msure you are going to enjoy it. 😉
Swathi says
Your bhaji looks delicious. I make stirfry with them coconut and cumin powder taste great.
Helene says
I ll try your idea with the cumin powder ones of these days. thanks for that Swathi