Beans Sprouts Curry (Indian Style)

 Before posting the recipe I would like to share a funny story behind it. I just got married and relocated to USA. New place, new friends, new kind of foods, everything was then new for me. I got introduced with few more Indian Bengali friends of my husband and with their wives. All kind of information sharing started in a full swing as I got little bit close to them and gradually we all became very good friends. One of those friends, one day invited my husband and me for dinner. Dinner was served. With lots of other delicious dishes she served this beans sprouts dish. It tasted so nice I was not able to resist myself asking what it was cooked of. She said very confidently that this was banana bud curry (Mocha r tarkary in Bengali). Banana bud recipes are very famous in Bengal. So being a Bengali, I know well what a banana bud was. Usually after cooking a banana bud dish the colour of the dish turned dark. But here the colour didn’t look similar to that from any perspective. I asked her to clarify my doubt. She told that she also knew the same, but she was sure that this was the banana bud, might be some of different genre. She supplied me more information that this banana bud could be found in the Chinese market and they sold it cleaned and peeled. I was newly married and new to the world of culinary. Feeding my husband with different kind of tasty food was the only passion of mine at that time. I got very excited with the information and learned from her how to cook the dish. On the very next day we rushed to the Chinese market. We searched the nook and corner of the market, we got the whole banana bud (the actual mocha), but didn’t get the cleaned and peeled one. I didn’t dare to buy the whole one because at that time I didn’t have the guts to clean, then peel and cook the Banana bud. I called her and she told me the exact aisle from where she found it. We went there and found nothing else but the packets of beans sprouts. She told that those were the banana bud which she always bought. She was also got newly married a few months back and new to the world of kitchen. The sprouts seemed her peeled banana bud. And she was not so wrong, because both the vegetables look very close. To verify, even we asked the attendant of the shop whether they sold cleaned and peeled banana bud or not. They answered in negative. Then I clarified her that those were nothing but beans sprouts. We laughed a lot and still now that is one of the funny memories of us which we loved to share and giggle. But the good part of it was that we got a new delicious recipe.

 

Ingredients-

Beans Sprout – 2 cups
Potato – 1 medium size
Bay leave – 1 or 2
Cardamom – 1 or 2
Clove – 2 or 3
Cinnamon – 1 or 2 small size
Cumin Seeds – ¼ tea spoon
Ginger paste – 1 tea spoon
Turmeric Powder– ½ tea spoon
Cumin Powder – ¼ tea spoon
Coriander Powder- ¼ tea spoon
Green Chilly – According to taste
Salt and Sugar- According to taste
Oil—2 table spoons (can be used less or more)
Ghee – ¼ tea spoon

Method-

1. Wash the sprouts and then roughly chop them into small pieces. Boil the sprouts with a pinch of turmeric and salt for 10- 15 mnts. Drain the extra water and keep the boiled sprouts aside.
2. Cut the potato into small cubes and keep aside.
3. Heat the oil and temper the bay leaves, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves and the cumin seeds till it starts to splutter. Add the potato cubes.
4. Fry the potato till it starts to change colour, then add the ginger paste and sauté for a couple of minutes more.
5. Add the sprouts, turmeric, cumin and coriander powder and mix all ingredients nicely. Add salt and sugar sauté for a minute then cover it up and cook in low flame till the potatoes get cooked. If water is needed just keep on sprinkling to avoid the dryness and the burning.

6. The water should be fully dried up and the dish should look not juicy. Add green chilli and ghee and serve hot with rice.