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You are here: Home / Dry Vegetarian Side Dishes / Cluster Beans With Yam | Senai Avarakkai Curry Recipe

Cluster Beans With Yam | Senai Avarakkai Curry Recipe

November 23, 2015 30 Comments

Cluster Beans, a very interesting vegetable when I did some research on them. They are known by various names in different states in India and surprisingly in many of them, they are an integral part of their meals. In Kerala, this is not the case and I see it on our table only when we have visitors like my aunt or sis from Tamil Nadu.


Cluster beans, known as Mattikaya in Telugu and Kothavarakkai in Tamil is popular in the north as Guar. In Malayalam, we just call it Kothavarakka, a slight variation in pronunciation from what its called in Tamil. I am a little confused about what Chitkaya/Chikkadikaya is? Is it another name for the vegetable in Telugu?

Anyway, I got a pack of it in the Indian store and immediately grabbed it, thinking I will try what my mom normally makes with it – an avial or a in a tangy gravy with ground coconut and tomatoes.


In the end, I ended up making a quick stir fry of it with elephant yam (chena). The combination turned out to be a winner and we loved it!

Clustered Beans Indian-Style with Yam

Ingredients:
Cluster beans – 2 cups, cut into 1″ pieces
Yam – 1 cup, cubed
Coconut – 4 tbsp, grated (optional)
Chopped garlic – 2 tsp
Shallots – 4
Coriander powder – 1/2 tsp
Jeera powder – 1/2 tsp
Chilli powder – 1/2 tsp
Salt – to taste
Coconut oil – 2 tsp

How I Made It:

1. Cook the cluster beans and yam separately in water till they are tender. Cooking them together will make the yam bitter. The water used to cook the cluster beans should not be used since it will be bitter.

2. Heat oil in a pan and lightly fry the garlic and shallots. Then add the coriander, chilly and jeera powders and fry for another 30 seconds.

3. Mix in the coconut, yam and beans with some salt and leave it on sim for 4-5 minutes.Serve hot with rice and gravy.

Related Posts:
Broad Beans with Lentils
Beans Carrot Thoran
Mochakottai Sundal
Beans Usili
Avial

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By nags Filed Under: Dry Vegetarian Side Dishes, Uncategorized

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Comments

  1. Richa

    April 1, 2010 at 1:43 pm

    that is one good combo! the veg looks very appetising 🙂

    Reply
  2. TBC

    April 1, 2010 at 1:43 pm

    Like chena a lot. Use it mainly for mezhukuparati.:D

    Reply
  3. Anonymous

    October 8, 2008 at 7:59 pm

    I tried this and it came out good… Thanks…i used a little bit of khus khus and it came out crunchy….Karpore

    Reply
  4. Rajani

    August 6, 2008 at 3:03 pm

    this is an unusual combination. we call cluster beans kothamarakkya and make the usual thoran, aviyal and sambhar with it. I also make a maharashtrian version with peanuts! in marathi cluster beans are called gavar phali, i think.

    Reply
  5. Nags

    August 6, 2008 at 10:41 am

    Sig – yeah! I know what you mean. i just got lucky with the lighting for this one 🙂

    Reply
  6. Sophie

    August 4, 2008 at 5:31 pm

    We would like to feature this recipe on our blog. Please email [email protected] if interested. Thanks 🙂

    Reply
  7. Sig

    August 4, 2008 at 5:26 am

    It is so hard to make Thoran look good, but you have succesfully accomplished that! 🙂

    Reply
  8. Usha

    August 2, 2008 at 8:02 pm

    Hi This is my first visit to your blog,you have a very nice one,I have never tried kothavarangai with yam,normally we make usili with this 🙂

    Reply
  9. easycrafts

    August 2, 2008 at 9:42 am

    cluster beans is my grandpa’s fav veggie, although I dont cook this much…nice one

    Reply
  10. Bharathy

    August 2, 2008 at 6:23 am

    Sis from T.N is not a fan of this veg..but you make me drool over over wonderful pictures and recipe!..
    Everything abt your blog rocks!!!Keep it up..

    Reply
  11. Indranee

    August 1, 2008 at 11:48 am

    This preparation looks quite healthy and yummy! Plz check my blog…have got something for you:)

    Reply
  12. Aparna

    August 1, 2008 at 9:19 am

    I love cluster beans but avoid yam.
    But your combination of the two looks really good, Nags.

    Reply
  13. A_and_N

    August 1, 2008 at 4:53 am

    The pic is beautiful. I love kothorangai stir fry 🙂 Not eaten Yam much. Mebbe, I should try it no?

    Reply
  14. Sangeeth

    July 31, 2008 at 5:58 pm

    very luring pics dear….luved ur recipe…recently I make this curry too

    Reply
  15. Cham

    July 31, 2008 at 4:45 pm

    We make kottavarankai poriyal but ur curry sounds delicous 🙂

    Reply
  16. Richa

    July 31, 2008 at 3:29 pm

    that is one good combo! the veg looks very appetising 🙂

    Reply
  17. TBC

    July 31, 2008 at 2:15 pm

    Like chena a lot. Use it mainly for mezhukuparati.:D

    Reply
  18. Latha

    July 31, 2008 at 1:55 pm

    Hey nags, the pictures are divine and i feel like eatign some right now! Like sra said this is called Gorichikudukai in Telugu in most Rayalseema regions and I think in Hyderabad and some other Telangana regions of Andhra and Andhra region as well it is called Mattikaya – whats in a name right? I love this veggie 🙂

    Reply
  19. Rajitha

    July 31, 2008 at 12:40 pm

    we make this at home….the recipe is a lil different tho…delicious!

    Reply
  20. Laavanya

    July 31, 2008 at 11:41 am

    I haven’t cooked with this in ages.. my mom only makes paruppu usli with this and I simply use beans as a substitute. This with yams is an unusual combination but looks very tempting.

    Reply
  21. sra

    July 31, 2008 at 9:19 am

    Nags, and Shreya, in Telugu this is called goruchikkudukaya – I’ve come across the name Mattikaya only in the blogs and I’m guessing the name changes by region.
    Chikkudukaya is what is known as avaraikkai in Tamil – the difference is that in TN, you don’t seem to get the variety nice and plump with well-formed beans, you get more of the flattish, subdued ones with not too many beans in the pod.

    Reply
  22. Jayashree

    July 31, 2008 at 7:51 am

    I like the combo of yam and kothavarakka….nice pics….

    Reply
  23. Nithu

    July 31, 2008 at 2:03 pm

    I have never tried yam and beans together. That sounds like a good combination. Nice picture.

    Reply
  24. Shreya

    July 31, 2008 at 5:44 am

    hi Naga, lovely combo. Great pics:-) I wish I could taste it now! We make it a lot at home, either just this veg or combined with paccha kaya (plantain, raw banana? i’m still confused!). In Telugu, this is called chikkadakaya, and long yard beans, which is payar in malayalam, is called borabatti.

    Reply
  25. delhibelle

    July 31, 2008 at 5:20 am

    That looks so amazing!
    I could so have that for lunch NOW!

    Reply
  26. notyet100

    July 31, 2008 at 5:15 am

    hi nags,,,in our hometown…we call cluster beans boro,..thnks for the info on different names,,,recipe looks interesting.:-)

    Reply
  27. Rachel

    July 31, 2008 at 5:06 am

    The second pic is too appetizing!

    Reply
  28. Jyothi

    July 31, 2008 at 10:44 am

    Love the first pic…because i love cluster beans very much…but this combo is completely new for me, will try very soon naaga! thanks for sharing and very informative post too…

    Reply
  29. Nags

    July 31, 2008 at 10:28 am

    Sra – ohhh now I get it! No wonder even I was more familiar with chikkudukaya than I was with Mattikaya. I think I saw the term Mattikaya used in Srivalli’s blog.

    Reply
  30. Nags

    July 31, 2008 at 5:37 am

    boro.. now that’s another interesting name for the vegetable 🙂

    Reply

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I am Nags, the face behind Edible Garden, a food and recipes website for the busy (and sometimes lazy!) cook since 2007. My recipes are meant to be quick yet healthy and delicious - Nothing fancy, nothing too difficult. Follow Me On Instagram for real-time food and life updates.

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