This stir-fry is one of my “original” recipes. Actually, it’s less of a recipe and more of a “develop as you go along” set of directions! What I mean is that this is one of this dishes where you add what you think would go well with yard long beans and chickpeas to make it into a dish you would like to eat.
I haven’t been keeping very well this past week or so thanks to a very persistent bout of flu, and frankly speaking, food and cooking were the last two things on my mind. However, if one has a stomach, it will grumble at periodic intervals and the grumbles have to be appeased.
One particular morning, having cooked the rice and some lentils in a gravy, I needed to make a dry side dish too to complete lunch. The only things in the vegetable bin in my fridge were some yard long beans (which we call “payar” or “achingya” in Kerala) and a couple of bunches of rather sad looking spring onions.
The only place for those spring onions was the bin and the beans weren’t enough to cook as one dish. They needed to be supplemented with something else. Further investigation in the fridge revealed some chickpeas I had cooked and frozen a couple of days earlier.
So I put the two together, added a little of this and that and cooked up a stir-fried something which took me about 15 minutes in all to cook! I used coconut oil which lends to the taste of this preparation. If you do not like the taste of coconut oil, or cannot find it, please use whatever you have on hand.
I just thought that I would mention that we get a couple of varieties of yard long beans here. Right now it is the season for these beans. One variety is shorter (much longer than French beans), dark green in colour and on the thinner side. This is what I used in this dish.
The other variety is a little thicker, varies from pale to dark green in colour and seems to go on forever (I exaggerate but they are quite long) in length!
Stir-fried Indian Style Yard Long beans And Chickpeas (GF, V)
Ingredients
- 1 " 1 1/2 cups beans yard long , cut into long pieces
- 1 1/2 cups chickpeas boiled and drained
- 1 1/2 tsps coconut oil (or oil of choice)
- 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
- 1/2 tsp chilli powder
- pinch asafetida powder
- (optional) 1 sprig curry leaves
- to taste salt
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a pan. Add the asafetida powder and the yard long beans and stir fry, over medium to high heat, till the beans are almost done. This should take about 5 to 10 minutes.
- Now add the chickpeas, curry leaves, turmeric and chilli powders and the salt. Stir well, turn the heat down to medium, add a splash of water and allow to cook for another 3 to 5 minutes till no water remains.
- Take the pan off the heat, and remove the stir-fried vegetable-chickpes to a serving bowl. Serve warm as a side alongside rice.
I'm Aparna and My Diverse Kitchen is my ovo-lacto vegetarian food blog where you'll find recipes, food stories & photography. I've been blogging since 2007 and believe the kitchen, and the dining table (by extension) is really the heart of a home. 
Never tried the combo of long beans and chickpeas,Aparna.Very innovative and the recipe looks simple and hearty.Innovative combo this is
Woo hoo! Someone’s getting her cam do some amaaazing work! I LOVED the pic!! It looks so professional…Athe,I am so happy that the towel could share the limelight 🙂
that’s a nice combo and a beautiful picture 🙂
Is it the new cam? Picture looks delicious:)
Always love stir fries … that is indeed an unusual yet delicious looking combo. Get well soon Aparna. 🙂
I make the combination od yard long beans and chana dal…and even this combo is quite interesting…nice pic
A gorgeous recipe! I love how this has beans and chickpeas in it. I make something similar, but add shredded coconut 🙂
Lovely click..payar and chickpeas – have to try that combo.
This sounds really healthy – and very flavourful with the chili and turmeric!
I love achinga, my favourite, mom used to make them with coconutoil and small onione, garlic etc……..while writting the comment i can smell the aroma comming from her kitchen.With chickpeas it is new , it look yummy.
Now that is one protien filled dish. I know how long these long beans get. They will be rolled spirally in Malaysia’s green grocers.What I get here is long but not so long as these.The stirfry sounds very flavoursome.
I love the combination. I wonder if this yard bean is like the Chinese long bean.
I cook yard long beans all the time and never thought of combining them with chick peas – thanks for the idea.I love that photograph. And I have towels just like the one shown there 🙂
Sounds tasty! I have been meaning to try the long beans.
I’ve thought of these combinations all the time, fresh beans and dried beans, you know – just never remember to soak them or have both of them on hand at the same time!
Never thought this combo ! Simply what a gorgeous simple curry!
i have never mastered cooking long beans (alsando in konkani.) my mom did them so well, but mine turn out tough. but this makes me want try again.
hope ur feeling better already! i dont know about the combination, cld give it a shot at a pinch, especially if you agree to put some parsley in your omellette, but the photo is really one of your best!
Can see you play your magic with the new camera. Lovely!
I love long beans but only have tried them in Chinese recipes. This looks like a great new (to me) way to use them.
What a beautiful picture. It’s a brilliant photo!