Recipe 24
Green beans and saffron yogurt sauce
For 2 people
Yogurt is a fermented milk product. Unsweetened natural yogurt becomes valuable, for example, due to the lactic acid bacteria used. During the fermentation of milk, the lactic acid bacteria such as Lactobacillus bulgaricus cause the fermentation. During this process, the milk sugar (lactose) is converted into lactic acid (lactate). This process preserves the milk, the problematic lactose is converted and milk becomes more digestible. The characteristic taste and aroma are also created by fermentation. The bacterial strain Lactobacillus bulgaricus has a positive influence on our intestinal health as a so-called probiotic. Avoid low-fat and sugared yogurts.
For this recipe we need
500 g young beans
0,5 l hot water
0,5 l cold water
2 tbsp. ghee
1 small red onion
1 small green pepper
1 tbsp. chickpea flour
½ tsp. coconut blossom sugar or brown sugar
1 pinch of asa foetida (also known as asafetida, alternative: fresh, minced garlic)
1 couple of saffron threads (alternative: turmeric).
150 g whole milk yogurt (min. 3.8% fat, better 10%)
½ tsp. ground ginger
½ tsp. ground cumin seeds
1 pinch of ground white pepper
1 tsp. lemon or lime juice
Tip:
Please make the effort and use fresh. The beans that come from the can have lost their vitality. The strength of Ayurvedic cooking comes from the power of fresh food and gentle, portion-appropriate preparation. If you cook ayurvedic in stock, then you have only one food and no more food.
Preparation
Clean the beans and divide them into sections about 5 cm long, cutting off the bean tips and removing the strings. Divide the beans lengthwise into two halves. You should not switch too much to the spicy side in this recipe. We recommend that you seed the hot peppers. Then chop the fresh, green hot peppers. Alternatively, you can use a small green chili pepper. Bring 0.1 l of water to a boil. It should be lightly salted. Let the beans and pepperions steam in the water for about 5 minutes. Pour the remaining 0.4 l of hot water and let everything steep for about 3 more minutes. Ideally, the beans should be neither too soft nor too firm to the bite. Pour off the bean water, catch the bean water! Immediately cool the cooked beans down into a cold water bath, this should preserve the fresh green color of the bean.
Make a mixture of the chickpea flour, ground spices and brown sugar. Heat ghee or clarified butter in a pan. Add the mixture of chickpeas and sweat everything well. Let the sweat cool until it is lukewarm and then add the yogurt and saffron. Stir the reserved bean water into the roux by the spoonful until a smooth, creamy sauce forms. Season to taste with lemon juice, salt and pepper. Pour the sauce over the beans before serving. Both should be served warm.
Variatoins/Suggestion
This recipe also goes very well with fresh panir (see breading recipe). A small portion of feni grated apple/carrot compote with a squeeze of lemon goes well with this.