Butter Bean Curry (Vaal Nu Shaak) – Butter bean also known as Lima bean is one of the ingredient not often used in Indian cooking. I haven’t seen many recipes made from this tasty protein rich legumes. Actually I didn’t even know how to cook this butter bean curry. This recipe is from my mum-in-law. She told me that the butter bean curry also known as Vaal nu Shaak in Gujarati is one of favorite curry of my hubby. This uncommon ingredient is not that easy to get hands on. So I decided to cook this tasty Lima bean curry as soon as I got it in my kitchen.
Like other legumes/lentils butter bean (vaal) takes a lot of time to cook (check out Kala chana masala recipe). So it is common practice to soak these seeds in water overnight and then pressure cooked for another 20 minutes. Hence this vaal nu shaak recipe is a pressure cooker recipe.
Health benefits of Butter Beans
Butter beans help balance blood sugar levels and are good for people with diabetes.
Lima beans / butter beans are very good for your health. For vegetarians they are one of the best source of proteins. They are also rich in dietary fibers.
The high fiber content in Lima beans prevents blood sugar levels from rising too rapidly after eating them. They can therefore help balance blood sugar levels while providing steady, slow-burning energy, which makes them a good choice for people with diabetes suffering with insulin resistance. They also help to prevent heart disease, and may reduce the medical dosage required to combat cholesterol in the form of natural food.
Read this article for more information about Health benefits of lima beans.
Let us now check the step by step recipe of Butter/Lima bean curry made in spicy tomato and onion gravy.
Butter Bean Curry Recipe (Vaal Nu Shaak)
1. Rinse the butter beans/lima beans (vaal) in water and soak them overnight. The butter beans tends to grow in size as they soak water so make sure to add sufficient amount of water while soaking.
Like many lentils/daals, butter beans (vaal) takes a lot of time for cooking so it is best to use pressure cooker to cook them quickly. Pour the vaals in pressure cooker and cook on medium flame for around 25 minutes. Let the pressure cooker cool down on its own and check if Vaals are cooked properly or not using a fork.
2. The tough part of boiling butter beans is done. Let us start with the simple process of tempering spices in oil and make onion and tomato gravy for Vaal ki sabji.
In a non-stick pan heat a tablespoon of oil and add cumin and mustard seeds. Once the seeds crackles, add a pinch of asafoetida, green chili, ginger / garlic paste and turmeric powder. I have also added garlic red chili chutney in tempering. But this is optional.
The spicy tasty butter bean curry (gujarati vaal nu shaak) is ready. Serve it hot along with chappati, roti, paratha or puran puri.
- Butter beans: 1 cup, soaked in water
- Onion: 1 cup, chopped
- Tomato: 1 cup, chopped
- Oil:1 tbsp
- Mustard seeds:1 tsp
- Cumin seeds:1 tsp
- Green chili: 1 tsp, finely chopped
- Garlic:1/2 tsp, paste
- Ginger:1/2 tsp, finely chopped
- Red chili powder:1 tsp
- Coriander powder:1 tsp
- Garam masala: 1/2 tsp
- Cloves & cinnamon powder:1/2 tsp, optional
- Asafeotida (hing): 1/4 tsp
- Salt: to taste
- Rise the butter beans and soak them in water for 8 hours or over night.
- Boil the butter beans in the pressure cooker for about 25 mins. Start the tempering process to reduce the cooking time.
- In a pan heat oil and add mustard seeds, cumin seeds and let it temper.
- Add asafeotida, green chili, ginger , garlic and cook fro about a min.
- Now add the onion and saute for about 3 mins to remove the rawness of the onion.
- Add the tomato and then cook for about 4 mins. Stir it.
- Once the tomato and onion cook it is time to add all the masalas: red chili powder, coriander powder, garam masala, cloves and cinnamon stick powder and salt to taste mix everything well and cook for about 3 mins so the the masala will blend well with tomato and onion.
- Add a cup of water and also the boiled beans and stir it and cook for about 5 mins till all ingredients blends in curry.
- Serve the vaal ki sabzi hot with roti, chappthi, paratha.
View Comments (11)
Gopi,
Thanks for the great recipe.
A question: when you pressure cook these Lima beans, how many whistles did you give? I assume you do not want to give too many whistles especially if the beans have been soaked overnight.
Hi Anu, Usually if soaked overnight; the butter beans or vaal will be cooked in 3 to 4 whistles.
This is exactly what I was looking for, since my MIL is out of town.... my husband will be excited to come home to this tonight!
You should give me more reasons to your MIL to be happy to come home than a lima bean curry.
Looking forward to making this curry soon but haven't got a pressure cooker. I have never cooked butter beans from scratch before, so how do I go about cooking them.
Thanks
Thank you so much... For all your wonderful recipes... Don't know what would i do without you.
Gopi - you're a blues - that's good! I've been searching for recipes that really work - that bring out the taste that I recognise as Indian food - in the end I thought, 'it must be me, I just can't cook 'Indian' - this butter bean dish is superb - I'll be cooking from your recipes from now on.
I bought a tin of butter beans because they were reduced in price and googled 'butter bean curry' or something similar & there you were - many, many thanks - keep up the good work - Piers
Thank you! Worked perfectly. Regards from the UK.
Thank you Richard :)
Oh my goodness very healthy, very delishious. This is an absolute pleasure. Thank you so much because as a diabetic,I'm always looking for new ideas for meals.
Hi! You don't mention how much cinnamon and cloves to use?