Clove Beans Saglea – A thick, spicy Konkani curry (Vegan + Gluten Free)

Just recently, I discovered that clove beans make an excellent ingredient to create the delicious Konkani saglea. Saglea is a highly favored and flavored side dish of the Konkani people. A thick, fragrant, hot and spicy curry, it is generally made using either okra (ladies’ finger) or brinjal (aubergine or eggplants). The other vegetables that go in to complement the texture, taste and flavor of the saglea are potatoes and onions. I often add some tomatoes, elephant foot yams or drumsticks (muringa) too in some of the combinations.

Tender clove beans.

A couple of months ago, my husband was invited by an old nature farmer to visit his farm. The kind old man took a deep interest in preserving ancient vegetables and herbs, and tens of varieties of yams and taros. He took a liking to my husband, a dedicated organic farmer himself, and the old man presented him with the seeds of some rare vegetables.

Mature clove beans developing seed pods.

The following week, we planted them in our garden and soon, amongst other plants, some ipomoea like vines sprouted and started growing quickly. My husband tied them with a string to the frame of the greenhouse, and within two or three weeks, they had grown into tall vines and produced purple flowers of striking beauty.

Ipomoea Muricata Flower

One evening, at 5:30 pm, I heard my husband calling me, and I hurried quickly to his side. We were amazed to see the buds blooming into purple flowers, right before our eyes, one after the other, each taking just a minute or so to open fully. This blooming was indeed mesmerizing, and our son took this video which I happily share with you all.

A few days later, the tender clove beans appeared, getting ready for harvest, starting from the second day, up to the sixth day from the time of blooming.

Tender clove beans ready for the harvest.

As I liked to experiment making varied dishes out of new ingredients, I prepared some clove beans saglea using them. It turned out to be absolutely delicious! The ability of the clove beans to retain their crunchiness after cooking lends a distinct magical texture to the curry. Here is the recipe for you. Do cook and enjoy! Take care that you do not bite off your fingers, it is so good!

Print Recipe

Clove Beans Saglea Yum

A superb traditional Konkani side dish to rice and chappatis made with Ipomoea Muricata beans. Hot, savory and utterly delicious!

Cuisine

Indian, Konkani

Prep Time

30 minutes

Cook Time

30 minutes

Servings

servings

Ingredients

• 150 gm tender clove beans (Ipomoea Muricata, Nithya Vazhuthana in Malayalam)
• 100 gm grated coconut
• 5 gm dry hot red chilies
• 5 gm coriander seeds
• 5 gm black gram lentils (urad dal)
• 2 gm tamarind
• 15 gm hot green chilies
• 1 gm fenugreek seeds
• 1 gm mustard seeds
• 25 ml coconut oil
• 135 gm potatoes (peeled)
• 135 gm onions (peeled)
• 5 gm ginger (peeled)
• 2 gm turmeric powder
• 10 gm salt
• 500 ml water

Cuisine Indian, Konkani Prep Time 30 minutes Cook Time 30 minutes Servings servings Ingredients 150 gm tender clove beans (Ipomoea Muricata, Nithya Vazhuthana in Malayalam) 100 gm grated coconut 5 gm dry hot red chilies 5 gm coriander seeds 5 gm black gram lentils (urad dal) 2 gm tamarind 15 gm hot green chilies 1 gm fenugreek seeds 1 gm mustard seeds 25 ml coconut oil 135 gm potatoes (peeled) 135 gm onions (peeled) 5 gm ginger (peeled) 2 gm turmeric powder 10 gm salt 500 ml water

Instructions

To prepare:

1. Set a wok or pan on high heat. Pour in half of the coconut oil.
2. Tip in the black gram lentils, the coriander seeds and the dry chilies.
3. Stir well and roast for a minute. Switch off the heat.
4. Put the grated coconut into your food processor. Tip in the roasted ingredients along with the tamarind. Pour in half of the water and grind to a fine paste.
5. Chop the potatoes and the onions roughly to pieces and set aside.
6. Slit each green chili lenghtwise and put aside.
7. Chop the ginger to superfine pieces and set aside.
8. Slit the clove beans lengthwise one by one and drop them in a pan of water. This will help get rid of the excess sap/milk from the vegetable. Drain, rinse and keep aside.

To cook:

1. Set a cast-iron (for best taste) wok on high heat. Pour in the remaining coconut oil.
2. Tip in the mustard seeds. As soon as the mustard seeds are about to finish crackling, throw in the fenugreek seeds and stir once.
3. Quickly tip in the chopped potatoes, the onions, the green chilies and the ginger. Stir for a minute.
4. Now chuck in the clove beans, the salt, the ground paste and the turmeric powder. Pour in the remaining water.
5. As soon as the curry comes to a boil, turn down the heat and cover partially with a lid. Let it cook for 25 minutes. Take care to stir the curry occasionally so that it does not stick to the base or burn.
6. Switch off the heat. Your delicious, fragrant clove beans saglea is now ready to serve. Serve with hot rice or with chappatis or with freshly baked bread. Enjoy!

A tip for inexperienced growers

Unpicked clove beans grow fibrous with age and develop seed pods which contain 3 to 4 seeds. As this reduces production drastically and weakens the vine, it is best to pluck and use them when they are still tender, i.e., 2 to 6 days of age, leaving just one or two clove beans to develop into seeds. Clove bean vines grow well with added farmyard manure or compost, and keep yielding for months. In warm countries, they last for years and yield in all seasons. You can even grow them in pots on balconies.

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