Green beans with Water Chestnuts
BARBATTI SINGHARA SABJI
-Recipe from Yamuna mataji
The water chestnut is a floating water plant growing in lakes and ponds
on several continents. The fruits are angular, with brown skins and a
white, floury nut inside –refreshingly crisp and delicious. There are
several kinds. Singhara nuts, grown in the lakes of Kashmir, are eaten
as snacks or blanched, sliced, dried and ground into flour. Chinese
water chestnuts, or pi-tsi, are not really nuts, but tubers, deriving
their name from their resemblance to the water chestnut. They are
available in small cans, sliced or whole, in supermarkets. The South
American tuber called Jicama is a readily available fresh substitute
for canned water chestnuts. Use whichever kind you can find easily. To
prepare fresh water chestnuts, cut with a sharp knife from the crown to
the base and peel away the soft, brownish casing. Blanch, slice and
soak in water until used.
Preparation time (after assembling ingredients): 5 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes
Serves: 4-6
1 tea spoon (5 ml) black mustard seeds
3 table spoons (45 ml) melted ghee or unsalted butter
1-inch (2.5 cm) piece of fresh ginger root, scraped and cut into thin julienne
1 pound (455 g) green beans, trimmed, cut into ½ inch (1.5 cm) lengths and steamed until tender-crisp
¼ teaspoon (1 ml) paprika or cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon (5 ml) ground coriander
12
water chestnuts, peeled and sliced; or 1 small Jicama, peeled, trimmed
and cut into pieces about 1 inch (2.5 cm) square by 1/8 inch (3
mm) thick; or one 10 –ounce (285 g) can of sliced water chestnuts,
drained and rinsed
2 table spoons (30 ml) fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon (5 ml) salt
2 table spoons (30 ml) chopped fresh coriander, basil or parsley
Preheat a large heavy-bottomed frying pan over moderate heat. Drop in
the mustard seeds, and when they begin to pop add the melted ghee or
butter. Drop in the ginger, green beans, paprika or cayenne, ground
coriander and water chestnuts or Jicama, and sauté until the green
beans and water chestnuts are heated through. Add the lime juice, salt
and fresh herb at the last moment.