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Vaal nu shaak
Dried field beans with ajwain
વાલ નું શાક: Jain dried field beans with ajwain, hing and a touch of jaggery for Paryushan
During the eight days of Paryushan many Gujarati Jain families stop eating green, leafy and fresh vegetables, so the kitchen turns to dried pulses, and vaal (dried field beans) cooked soft with ajwain and hing is a regular on the thali. This recipe is fully Jain: no onion, no garlic, no fresh ginger and no root vegetables, with dry ginger powder for warmth and amchur instead of tomato for sourness. The beans are creamy and a little bitter-sweet, balanced by jaggery, and are eaten with rotli, rice and kadhi, finished before sunset in strict homes. Common mistake: using beans that have not soaked long enough; they stay hard and split unevenly. Cook them until one squashes easily between your thumb and finger, but not so long that they burst. Chef's tip: ajwain and hing make vaal much easier to digest, so do not skip the tempering; for a gluten-free dish use a gluten-free hing.
- Total time
- 60 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the beans
- 7 oz dried field beans (vaal)soaked 8 hours in water
- 3 cups water
- 1 ¼ tsp salt
For the tempering
- 3 tbsp peanut oil
- 1 tsp ajwain (carom seeds)
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tsp red chilli powder
- ¾ cup hot water
- 1 tbsp jaggerygrated
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What you'll need
Spices & pantry
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Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Drain the soaked 7 oz dried field beans (vaal) and rinse. Cook in 3 cups water with half the ⅝ tsp salt in a pressure cooker for 3 whistles on a medium heat, about 12 minutes, or simmer covered for 40–45 minutes, until a bean squashes easily between your fingers. Keep the cooking water.
15 minStep 2: Heat 3 tbsp peanut oil in a pan over a medium heat. Add 1 tsp ajwain (carom seeds) and, as it sizzles, ½ tsp gluten-free asafoetida (hing).
1 minStep 3: Lower the heat and add ½ tsp ground turmeric, 1 tsp red chilli powder, 2 tsp ground coriander-cumin (dhana jiru) and ½ tsp dry ginger powder (sonth). Stir for 20 seconds, then add a splash of ¾ cup hot water so the spices do not burn.
1 minStep 4: Add the beans with 100 ml of their cooking water, the rest of the ¾ cup hot water and the rest of the salt. Simmer for 8–10 minutes until the gravy thickens and clings to the beans.
10 minStep 5: Stir in 1 tbsp jaggery and 1 tsp dry mango powder (amchur) and cook for 2 minutes more. Taste for balance and serve hot with rotli and rice.
2 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 290 kcal
- Protein
- 15 g
- Carbs
- 38 g
- Fat
- 11 g
- Fibre
- 11 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does vaal nu shaak take?
- About 60 minutes in total: 10 minutes to prepare and 50 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of gluten-free asafoetida (hing)?
- A pinch each of garlic powder and onion powder (asafoetida stands in for onion and garlic).
- What can I use instead of ground turmeric?
- Leave it out (it mostly adds colour).
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