FABULOUS FABA

Ancient superfood faba bean is set to stage a comeback

- VIBHA VARSHNEY

AS THE days grow longer and the air loses its chill, vegetable vendors in Delhi are seen pressing regular customers to buy a green bean that they call bakla phali. “Bahut kam aata hai bazaar mein (It rarely appears in the market)," they insist.

The vegetable, also called faba bean, fava bean or simply broad bean, is one of the earliest crops to be domesticated. French and Israel scientists have found records of a wild variety of the bean that was grown in the northwestern region of Israel some 14,000 years ago.

They published their findings in Scientific Reports in 2016. For centuries, the crop, also known as Vicia faba in scientific lexicon, was widely cultivated as a staple food in Mediterranean countries, India, China and Pakistan. Its demand and consumption have, however, seen a perceptible decline in recent decades. The use of faba bean is now limited to largely feed livestock or to preparing traditional dishes such as medamis (stewed beans), falafel (deep fried cotyledon paste with vegetables and spices), bissara (a soup or dip made with the seeds) and nabet soup (boiled germinated beans).

In India, V faba is grown in an unorganised manner in colder regions such as Uttarakhand. Preparation varies with state; in Uttar Pradesh, soft green pods are cooked with potatoes (see recipe), while in Uttarakhand the beans are de-stringed, boiled and fried. The dry seeds are treated like pulses, and cooked mixed with those of other legumes. People in Bihar even boil and fry green seeds with onions and tomatoes, to eat with flattened rice. Roasted and salted seeds of the bean is also consumed as a snack in northern Europe and the US, though in limited quantities.