Fresh Fava Bean & Green Garlic Rice

Fresh Fava Bean & Green Garlic Rice by DK on May 28, 2012

Its the season for Fava Beans yet again. I love them. It takes time (read as patience) to prepare them but well for me, they are worth the effort. For some inexplicable reason, I find the whole process of chucking, boiling and then squeezing the real thing out - therapeutic. I take that time to meditate ( not the "ooooooohhhhmmmmmm" types, but more like fantasizing about what I will be 10 yrs from now! Err...you might call it "day dreaming", I choose to call it "meditating"; may be 'cos it sounds way better and important!)

The other day, during my usual gander at the Farmer's market, these green beauties caught my eye (and fancy). I got a bunch home and went through my therapy session :). I was thinking of making the Bissara Dip but changed my mind to make this Grilled Paneer and Fava Bean Salad. I did not use all the fava beans for it and had some left over.

Cook time: Under 15 min
Prep time: 30 min to 1 hour
Serves: 2 people

Ingredients

10 oz (280 grams) shelled Fava Beans
1 cup long grained Rice
1 tsp Cumin seeds (optional)
1 large (abt 3 oz/80 grams) Green Garlic, or to taste - trimmed and sliced thinly
1 Onion, chopped
1/4-1/2 tsp dried Thyme (see Tips)
Few Mint leaves for garnish

Tips

1. Thyme and Mint : I read somewhere that Fava Beans goes well with the herb Savory. But since I did not have it on hand I used a mix of thyme and mint as a substitution since I personally think that Savory tastes as a cross between these two herbs. If you can find Savory, go ahead and use it instead. But if you don't get what the fuss is all about, just throw whatever herb suits your purpose :)

2. Ghee: For the non-purist, try few drops of ghee instead. Trust me, this simple rice tastes out of this world with Ghee. :)

Method

1. Boil water and then lightly salt it. Add the fava beans and cook for about 5-8 minutes.

2. When it gets all pale in color and crinkly in appearance

3. drain them in a colander. Show them under running cold water to stop further cooking.

4. Press one end lightly so that the outer covering breaks to let the real thing out :)

5. P.S: Yes, its cumbersome but well good things come in difficult to open packages ;)

6. Heat 1-2 tsp olive oil/butter (see Tips) in a pan. Add the cumin (if using) along with the onion and green garlic. Add thyme and saute for few seconds.

7. Add the rice to it. Stir for another 5 minutes or until the rice is toasted.

8. Add 2 cups water (more or less depending on the quality of rice) along with salt. Give it a light stir

9. and close it with a lid.

10. When its about 90% cooked, add the fava beans to it.

11. Stir to give it a good mix. Close the lid and cook until completely done.

12. Add the mint and give it a mix.

Serve hot. It made a simple meal for us. I served these with Spicy Black eyed Peas Curry.

And as i mention in the Tips section, few drops of ghee enhanced this rice to a whole new level. I realized it only when I added some for my little one. It tasted so much better that I added some for our portion too :) Well, may be I am biased with the ghee (I mean everything tastes so much better with ghee), but for some reason I thought the fava tasted awesome with it. Its your call though - whatever works for you and your family.