Yogurt dip with Fava Beans ( Fava Raita)

Summers in Oregon are pretty crazy. This week it went from being rainy and cold to being sunny and hot. Its become so hard to depend on the weather to plan a party or go outdoors. But one thing I do enjoy about the summer-spring season are the arrival of Farmer's markets all across the town. My favorite part of going to one is looking at fresh spring fare and getting know and see vegetables that I have either seen in cookbooks or only heard off. 

Fresh Fava Beans 

On one such visit, I got to see Fava beans, used in middle-eastern cooking very frequently. I got really excited and picked up a bunch of those not knowing, what I was up for. When I went home and researched them I found out how much I needed to put in to enjoy these beans. Though these beans are a lot of work , the sheer joy of eating the fava beans is far greater than the pain involved in cooking them.

This is my favorite way to cook fava, which keeps the natural nutty taste of the beans and also gives a crunchy feel. I made up this raitha one morning to pack for lunch along with some rotis. Its rather easy to cook these in the morning, if you do a little planning the previous night. Here's what you 'll need to make the fava raita.

1- 1 1/2  cups - Greek Yogurt 

2- Serrano peppers  - cut lengthwise into 4 pieces

1 cup shelled Fava beans -( do this the previous night itself)

1/2 onion ( chopped finely)

1 tbsp Lemon juice 

5-6 stalks coriander (washed and chopped finally)

Ground Cumin - to taste

Salt - to taste.

Fava raita

Shell the fava beans and refrigerate them in an airtight box, so the first thing you do when you need to do when you want to cook the fava is, fill a pot with water a pinch of salt and set it to boil. Once the water is boiling add the fava beans and let cook for 5 minutes. Drain the beans and shock them in cold water. Now you can pinch the beans between your thumb and finger and the fava beans will pop out... This is a lot of fun to do. 

In a mixing bowl, add chopped onions, Serrano peppers, lemon juice, salt, ground cumin, fava beans and yogurt. Mix all of this together. If the mixture is too thick add 2-3 tbsp of water to make it easier to mix. Garnish with coriander leaves and your Fava raita is ready to be either eaten with roti or as a dip with your favorite crackers :)..

Fava bean raita

This entry is for Kirthi's and Denny's  " Serve it raw " blogging contest.