Recipe: Fresh Fava Bean Pods with Yogurt (Bakla)

FOODS OF TURKEY

Many of us know fava beans out of their pod, perhaps pureed, or blanched for a healthy snack. But the essential ingredient of this classic Turkish dish is the fresh fava bean pods that are so young that they don’t even have the beans developed yet.

Instructions:

1.Add the cleaned (cut on two hard ends and cut into half) fresh fava pods in lemon water (using half of the lemon juice) and let them rest.
2.In a pressure cooker, put the olive oil and cook the finely diced green and dry onions until they soften but don’t burn or brown them.
3.Drain the pods and place them again in one glass of fresh lemon water. Add a tablespoon of flour in the water and mix.
4.Add the water with pods in the pressure cooker along with the onions.
5.Add chopped dill and salt to taste. Cook for 7 minutes.
6.When it is ready, let the “bakla” cool down to room temperature and serve it with garlic yogurt (minced garlic mixed with salted yogurt) decorated with a bit of dill on top.

Tip: Note that the measurement of water and the cooking time noted above are both applicable for cooking in a pressure cooker. If you would like to prepare this dish in a normal pot, make sure to increase the amount of water used and cook much longer, until the beans are tender.

Gulenden

Recipe: Fresh Fava Bean Pods with Yogurt (Bakla)

May 11, 2011

Fava Beans

Also known as broad beans or horse beans, these larger beans can be boiled as delightful additions to your salads or cooked and pureed for appetizers and spreads. This recipe, another wonderful classic from the Olive Oil Dishes category, uses fresh fava pods before they become the beans many of us know. The pods look like green beans but are typically larger with a darker green color.