Yardlong Bean

• The Yardlong Bean (Vigna unguiculata subsp. sesquipedalis) is a long, thin Asian bean, also known as the long-podded cowpea, asparagus bean, snake bean, or Chinese long bean.
• It can measure from one to three feet in length, but are best eaten when they are 12 to 20 inches long, before they reach full maturity
• It is a bean with a mild taste, similar to a Western string bean, that is grown in varieties identified by color as either light (pale) green or dark green beans.
• The plant is of a different genus than the common bean. It is grown primarily for its strikingly long (35-75 cm) immature pods and has uses very similar to that of a green bean.
• It is a vigorous climbing annual vine. The plant is subtropical/tropical and most widely grown in the warmer parts of Southeastern Asia, Thailand, and Southern China.
• They are a good source of protein, vitamin A, thiamin, riboflavin, iron, phosphorus, and potassium, and a very good source for vitamin C, folate, magnesium, and manganese.
• The crisp, tender pods are eaten both fresh and cooked. They are at their best when young and slender. Use before they reach full maturity.

French Beans - Green Beans

• French beans are tender, slender beans with green, rounded pods, 4 to 6 inches (10 to 15 cm) long. French beans are smaller than common green beans and have a soft, velvety pod.
• The pods are eaten whole, including the immature seeds, when they are still young, juicy and tender.
• Quite fleshy for their size, only tiny seeds inhabit these delicate pods. They have a delicate texture and sweet flavor.
• French beans generally grow as a bush, which grows twelve to twenty inches tall depending upon the variety you decide to grow. However there are some varieties that climb similar to runner beans, these varieties grow up to seven foot tall.
• There are three commonly known types of green beans: string or runner beans, string less or French beans (depending on whether the pod has a tough, fibrous "string" running along its length), and snap beans, with a thin flat pod that requires less cooking time.
• French Beans are one of the most commonly eaten green beans in India. Most Indian households make French beans as a dry vegetable either with cubed potatoes or without them.
• French beans contain phosphorus, vitamins A, B, D and starch, much iron, which aid blood cells production.
• Vitamin B in them benefits the spleen and kidneys.
• They help to alleviate swelling stomach, bad appetite, premature ejaculation, and frequent urination.
• French beans are neutral in nature and can be consumed frequently.

Guar Ki Phalli / Cluster Bean

• The Guar ki Phalli or Cluster Bean (Cyamopsis tetragonolobus) is an annual legume and the source of guar gum.
• It grows best under conditions with frequent rainfall, but tolerates arid conditions well.
• About 80% of world production occurs in India.
• Young, fresh cluster beans have a narrow and long body with tiny pods. They are harvested for vegetable use.
• From the mature pods the seeds are harvested to be dried and powdered to flour known as guar gum. Guar gum is used as thickening agent in commercial food preparations like ice creams and as a stabilizer in cheese and cold-meat processing.etc.
• Cluster Beans are not only low in calories but are also very effective in lowering the blood sugar and cholesterol levels.

Guar ki Phalli Chopped

Chhappan Kaddu (Summer Squash)

• Chhappan Kaddu (Summer Squash) also known as vegetable marrow (Cucurbita pepo) is the common vegetable in UK.
• The fruits may be green, whitish or irregularly striped green and white. The flesh is white with no cavity and the seeds are embedded in the flesh.
• The short stalk of the fruit is hard and deeply furrowed with 5 or 8 ridges and is only slightly swollen where it joins the fruit
• They are related to the zucchini. They have a very bland flavor and can be stuffed with stuffing.
• The fruit is used immature and is a boiled vegetable.
• These are available in North India especially in Punjab during the summer months.

Seim Ki Phalli ( Indian Broad Beans / Dolichos Beans)

English Name : Dolichos Beans/Hyacinth Beans

Common Indian Name (Hindi): Seim ki Phalli

• Indian Broad Bean or Seim ki Phalli or Dolichos Bean is an ancient legume crop which has believed to have originated in Asia.
• It is now grown for food throughout much of the world. It is a very popular plant in China where it has been grown on fences and trellises in back yards for centuries.
• It is an important food source in tropical Africa and Asia. In the United States, it is usually grown as an ornamental plant
• Bean plant is an excellent nitrogen fixer and is sometimes grown as a cover crop or for livestock fodder.
• Young immature pods have a strong, beany flavor and are cooked and eaten like green beans (older pods may need to be de-stringed).
• Young leaves are eaten raw in salads and older leaves are cooked like spinach. Flowers are eaten raw or steamed. The large starchy root tubers can be boiled and baked. The immature seeds can be boiled and eaten like any shelly bean.

Destringed Seim ki Phalli

Banana Pepper

• The banana pepper (also known as the yellow wax pepper or banana chili) is a member of the chili pepper family.
• Its shape and color resembles a banana.
• Its flavor is mild to moderately hot (0–500 Scoville Units),
• Its hotness depends on the maturity of the pepper, with the most ripe being sweeter than younger ones.

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Gilki Turai / Sponge Gourd (Luffa)

English Name: Sponge Gourd / Luffa/ Egyptian Luffa

Common Hindi Name: Gilki / Chikni Turai

• Luffa is 1-2ft long, cylindrical, smooth skinned gourd. The interior contains white flesh.
• It is an annual climbing vine, grown both for its edible fruits and as a source of sponges.
• The young fruits, when small, (around 6 inches) are cooked like other vegetables. They are also used in soup or stew.
• The older fruits produce a fibrous vascular system. This fibrous structure is bleached and dried to be used as a sponge. The sponge can be used as bathroom sponge, packing material, for making crafts, and as filters. It is environmentally safe, biodegradable and a renewable resource.