Yardlong beans and Potato Sauteed

On our usual weekend getaways to my in laws, I would admire the way my father in law would pitch in to cook. He has a way of dealing with his vegetables, as if it were fragile and delicate. For this dish he would accurately measure out each bean and cut it with such precision, that itself is a wonder to see.

Ingredients:

Yardlong beans - 400gm cleaned and cut into 1inch pieces

Potato - 3-4 peeled and cut into fingers

Onion - 1 finely sliced

Garlic - 3-4 pods crushed

Green chilly - 1 finely chopped

Turmeric - 1/4 tsp

Aniseed - 1/4 tsp

Salt to taste

Cook the beans and potato with the turmeric and bit of salt and about a quarter cup of water in a non-stick pan till it becomes al dente or the water dries up and the vegetables are pan coated. In a frying pan, heat oil and saute the onions till browned. Add the crushed garlic and chilly, saute for another minute. Then tip in the beans and potato and fry till almost done. Add the aniseed powder and more salt if required and cook well.

Tip: The beans need to be nipped off at the ends. The beans could be held in bundles and hashed to get even sized pieces of about an inch.