Simba Rai
Flat beans or popularly known as Simba in Odia are again one of our winter delights. Simba Rai is very strong flavored curry made out of fiery Besara sauce. Flat beans have unique earthy flavor which plays the charm with the strong pungent of mustard sauce. Alongside potatoes meddle well to make a balanced curry. The photos of the recipe were taken when I cooked it in 2015 when I was pregnant. Then I had craved for this lovely dish and cooked to relish it with some hot steamed rice.
My Granny owned a small creeper of Simba in her back yard. I would eagerly wait for Saturdays when my mom would drop me to granny’s place. Grandma would be ready to receive me with the warmest hug and with my favorite breakfast. She would make sure to take me for a round to all her neighbors and friends, showcasing me and talking about my school, my paintings and endless praises as a star. God?! How much I miss those days? It brings so much happiness when you are around your grandparents, as you always are a reason for their happiness.
After this small round of fun, she would take me to her backyard showing her various plants. She would touch each and every Simba (flat beans) on the creepers to make sure that each bean has grown enough to be plucked and if so, she’d pluck them. I would be more interested in those small purple flowers that enhanced the beauty of the plant and I would suggest her to let the creepers climb in the direction to make the house look beautiful.
After coming back to home, she’d cut these beans in a jiffy with her Paniki, the traditional knife she used in her kitchen to cut veggies. Then she would grind the mustard paste with the Sheela Pua, and believe me there is no better grinder in the world that Sheela Pua. And before I realize, she would come with hot steamed rice and the Simba Rai curry and I would slurp it like anything. And believe me, I would make sure not a single grain is left.
Simba Aloo Raee