Great Northern Beans Curry with Raw Green Jackfruit (Tingalore Kadgi Bendi)

Bendi is a popular style of Konkani curry mostly prepared in Mangalore and nearby regions. The base of the curry comprises of three usual suspects found in Konkani household - Coconut, Red Chillies (Byadgi chillies + Harekala chillies) and Tamarind, seasoned with a liberal garnish of Garlic crushed and seared in Coconut oil. This curry is very spicy in taste and has a flaming deep red color. Compared to other curries where the quantity of Coconut (grated) added is a lot, this curry makes use of lesser quantity of Coconut. The taste is spiced up with addition of lot of Red Chillies, especially Harekala Chillies to spruce up the heat and intensity of flavor.

In my opinion, Udupi and nearby regions resort to the other milder version of curry known as Koddel. Koddel is less spicy and has a rich coconut base because of addition of liberal amount of coconut to the curry paste.

Great Northern Beans (Raw and Soaked)

I used Great Northern Beans for this curry since I had them handy and the flavor of this bean is the same as Navy Beans. Usually, we use Tingalore, known and available as Navy Beans in US for this spicy curry in our home. Incidentally, Great Northern Beans belong to the Navy Beans family. Use Coconut oil for seasoning as it enhances and nurtures the authentic curry flavor.

~ Tingalore Kadgi Bendi ~
Preparation time: 8-10 hours (soak time)
Cooking time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:
Navy Beans or Great Northern Beans - 1 cup
Raw Green Jackfruit (fresh or frozen) - 2 cups
Salt

For Masala -
Grated Coconut - 5 tbsp/ cup of Beans
Red Chillies (Byadgi [5] + Harekala Chillies [3]) - 8
Tamarind pulp - 1 tsp

For Seasoning -
Garlic (crushed) - 6
Coconut Oil (ONLY)

Method:

Clean, wash the beans and soak them in ample amount of water overnight. The beans proliferate in size the next day around. Pressure cook them for 2-3 whistles along with jackfruit. Roast the red chillies in little oil for couple of minutes and allow to cool. Grind to a smooth paste along with grated coconut and tamarind pulp.
Bring the ground paste to a boil, adjust salt and water consistency as desired. Add the cooked beans and jackfruit now. Bring to a boil and simmer to cook for 5-8 minutes. Cook till the beans and jackfruit pieces are completely cooked. In a separate pan, heat few spoons of coconut oil and season with crushed garlic. Sear them till they get a reddish brown tinge. Pour this seasoning on the cooked curry. Cover with a lid and serve hot with Rice or Roti.

Note - I reduced the number of chillies, but one can increase it upto 10-12 chillies for more heat and flaming red color.