Dambala (Winged Beans)


§  Goa bean
§  Four Angled Beans
§  Goa bean
§  Four Angled Bean
§  දඹල -Dambala (Sinhala)
§  Kacang botol (Malay)
§  Kecipir (Indonesian)
§  Jaat (Sundanese)
§  Sigarillas (Tagalog)
§  sirahu avarai (Tamil)
§  Chathura Payar (Malayalam)
§  ถ้วพู Tua phoo (Thai)
§  đậu rồng (literally: dragon bean) (Vietnamese)

Dambala also known as the Winged bean (Psophocarpus tetragonolobus), Goa bean, Asparagus Pea and as shown above, is a tropical legume plant native to Papua New Guinea. It grows abundantly in hot, humid equatorial countries, from the Sri Lanka, Philippines and Indonesia to India, Burma and Thailand. It does well in humid tropics with high rainfall.

Dambala or Winged bean flowers in our own home garden.
The winged bean plant grows as a vine with climbing stems and leaves, 3-4 m in height. It is an herbaceous perennial, but can be grown as an annual. It is generally taller and notably larger than the Common bean. The bean pod is typically 15-22 cm (6-9 in) long and has four wings with frilly edges running lengthwise. The skin is waxy and the flesh partially translucent in the young pods. When the pod is fully ripe, it turns an ash-brown color and splits open to release the seeds. The large flower is a pale blue. The beans themselves are similar to soybeans in both use and nutritional content (being 29.8% to 39% protein). Yet, there are different views on how these nutrients could absorb in the human digestive system.

However, the plant is one of the best nitrogen fixers with nodulation accomplished by the soil bacterium Rhizobium. Because of its ability to fix nitrogen from the atmosphere, the plant requires very little or no fertilizers.
Being a tropical plant, it is sensitive to frost. It will not flower if day length is less than 12 hours. The seeds have a hard coat and it helps to soak them before planting to hasten germination. The plant grows very quickly, reaching a length of four meters in a few weeks.

USES

This bean has been called the "one species supermarket" because practically all of the plant is edible. The beans are used as a vegetable, but the other parts (leaves, flowers, and tuberous roots) are also edible. The tender pods, which are the most widely eaten part of the plant (and best eaten when under 1" in length), can be harvested within two to three months of planting. The flowers are often used to color rice and pastries. The flavor of the beans has a similarity to asparagus. Dambala / Winged beans in our own home garden. It you planned to grow your own vegetable, this could be the first to select as it grows well.

The young leaves can be picked and prepared as a leaf vegetable, similar to spinach. The roots can be used as a root vegetable, similar to the potato, and have a nutty flavor; they are also much more rich in protein than potatoes. The dried seeds can be useful as a flour and also to make a coffee-like drink.
Each of these parts of the winged bean provide a source of
  • Vitamin A,
  • Vitamin C, calcium,
  • Iron and other vitamins.
  • The seeds contain 35% of protein and
  • 18% of oil.

Nutritional Value

Nutritious winged beans offer an abundance of essential nutrients, including protein, complex carbohydrates, the B vitamins, calcium, iron and fiber. Low in sodium, one-half cup contains about 126 calories.
Eating five daily servings of fruits and vegetables lowers the chances of cancer. A recent study found that eating nine or ten daily servings of fruits and vegetables, combined with three servings of low-fat dairy products, were ef

1 comment:

  1. Dont tell lies, Dambala doesn't have a any Nutritious

    ReplyDelete