Sword Beans – The Forgotten Native Super Bean🌿

Hello All!😀 I'm indeed super excited to welcome you all to another super cool episode on our native super bean called "Sword Beans" locally known as “தம்பட்டை அவரை (Thambattai Avarai)”

Actually, we have two varieties of sword beans, one grows as creeper and the other one is a plant variety. In today's episode we will be talking about the sword beans that grows as a plant.    

In a world filled with hybrid vegetables and imported foods, native crops like Sword Beans stand out as a symbol of traditional nutrition and resilience.  In recent days, it is getting very hard to find out something that is truly natural to consume, let it be vegetables or fruits. As you know, we in GIFTA SEEDS cultivate our native vegetables, tubers and spinach varieties in order to get bring native vegetables and fruits to people around us and also  be build a community for saving those native seeds.  One such rare, nutrient-rich traditional variety is sword beans, reconnecting us with the wisdom of our ancestors and the taste of nature itself.

🌱 What are Sword Beans?

Sword beans are long, firm pods resembling a sword😉 which is how they got their name. As you can see the picture of sword beans they aren't like a normal beans. They are one of the oldest cultivated bean varieties in South India and have been a part of traditional village diets for generations.

These beans thrive beautifully in warm tropical climates and are often grown organically in home gardens and farms.

🌸 The Beautiful Bloom of Sword Beans

Before the long green pods appear, the sword bean plant decorates the garden with clusters of delicate white and baby pink flowers. These blossoms look soft and graceful, spreading a gentle fragrance that attracts bees and butterflies. 🌼 To be frank I love to grow this sword beans to admire the beauty of these magical blooms, seriously they look gorgeous. 😍 Watching these blooms slowly transform into the firm, sword-shaped pods is one of the most rewarding sights of the season.

💪 Nutritional Value of Sword Beans

Sword beans are a powerhouse of nutrition, loaded with plant protein, vitamins and minerals:

🌾 Rich in Protein – Builds strength and supports healthy muscles.

🌿 High in Fiber – Keeps digestion smooth and aids gut health.

💚 Contains Iron & Folate – Supports healthy blood and prevents fatigue.

🧄 Antioxidant-Rich – Helps detoxify and protect the body from inflammation.

🩺 Traditional Medicine Value – Known in Ayurveda for balancing blood sugar and supporting kidney health.

🍲 How Sword Beans Are Used

The young tender pods can be cooked just like broad beans or cluster beans. They blend beautifully in:

📌Traditional South Indian curries (poriyal, kootu, or sambar)

📌Stir-fried dishes with coconut and spices

📌Even dried and used in dals or powdered for herbal mixes

Their slightly earthy flavor makes them both nutritious and unique! It is always suggested to harvest the young pods to cook, once they mature it will be hard for us to digest in that case we just use the beans inside the matured sword beans.

As a whole we love bringing back forgotten native crops. You can reach us for native seeds and yes!! Sword beans grow easily without heavy fertilizers or pesticides making them a true farm-to-home crop. They enrich the soil with nitrogen and support sustainable agriculture. Growing these native beans reminds us of the taste of tradition and the deep connection between health and soil.

Okay then, will meet you soon with another rare variety in our upcoming episodes!! Until then #stay tuned with GIFTA🕊️SEEDS, if there is any queries feel free to mention them in the comments below.  And yes!! if you feel it's useful don't forget to share it with your friends and families whom you care the most and to people who wish to care for Nature💚

 #Happy Gardening #Let's grow together