or cooked like spinach. The flowers can be eaten raw or steamed. The root can be boiled or baked for food. The seeds are used to make tofu and tempeh. Food in South Asia In India lablab is called (in Gujarati). In Bangladesh and West Bengal, the green pods along with the beans, known as sheem (শিম), are cooked as vegetables or cooked with fish as a curry. In Kerala, it is known as , or (Malayalam: ). The beans as well as the bean pods are used in cooking curries. The bean pods are also used (along with spices) for preparing a stir-fried dish known as . In Tamil Nadu, it is called avarai or avaraikkaay (Tamil: அவரைக்காய் / அவரை). The entire bean is used in cooking dry curries and in sauces/gravies such as sambar. The seed alone is used in many recipes and is referred to as mochai (Tamil: மொச்சை / மொச்சைக்கொட்டை). In Maharashtra, dry preparations with green masala are often made out of these green beans (ghevda varieties; Shravan ghevda (French beans), bajirao ghevda, ghevda, walwar, pavta sheng) mostly at the end of monsoon season during fasting festivals of Shravan month. In Karnataka, the hyacinth bean is made into curry (avarekalu saaru)(), salad (avarekaalu usli), added to upma (avrekaalu uppittu), and as a flavoring to Akki rotti. Sometimes the outer peel of the seed is removed and the inner soft part is used for a variety of dishes. This form is called hitakubele avarekalu, which means "pressed (hitaku) hyacinth bean," and a curry known as hitikida avarekaalu saaru is made out of the deskinned beans. In Telangana and Andra Pradesh, the bean pods are cut into small pieces and cooked as a spicy curry in the Pongal festival season. Sometimes the outer peel of the seed when tender and soaked overnight is removed and the inner soft part is used for a variety of dishes. This form is called pitakapappu hanupa/anapa, which means "pressed (pitaku) hyacinth bean, and a curry known as pitikina anapaginjala chaaru/pitaka pappu is made from the deskinned beans and eaten along with bajra bread. Food in Southeast and East Asia In Huế, Vietnam, hyacinth beans are the main ingredient of the dish chè đậu ván (Hyacinth Bean Sweet Soup). In China, the seeds are known as Bai Bian Dou. They are usually dried and baked before being used in traditional Chinese herbal remedies