Mochai and avarai are lablab or hyacinth bean, sem in Hindi, one of South India’s commonest beans. The flat green pods, avarakkai, are a daily vegetable, and the fresh seeds, avarekalu, are so loved in Bengaluru that a winter Avarebele Mela is held for them. Dried field beans go into Tamil mochai kottai kuzhambu. Tamil mochai has no link to the coffee called mocha.
- Botanical name
- Lablab purpureus (L.) Sweet
- Family
- Fabaceae
- Tamil
- Mochai
- Hindi
- Sem
- Sanskrit
- Niṣpāva
- Parts used
- Young pod, Dried seed after cooking
- Habit
- Hyacinth bean; pods and seeds are cooked before eating
- Last updated
- 2026-10-27
How to recognise Mochai
It is a vigorous twining vine, sometimes grown as a bush, with three broad, pointed leaflets per leaf.
Purple or white pea-flowers grow in long upright spikes above the leaves.
The pods are flat, broad and slightly curved, green or purple, with a pointed tip.
The seeds are oval and flattened, white, brown, red or black, with a long white scar along one edge.
Sword bean has much larger pods, and common bean has rounder pods with no long scar on the seed.
Traditional use of Mochai
Kitchen
Avarakkai poriyal, chopped pods with coconut, is an everyday Tamil side dish.
Tamil food practice
Kitchen
Fresh avarekalu seeds are cooked into akki rotti, upma and saaru in Karnataka in winter.
Kannada food practice
Kitchen
Dried mochai kottai is soaked and cooked into a tamarind kuzhambu.
Tamil food practice
Modern notes on Mochai
The beans are rich in protein and fibre.
Raw seeds contain lectins and small amounts of cyanogenic compounds, which cooking destroys.
It is grown as fodder and cover crop in Africa and Australia because it tolerates drought.
Mochai safety
Always cook pods and seeds thoroughly. Soak dried beans, discard the water, and boil them well.
Ecology and sourcing
It probably originated in Africa and was domesticated early in India.
Carpenter bees and honeybees pollinate the flowers.
It fixes nitrogen and tolerates poor, dry soil.
Related plants
Also in Fabaceae
Questions about Mochai
Is mochai the same as avarai?
Both are names for lablab bean.
What is avarekalu?
Fresh lablab seeds, a Karnataka winter favourite.
Is Mochai related to coffee mocha?
No. The names only sound alike.
Can Mochai be eaten raw?
No. Cook it thoroughly.
What is sem?
The Hindi name for lablab bean.
Sources
- Lablab purpureus (L.) Sweet — Plants of the World Online, Kew (search) (accessed 2026)
- Wikidata item Q1077410 (Lablab purpureus)
Educational page about a plant. It is not medical advice, not a diagnosis, and not an offer to sell. Traditional use is historical. If you need care, ask a licensed clinician. Questions: hello@meevamed.com.