Long beans stir fry/ Long Beans thoran or Payaru
Thoran (as called in Malayalam) is usually served as a side dish during sadyas (wherein wide variety of vegetarian dishes are served on a banana leaf during the festival of onam, on weddings and on special occasions in the state of Kerala) along with steamed rice and curry.
I like this dish purely for
its simplicity and how easy and quick it is to make. Thoran is a dish made regularly in my home here in US as well as back in India. Usually it is served
along with rice but at home we happily eat it as a side dish with chapati or roti.
You can also make thoran using french beans or even collard greens. Whenever I buy collard greens I use this recipe. Just replace the long beans with cleaned
and chopped collard greens. It is a welcome change when you want something that
does not usually involve the everyday spices that we use to make curries or
sabjis.
Long beans or Yard long beans are very healthy and low in calories. They are rich in dietary fibre, Vitamin C, Vitamin A and folates. Hence long beans are very good to be included in your diet. This recipe as always was passed on to me by my dear mom. So here is the very simple yet yummy recipe of long beans thoran.
Ingredients:
2 cups yard long beans chopped
1 onion - medium sized chopped
3 - 4 curry leaves
1/2 cup of freshly grated coconut
1 - 2 small green chilies
1/2 tsp of cumin seeds
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 - 2 small garlic cloves
1/2 tsp of mustard seeds
2 tbsp of oil
Method:
1) In a mixer grinder/blender put together coconut, garlic, cumin, green chilies and turmeric. Give it a few pulses until everything is nicely combined with the coconut. Set this aside.
2) In a non stick pan heat up oil. Once hot add the mustard seeds and let it splutter. Add the onions and the curry leaves. Let the onions cook till translucent.
3) Now add the coconut mixture and saute for half a minute till raw smell of garlic goes away. Now add the chopped long beans and salt to taste. Mix everything nicely.
4) Sprinkle a little water so that the coconut doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan. Close the pan with a lid. Do mix in between. And finally let it cook for 10 - 12 mins until done.
Serve hot alongside your favorite curry and steaming hot rice. Also goes quite well with chapatis and rotis.
