Poriyal is the Tamil word for stir fry. I have just harvested about 250 grams of young, tender, green beans from my kitchen garden. The dish I am making is a quick and easy poriyal - it takes 30 minutes including prep.
Most South Indian homes make vegetable poriyal as part of their daily food pyramid. In most cases rice is the starch, fish or chicken is the commonly used protein and any seasonal vegetable is the side dish. Yogurt is the most common dairy food and fruits form the sweets for the day. South Indian food is very healthy and easy to make as you will see from my recipes.
Coconut is a huge part of our cuisine and it is served up in various forms in the dishes. I usually have either desiccated or shredded coconut in the freezer that I use for the various recipes. If you are very particular, freshly shredded frozen coconut is available in most Indian grocery stores.
The thing about your own kitchen garden vegetables is that you have grown them from seed and looked after them. When they fruit, there are no words to describe the joy you feel when you pick them and eat them.
Ingredients:
250 grams of fresh green beans, washed.
1 red onion, chopped
2 green chillies, slit
2 tablespoons of shredded coconut, soaked in a tablespoon of boiling water from the kettle.
1 tablespoon oil
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
salt to taste.
Method:
Wash beans, top and tail them, and chop them.
In a wok, heat oil. Add the mustard seeds. When they crackle, add the onions and green chillies and sauté.
When the onions start getting golden, add the chopped green beans in. Stir well. Cover with a lid for 5 minutes. Do not add any water. The beans will cook in its own steam. After 5 minutes, stir in some of the soaked shredded coconut and salt to taste.
Serve hot as a side dish. The poriyal can be made with any vegetable of your choice. The trick is to have a crunch, bit of sweetness and a hint of heat.
No comments:
Post a Comment