Beans Thoran – Sautéed Beans with Coconut

The last bag of frozen beans for dinner tonight and I can wipe the freezer clean before I take off to India for a long work cum pleasure trip.

Thorans are vegetables cooked with spices and ground coconut very characteristic of the Kerala Cuisine. All tender firm vegetables are cooked mostly as either a Mezhukuverati or as a Thoran, in Kerala. Both, involve sautéed vegetable. But the latter has coconut and the former doesn’t.

 Ingredients

1 lb French cut frozen green beans, thawed or fresh beans, stringed and chopped fine
1 big shallot or 2-3 small ones
1-2 green chilies
2 cloves of garlic
1 cup fresh grated coconut / frozen coconut thawed
1 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp whole black mustard seeds
2 tsp raw white rice
2- 3 sprigs of curry leaves
1 whole red chili
salt to taste
2-3 tbsp water

Directions

Coarsely grind the shallots, green chilies, garlic, coconut, cumin, salt and turmeric in a food processor and set aside.

Heat oil in a  skillet. Add mustard, rice, red chili and curry leaves, sauté for a few seconds until the mustard pops and the rice swells up and turns golden.

Add the green beans, salt to taste and sauté for a couple of minutes.

Gather the beans together to make a mound .

Make a well at the center of the mound.

Pour the ground mixture into the well and cover the top with some of the beans.

Add 2 tbsp of water and close the skillet  tight with a fitting lid.

Reduce the heat to low, and cook approximately 10 -12 minutes until the beans are cooked and tender (add more water if needed, but be careful not to over cook it).

Mix all the ingredients together well, and serve hot with white rice.