From Your Blogs: Green Beans with Coconut (Green Beans Thoran)

French beans or green beans are a favorite of mine, I love them in my soups, stews and curries.
This time though,I wanted to try out a new way of making them. I stumbled upon a South Indian recipe that was so easy and sounded just delicious! So, for a quick supper last week with rotis,  I made some Green Beans with coconut.

Here is the recipe verbatim from the blog "Denufood". 

I didn't add the onions, but the rest was the same, and it was delicious! 

French Beans Bhaji:

Ingredients:

3 cups green beans, chopped

1/2 cup onions, chopped (optional)

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp green chilies, chopped

3 –4 curry leaves

1 tbsp oil

1 tbsp grated coconut

pinch of turmeric

salt to taste

1. Heat oil in a pan or skillet

2.Add the mustard seeds, as they crackle, add onion, curry leaves, and green chilies and saute

3. Add the chopped beans and saute for couple of minutes.

4. Add in the turmeric, salt and fresh or frozen grated coconut and keep sautéing for 7 –10 minutes.(I like the beans to be crunchy in this type of recipe so I don’t prefer it cooking with lid covered)

5. Garnish with coconut and the serve as side or with chapati.

Enjoy!

 

Rustic Gujarati Series: Bell Peppers with Peanuts and Sesame Seeds

Ground peanuts and sesame seeds make up the base for this colorful, and delicious dry curry. I had many bell peppers on hand and wanted to make something different than the usual. I am so glad I tried this....and the great thing about this is that you can add any other veggies that you like to give it your own touch. Here is what you need:

3-4 bell peppers, any color you like!
1/2 cup peanuts, dry roasted and ground
3-tbsp sesame seeds, toasted
ginger-garlic-chili paste ( to your taste)

1 tbsp-Oil, 1 tsp each-cumin seeds,mustard seeds
Turmeric, Coriander powder, Garam Masala - to your taste
Salt, and a pinch of sugar - to taste
lemon juice, and cilantro (optional)

Dry roast the peanuts and sesame seeds until golden. Let it cool and grind to a coarse powder. Mix the ground mixture with the ginger-garlic-chili paste, garam masala and salt.

Meanwhile, wash and dry the peppers. Cut them into chunks.
Heat the oil in a wide pan, add the cumin/mustard seeds and let them pop. Add the bell peppers and quickly saute them, coating them with the oil. Sprinkle the peanut-sesame mixture on top and stir well so that it coats the bell peppers nicely. Add the seasonings, adjust the taste and let it cook on medium heat until cooked through. Stir often, and sprinkle with lemon juice and cilantro at the end if you like!
Serve hot. I had this as a side dish because it is quite dry. It make a great accompaniment to any meal though.

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Carrot, Onion and Corn Kachumber

I love having some sort of a salad with my meals, especially our Indian 'kachumbers'.
The usual tomato and onion or even the famous Gujarati "Cabbage-carrot sambharo" fare can be pretty mundane day after day so I try and make something different each time.
This time, I made this unusual combination of Carrots, Onions and Corn. It turned out to be delicious, and I'll be making it again!
This goes really well with chapatis, and is SO simple!

Ingredients:

2 Carrots, Sliced
1 small red Onion, Sliced
1/2 cup - frozen Corn
1 small chili or Jalapeno, Sliced
1 tbsp, Olive Oil
1/4 tsp - Cumin Seeds and Mustard Seeds
Salt, Turmeric, Sugar, garam masala (optional), - to taste
A pinch of Dhania-jeera powder
Cilantro - to garnish

In a pan, heat the oil and add the Cumin and Mustard seeds, when they sizzle, add the chilis/jalapenos. Now add the onions and saute for 2 minutes. Add the corn and the carrots and the seasonings. Stir well and let it cook until the veggies are soft. Serve hot with some Chapatis as a side dish.
Enjoy!

Tip: Make a COLD version of this Kachumber by adding some chaat masala, Jeera powder and black pepper.