Green Beans Thoran
This recipe is endlessly adaptable, quick and easy.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil or a neutral oil such as grape seed
- 2 teaspoons mustard seed
- 2 teaspoons cumin seed
- 1 teaspoon fresh chile minced or pinch dried chile
- 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
- 3 cups green beans chopped into teensy quarter-inch rounds*
- 3/4 cup dried unsweetened coconut flakes
- sea salt to taste
- 1 sprig curry leaves if available **
- optional garnishes: chopped toasted cashews chopped cilantro
- 1 good squeeze of fresh lime juice about 2 teaspoons — more Caribbean than Keralan, but it adds a subtle spark of citrus
Instructions
- In a large skillet, preferably cast iron. heat the coconut or other neutral oil over medium-high heat.
- When the oil starts to shimmer, add the cumin and mustard seed. Stir then cover with a lid. The mustard seeds will pop in a matter of minutes. When the ruckus dies down, reduce heat to medium, add the chile and turmeric and tip in the chopped green beans.
- Stir so the green beans get a nice coating of the spiced oil, then add the coconut flakes and curry leaves, if you have them.
- Mix together and cook for another few minutes, until the coconut smells and looks toasty, and the green beans are still bright green but yield to the tooth..
- Turn off heat, add sea salt and, I suggest, a squeeze of lime juice. Pluck out the curry leaves and enjoy warm, room temperature or chilled.
Notes
*If you don’t want to trot out your knife skills for this, using a food processor is quick but the beans won’t be as pretty.
** Often sold frozen in Asian and Indian markets, and online from spice merchants including Spice Trekkers.
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