Green Beans Poriyal is a South Indian style stir fried dish that is a perfect vegetarian side dish for any meal!
Poriyal is a simple South Indian style stir fried vegetable side dish. It can be made with green beans, carrots, shredded cabbage, shredded beetroot amongst other vegetables. It is typically served as part of a South Indian thaali complete meal with rice, Sambar and other delicious dishes.
This is a perfect beginners recipe as it takes few ingredients, very little time to cook and does not have to be spicy! It can be a great fusion dish and can become a side dish to any western meal as well. Softened onions, and topped with grated sweet coconut, this is a quick fix yummy dish.
The worst mistake you can make is overcook green beans, no one likes mushy green beans. Cook it just enough to soften it and still retain a little bit of crunch. Remember you can eat raw green beans, so better to leave them slightly undercooked than overcooked.
I had this dish for the first time at a friend, Akshata’s house. Of all the yummy dishes her mom had made, this is the one I remember the most. Since then it has become a common side dish to Indian or western meals alongside grilled chicken, baked fish or even steak. It always amazes me how great it turns out considering how fuss free and simple it is to make!
Makes: 3-4 servings
Time: 15 mins
Ingredients for the chicken:
- 2 cups of Fresh green beans (prepped).
- 1 cup small diced onion
- 1 tsp Ginger Garlic paste
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp oil
- 5-6 curry leaves
- 1/2 tsp Mustard seeds (rai)
- 1/4 tsp Cumin seeds (jeera)
- 1/4 cup shredded coconut
- 1 green chili chopped very small or ground to a paste
- 1/4 tsp white pepper powder (safed miri)
- 1 tbsp urad dal (optional)
- 1/4 tsp turmeric powder (haldi) – optional
- To prep the green beans wash, trim both ends, and cut into 1/2″ long pieces.
- In a nonstick pan on medium heat, add oil, rai, jeera, curry leaves, urad dal and heat till they splutter.
- Add onion and stir fry for 2 mins till they soften, no need to color them.
- Add ginger garlic paste and green chilis, stir fry for another min.
- Add green beans, salt, pepper, stir, cover and cook for 6-8 mins. Stir in between to ensure its not sticking. Do not add any water, this will overcook them and give a mushy texture.
- Stir in Coconut and turn off the heat.
- Serve hot, sprinkle coconut on top for garnish.
Tips:
- For this dish use only fresh ingredients, frozen or canned will not work. To have the crunchy texture, fresh green beans work the best.
- You can also add 1/8 cup of chopped peanuts to give it another dimension of flavor and crunch.
- The same recipe can be used for shredded cabbage and carrots which is another great vegetarian variation.