December 02, 2009

Beans Carrot Mezhukkuparatti or Stirfry





How many kinds of vegetables do you buy? All kinds indiscriminately or do u end up getting the same set week after week? Do you get excited by new veggies in other households? Do the experimentally bought veggies get relegated to the back of the drawer and only resurface during fridge clean up? Do you stereotype veggies as mallu, gujju, punjabi, marathi etc? Do you feel that certain vegetables taste like a particular cuisine no matter what you make with it? I am as guilty as you are and the only reason I can think of is environment. We tend to attach foods to a weather, a place, a cuisine that we first ate it in, a way of cooking...and to break out of that mold is difficult.


Some vegetables though are universal.. carrots and beans.. if I did an blog event with just carrot and beans as the theme, we would get flooded with entries from every corner of the world...Can you imagine if the theme was banana flower/Koombh or vazhakkatholi/ banana peels instead? Almost every cuisine uses these two veggies, alone or in combination.

This is just another recipe from my family kitchen, with the modification of more garlic and blanching the beans. Back in Kerala, I don't think they add as much garlic but I like the flavor and started adding it to the beans. It's a safe staple with the kids and on the table every week. Blogging and reading blogs has made other veggies more familiar and introduced us to many new ones but these two still hold a special place. This preparation is one way to spice up the sweetness of the carrots and beans, if you are bored with the thorans.
It goes well with the rice and yogurt based curries and even with rotis. Reduce the red pepper flakes for the kids or just add one broken long dried red chili.

You could also make this with the baby green beans which cook instantly ..add just lots of garlic and red chili flakes with them . No need to blanch these beans.

You will need:
Carrots-2 long ones
Fresh Green Beans- about 3 handfuls
Turmeric-A pinch
Shallots- 4-5 peeled
Garlic-3 or 4 cloves
Dried Red Chili Flakes -1/2 tsp
Curry leaves- 1 sprig
Oil-1 or 2 tbsp (coconut oil is yum in this recipe)
Salt to taste

Preparation:

Wash and cut the beans into inch long pieces. Peel, wash and cut the carrots into a similiar sized pieces.

Boil a cup of water in a saute pan and add the cut veggies to it. Let it cook for 4-5 minutes just to get the raw bite out of it. Do not add too much water for the blanching. Drain the veggies and keep aside. Rinse in cold water just once to retain the sharp colors.

Crush the garlic, shallots and the red chilies( whole chilies or flakes, spicy or mild as per taste') in a mortar and pestle.

 Heat the oil in a small wok/pan and as it heats up, add the curry leaves and then add the crushed mixture. Saute till the raw smell disappears and then add the drained vegetables. Add the turmeric and salt and stir fry for about 5 to 10 minutes, depending on how cooked, fried and wilted you like it. The oil is what makes it cook further without burning so if it is browning unevenly , it needs more oil.  Customise to your salt and spice level. Serve with rice.

15 comments:

Rekha shoban said...

looks colourful and very healthy one.

lan said...

beautiful colors. good to see you cooking in earnest again! carrot is the only vegetable that moves in our house. the kids love to eat them.

Finla said...

Beautiful, yeah mom used to make this, she made the combination when she didn't had any of the veg enough so she combined to make them.
I agree with Ian my daughter only eats carrots and then also peas.

shankari said...

a tiny bit of coconut for me :)

PJ said...

nice recipe! simple, healthy and delicious :) Trying out new vegetables is kind of getting to be a theme for me now. I have a lot of fun visiting farmers markets every weekend and looking for a new vegetable to try. Many times the first tries of a new vegetable are disastrous but there are occasionally some keepers :). I so agree with you though about associating food with the environment at first time you ate it.

Miri said...

My tamil roots are itching to add some coconut gratings to this - I love porials and beans and carrots are my favorite!!

Anaswara said...

Hey... are you watching me...? B'cos it's the same thing I used to make in my kitchen some days... as 'happy cook' said, when i don't have any of the veg enough to make a single curry... in the same way, i used to make brocoli with couliflower too... that also works for my family...

Bharathy said...

This is how we make beans mezhukkupuratti!..Exactly the same way!! :)
Made this just a few hours back for Lunch! :)..havent tried with carrot combination..sure to make with them, next!..:)

AdukalaVishesham said...

very colorful and easy to make also good one

Shah cooks said...

Rekha, colorful..and healthy if the oil is controlled.

Ian,don't want to jinx the veggie intake for now.:)

Happy cook, the combination veggies creates a strong feeling in most people.. either they like it or they dislike it totally.

Shankari, i don't add coconout to the stirfry ones, only to the thorans..a habit i guess.

pj,trying out veggies are fun but when the family rejects it, i keep going back to the staples.

Shah cooks said...

Miri, ur poriyals are like a blend of our thorans and mezhukkuparatti, right?

Bharathy, Good to know u make it the same way.. do u add as much garlic?

Answara, broccoli with cauliflower is also done but some how every body likes broccoli lightly cooked and cauliflower fried with more spices.

s said...

im bored of eating this..but the pic makes me crave it...

Jayashree said...

I try and buy different veggies each week and if something new catches my eye, I end up buying it.
Carrot and beans mezhukkupuratti is my daughter's favourite.

s said...

love the colour and the picture. I know carrots and beans are a safe bet..being healthy as well as universally liked as well....

Unknown said...

I totally agree with u that carrots are versatile. Simple n yummy looking dish.