Achinga Thoran (Long Beans Stir Fry With Coconut)
Thoran, a coconut-based stir-fry, is a quintessential element of Kerala lunches, with Malayalis adept at creating thorans from almost any vegetable offered.Despite achinga being a widely used vegetable in Kerala, my appreciation for it only developed recently—it was truly an acquired taste.While I usually prepare it as mezhukkupuratti (stir fry without coconut), I decided to switch things up and prepare a thoran this time.
Ingredients
- 1/2 kg Achinga (long beans)
- 3/4 cup Grated coconut
- A pinch Cumin seeds
- 1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
- 12-15 Small/pearl onion
- 1 tsp Chopped garlic
- 3- 4 Dried red chilli
- Salt
- 1/4 -1/2 tsp Mustard seeds
- 1 tbsp Coconut oil
- Curry leaves (2 sprigs)
Instructions
- Clean and trim the ends of achinga and cut into 1 inch long pieces.
- Crush together grated coconut, cumin, turmeric powder, small onion, garlic and dry red chilli into a corase paste. You can use a mortar and pestle or just pulse it once in a mixie.
- Heat oil in a wide pan and crackle the mustard seeds. Add the crushed coconut and curry leaves. Cook till the raw smell goes, around 4-5 mins on low flame.
- Add achinga with salt and mix well. Sprinkle a little water. Cover and cook till it's done, around 7-8 mins on low flame. Remove the cover, stir and continue to cook on low flame for another 2-3 mins and remove from fire.
- Serve with rice.
Notes
- You can adjust the qty of coconut to your liking. I like a good amount of coconut in my thoran, so I've used it accordingly.
- Make sure you stir it in between, so it doesn't stick to the bottom. Also sprinkle water in between, if required.
- The cooking time may vary depending on whether the beans are tender or not.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!