I started living in a Malayali hostel during my post-graduation which was a 180 degree flip from my previous hostel in Rajasthan. The food in my graduation hostel was closer to what I was used to eating at home. But the Malayali food was another palate altogether and it took me some getting used to. However, one sabzi that I instantly liked when I started staying there was this Beans and Carrot Thoran which is veg made with loads of coconut and small onion/shallots. There were different varieties of Thoran served at my hostel like Cabbage Thoran, Green Brinjal Thoran, Beetroot Thoran, and this Beans and Carrot Thoran and that was by far my favorite.

This sabzi takes under 15 minutes to took and is super flavorsome and simple to make. This is also made on Onam as part of the lavish Onam Sadya (Onasadya). You need lots of freshly grated coconut for this which gives a lovely flavor to the sabzi. I love adding garlic to it as well for a lovely flavor but feel free to skip it if you don’t wish to add them. Small onions/shallots taste the best with this recipe, but you can also add regular red onion if the small variety is not available. Here’s a quick recipe of this Kerala style Thoran, do give this a try and eat it with hot vegetable sambar and rice and you will love it.

PREPARATION TIME: 10 minute
COOKING TIME: 15 minute
SERVINGS: 1 bowl
DIFFICULTY SCALE: Low

INGREDIENTS:

  1. Beans – 200 gms
  2. Carrots – 2-3
  3. Coconut – 1/2 cup, grated
  4. Small Onion – 2-3, small
  5. Green chili – 1-2
  6. Garlic – 2-3 pods
  7. Curry leaves – 7-8
  8. Cumin – 1 teaspoon
  9. Coconut oil – 1 tablespoon
  10. Salt – to taste

UTENSILS/EQUIPMENT:

  1. Non-stick kadhai
  2. Wooden Spoon
  3. Grater

RECIPE:

  1. Grate the coconut with a grater. Take about 1/2 cup of the coconut.
  2. In a grinder jar, add 2-3 peeled shallot, grated coconut, garlic pods, green chilies, and cumin seeds.
Grind all the ingredients into a fine paste
Grind all the ingredients into a fine paste

3. Make a fine paste, I added a little water to make a smooth paste.
4. Wash and dice the beans into small pieces. Similarly, peel the carrots and dice into small pieces.

Diced Beans and Carrots
Diced Beans and Carrots

5. In a non-stick kadhai, add a little coconut oil and add some curry leaves to it.
6. Now add the ground paste and cook on low heat for 3-4 minutes until the raw smell of shallots goes away.
7. Mix in the diced beans and carrots and add salt. Mix well and cover with a lid and place on low heat.

Add the diced veggies and mix well
Add the diced veggies and mix well

8. Stir the veg with light hands once every 5 minutes. The sabzi should take about 10 minutes or so (might take slightly longer if the quantity is more).

Serve the Kerala style Beans and Carrot Thoran with rice or with chapatis.

Kerala style beans and carrots thoran with rotis
Kerala style beans and carrots thoran with rotis