Beans Carrot Thoran | Kerala-Style Thoran for Onam Sadya {Recipe}

Since it's Republic Day, I wanted to make a tri-coloured green-orange-white dish today. I thought of making a tri-coloured sandwich with carrot and cilantro chutney. I thought of using the chutneys on a dosa. Finally, zeroed in on one of my favourite dishes, thoran, using carrots and beans.

Thoran is an everyday recipe in Kerala often made with pretty much any vegetable that comes our way. Freshly grated coconut is coarsely ground with jeera, ulli or shallots, green chillies or red chilli powder, and added to the par-boiled vegetables of choice. While cabbage thoran is the most popular thoran I believe, using a mix of carrots and beans can make a great-tasting Kerala thoran too.

Beans Carrot Thoran Recipe
Serves 4


Ingredients:
2 carrots
10-12 French beans
½ cup grated coconut
1 teaspoon jeerakam or cumin seeds
2-3 shallots or ulli
2 green chillies
¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
¼ teaspoon split urad dal (uzhunnu parippu), optional
2 teaspoon coconut oil
¼ teaspoon mustard seeds
A few curry leaves
Salt

How to Make Beans Carrot Thoran

1. Cut the beans and carrots into small pieces of equal size.
2. Heat oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds and uzhunnu if using. When the mustard pops, add the curry leaves and cut vegetables. Add turmeric and salt. Lower flame and cook stirring occasionally.
3. Coarsely grind coconut + jeera + shallots + chillies without adding water.
4. Once the carrots and beans are almost cooked, add the coconut mixture. Stir well and continue to cook until the vegetables are cooked through.

Serve hot with rice and any non-coconut based gravy like Ulli Theeyal or Kara Kuzhambu.

Here is wishing all my Indian readers a very happy Republic Day.

May we all live in peace and harmony just like the vegetables, coconut and masala in this curry blends to make a great-tasting dish.