Cheera thoran or Keerai Poriyal is a very simple and nutritious recipe, perfect for a weeknight if you are looking for a side-dish for your dal chawal, or sambar rice, or even curd rice. I love spinach and considering the abundance of spinach and most other greens in Singapore, this is a real treat for us!
Cheera Thoran Recipe (Keerai Poriyal)
Serves 2 to 4
Ingredients:
5 cups tightly packed chopped spinach leaves (a bunch)
1 cup grated coconut
4 shallots (or half of an onion)
2-4 green chillies
A pinch of turmeric powder
1/2 tsp jeera
2 tsp oil (I always use coconut oil for thoran)
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
A few curry leaves (optional)
1 dry red chilly, torn into half
Salt to taste
How I Made It:
1. Clean and chop the spinach fine. Drain well and set aside.
2. Grind together – coconut, shallots, green chillies, jeera and turmeric. If you don’t have a mixie, use a pestle and mortar to bring these ingredients together. If you don’t have that, then just finely chop the shallots and green chillies and mix well with the rest.
3. Heat the oil in a pan and thrown in the mustard seeds. When they pop, add the curry leaves and the halved red chilly. Fry for 10 seconds and add the coconut mixture. Fry that for 30 seconds and add the chopped spinach with some salt.
4. The spinach will give out water so cook well until all the water evaporates and you have a dry dish (about 5-7 mins)
Serve keerai poriyal with rice and dal, rice and sambar or rice and moru curry.
Just made this, with a local variety of greens called Ponnanganni.. so delicious! My late grandmother used to make something like this – I lost her when I’d only just developed an interest in cooking, and now I think a whole treasure recipes is lost with her. But eating this today reminded me of her so much. Thank you!
what a lovely thing to hear. i feel the same about my grandmom too..
I never knew taht spinach can be cooked with coconut…great idea..
This looks great Nags!! I'll be buying sum spinach this week n trying this out. Will combine it with ure kara kuzhambu!! Shall let u know how it turns out! Cant wait!!
Lovely recipe..Keep up the good work!
I am going to try cheera thoran, surely!!
@author
i have tried this recipe and my wife has liked the surprise dish. thanks for sharing it.
Ok how's this pronounced? wanna wow thatha thathi 😉
It should be delicious as it look like so I am impressed with!
Thank you for the post, I actually learned something from it. Really quality content on this site. Always looking forward to new article.
wow I'm feeling hungry.My fav thoran. I think something is new in this recipe.
Ah! Great post. It tastes like the "brown sauce" you get at a Chinese restaurant, only sweeter and tastier. The ingredients come together really nicely to make this very enjoyable!
Thanks
I found so many entertaining stuff in your blog, especially its discussion. From the tons of comments on your posts, I guess I am not the only one having all the leisure here!
Thanks.
The ingredients come together really nicely to make this post very enjoyable!
Thanks.
I have been looking into this for a long time, thanx.
Happy to find this post. Its a very useful post for me, as it contains lot of information. I always prefer to read the quality content and this thing I found in you post.Thanks for sharing.
Hmmm…. looks like delicious recipes has been shared…
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Thanks Jany, glad to have you around too, and hope you like the recipes 🙂
This is the first time I visit here. I found so many entertaining stuff in your blog, especially its discussion. From the tons of comments on your posts, I guess I am not the only one having all the leisure here! Keep up the excellent work.
that's such a lovely idea! thanks for trying 🙂
I was pleasantly surprised with the combination of flavors in this recipe. It tastes like a salad you might order at Applebee's, but healthier. I added honey to the "sauce" for sweetness and poured extra sauce over the finished salad as a dressing. Delicious and VERY FAST and EASY!
I think Cheera is very similar to amaranth… Normally in south-indian cooking we use more of these greens than palak, and amaranth is just one of them.
This is absolutely delicious! The sauce is good, but is made excellent with 1 tbsp honey. It tastes like the "brown sauce" you get at a Chinese restaurant, only sweeter and tastier. The ingredients come together really nicely to make this very enjoyable! Plus, I added peanuts for decoration and crunch.
I've already reviewed this recipe, but it's become such a favourite of mine that I had to..
I will have to try portrait mode pictures 🙂
This is very new recipe, Sounds fab! Great Click Nags! 😀
I am loving this dish. I could make this with the amaranth too. But without the coconut oil 🙂
Yes, that's my couch 🙂
my family's favorite thoran..i add some urad dal at the time of tempering to give it an xtra crunch!also if you mix it with rice,its spinach rice..btw…is that thoran resting on your couch? ;)..good click!
wonderful thoran nags..1st time to your fabulous space… do visit my site at your convenience…following you..
Nice thoran with nice clicks dear…keep rocking..
hi nags…
Lovely thoran .. quite ideal to go with a daily meal .. rice…
Been here a couple of times…
following u from now on 🙂
Do sneak a peek at my space when time permits.
Cheers
Sandhya
(http://www.sandhyas-kitchen.blogspot.com)
hi nags, healthy and delicious thoran….nice click too. im following u da.
I love both the recipe and the pictures very much 🙂
cheera thoran is always my fav.. u have done is so perfectly and love the wonderful clicks too.
never tried stir fries with green..except for chundal(that is spinach with mung dal)..this one looks yumm..
Looks so good..and you say it works with all greens? Great recipe!
That is a great looking thoran dear. Love your pictures, I will have to try portrait mode pictures 🙂
yeah as others , I love the click too ..spinach with ground coconut mixture is pretty new to me
Simply superb….. just love the click and the colour of thoran…….
That looks great. I have to try it!
Looks and and nice click…
My fav thoran..nice shot…