BEAN SPROUT Or CHERUPAYAR MULAPICHATHU or MOONG DAL THORAN

BEAN SPROUT Or CHERUPAYAR MULAPICHATHU or MOONG DAL THORAN: Bean Sprout as we all know is a very healthy and nutritious option. But none of us are fantasised by the option of having it. Some of us adults and even very small kids cannot have sprouts raw because of gastric issues. Sprouts for babies and toddlers should be cooked as they are prone to gastric issues as their digestive system is not well developed. Some of us even do not like its raw taste too. This recipe would definitely bring a change to all that. But always remember sprouts are highly nutritious in their raw form. The more we cook them, the nutrition level decreases.

The speciality of moong dal apart from its high level of protein and fibre content is that it has zero cholesterol and has good amounts of magnesium also. Around 100 grams of cooked moong dal provides only  105 calories. Sprouts are even called as super foods. The carbohydrates and calories decreases almost by 15% in moong dal sprouts as compared to the ordinary moong dal where as their protein and other vitamin and mineral contents increase significantly.

This recipe should very well be incorporated with your breakfast, lunch or even dinner. You may have it with rice, chapattis, khuboos, pita bread or even bread.

INGREDIENTS:

Sprouted Bean, cooked – 1 to ½ cup

Red onion – 1

Scraped coconut – 2 to 3 tablespoons (optional)

Dried red chillies – 2
Turmeric powder - a pinch

Mustard seeds – ½ tablespoon

Curry leaves – a sprig

Oil – 1 tablespoon

Salt to taste

METHOD:

Cook the sprouted beans in Pressure cooker, about a whistle or two. In a pan, heat oil and splutter the mustard seeds along with the dried red chillies. Add the chopped onions and sweat them. Add curry leaves and salt along with scraped coconut and turmeric powder and sauté for a minute. Add cooked sprouts and mix well. Serve!

NB: Do not overcook the sprouts. This is a dry dish, so do not add too much water while you pressure cook the sprouts. Scraped coconut gives a crunch and added taste to the dish. 

MUSHROOM THORAN

MUSHROOM THORAN: I should thank my mom for this awesome recipe. This thoran is an authentic kerala dish.  My early memories of this dish go back to my childhood. I remember during my vacations we used to visit my dad’s home and in the backyard the mushrooms used to sprout. It is so beautiful to see them especially the white ones. My grand mom used to pick them and make dry chutney with them.

The last time I had them was after my delivery. She got few of them for me and my mom prepared this awesome thoran. It was a delight.

Since we do not get those types of mushrooms here, I have done it with button mushrooms available at the super market. It is very tasty as it has the meat masala aroma and taste.

The best thing about button mushrooms is that they contain high amounts of vitamin D, digestive enzymes and proteins.

 “A 2009 case control study of 2,018 women correlated a large decrease of breast cancer incidence in women who consumed mushrooms. Women in the study who consumed fresh mushrooms daily were 64% less likely to develop breast cancer, while those that combined a mushroom diet with regular green tea consumption reduced their risk of breast cancer by nearly 90%.” -  Wikipedia.

That is great information. So, you see mushroom is a great option especially for vegetarians. But do be careful especially if you are plucking them from the wild, there are toxic ones too!!!!!!!

INGREDIENTS:

Button Mushrooms – 6 to 8 big ones

Coconut scraped - 3 to 4 tablespoons

Onion – 1 big

Or

Shallots – 8 to 10

Mustard seeds – 1 teaspoon

Fennel seeds – 2 teaspoon

Turmeric powder – ¼ teaspoon

Chilli powder – ½ tablespoon

Coriander powder – ½ tablespoon

Garam Masala powder – ¼ to ½ tablespoon

Curry leaves – a sprig

Salt to taste

Oil – 1 tablespoon

METHOD:

Clean and chop the mushrooms and onions separately. Heat oil in a pan and splutter the mustard seeds. Add fennel seeds.Once they turn brown, add turmeric, chilli, and coriander and garam masala powder and saute till the raw smell goes.  

Add the scraped coconut, curry leaves, salt, mushrooms and onion. Sauté well and cook on low heat with a lid on. Cook till mushrooms are done or till they are nice and tender.

NB: Do not add water as the water from the mushrooms and onion is enough to get it cooked well. 

You may even try it without coriander powder. 

Using coconut oil gives a different taste and great aroma. 

Cook the entire dish on low heat.

CARROT AND BEANS THORAN

CARROT AND BEANS THORAN: I simply hate the taste of beans thoran. But my husband loves it. So each time I make it he ends up eating it alone. That does not work as well as I will be forced to eat it despite my efforts to convince him that I hate it. That is when the idea of mixing both these veggies came to me. I love carrots. So the combination of French beans and carrot.

INGREDIENTS:

Carrot – 1 big

French beans – around 20

Curry leaf – 1 sprig

Scraped coconut – 5 to 6 tablespoons

Garlic clove – 1

Turmeric powder – a pinch

Chilli powder -½  teaspoon

Cumin seeds or jeerakam – ½ tablespoon

Mustard seeds – ½ tablespoon

Salt to taste

Oil – 1 to 2 tablespoon

Dried red chilli – 1 or 2

METHOD:

Clean the veggies and chop them separately. Roughly grind scraped coconut, turmeric powder, chilli powder, cumin seeds, curry leaf and garlic clove.

Heat oil in a pan and splutter the mustard seeds along with dried red chillies. Add carrots and sauté for about 2 minutes. Add French beans and the ground mixture with salt.  

Cover with a lid and cook over low heat.  Check and sauté once in a while to avoid burning. Serve!

NB: If you are using a chopper, no need to grind the mix. You may add it along with the french beans for chopping. 

CHICKEN THORAN or KOZHI THORAN

CHICKEN THORAN or KOZHI THORAN: The first time I had this dish was the last time we went for vacation to India. I had never heard of it before. In fact my at my husband’s place everyone is a big fan of this dish. He even showed me a whole street in Trivandrum where they would have stalls that sell exclusively chicken and this being the most important one. This happens mostly on Sundays.

This was the second time I am making it. It tastes good. It is quite a different take as compared to the other normal chicken recipes.  It is called chicken thoran, as it looks like any other normal vegetable thoran, with lots of scraped coconut. Scraped coconut, curry leaves and coconut oil are the prime ingredients apart from chicken which gives it the taste and aroma. This is a dry side dish and goes perfectly well with rice.

INGREDIENTS

Chicken – 500gm

Onions – 5

Chilli powder – ½ tablespoon

Scraped coconut – 1 ½ cup

Turmeric powder – ½ teaspoon

Garam masala powder – 1 tablespoon

Curry leaves – 2 to 3 sprigs

Mustard seeds – 1 tablespoon

Fennel seeds – ½ tablespoon

Ginger – ½ “piece

Coconut oil – 3 tablespoon

Salt to taste

METHOD:

Clean and cut the chicken into small size cubes. Usually the chicken used is with bone, even though you may use boneless too. Chop 3 onions and slice the other two. Keep them separate. Chop the ginger.

Heat oil in a heavy bottomed vessel and splutter the mustard seeds. Add fennel seeds and brown them. Add chopped onions and sweat them well. Add ginger and sauté. 

Just when the onions start turning brown, add chicken along with the sliced onions. Add salt, cover with a lid and cook.

 In the meantime, combine the scraped coconut, curry leaves, half turmeric powder and chilli powder and mix well. Either mix it with hand well or give a quick grind. Do not make into a paste. If you are mixing with hand, ensure you give rub the mixture well. This ensures that the flavour gets enhanced.

When the chicken is almost done, add the remaining turmeric powder and garam masala to the chicken and cook till done. Add the scraped coconut mixture and mix well. Saute till the dish becomes nice and dry. Do not overcook as the chicken might become dry.

NB: Do not add water at all to the dish. Shallots enhance the taste of the dish. So you may replace two onions with around 10 shallots.

KAYA THORAN or UNRIPE BANANA THORAN

KAYA THORAN or UNRIPE BANANA THORAN: This is an authentic Kerala dish. It is spicy as well as dry. You may use it as a side dish along with rice. This one reminds me of the tapioca smash which is very famous in Kerala. Just like any other thoran the spice mix is the same but the chilli would be bit on the higher side. 

INGREDIENTS:

Unripe Banana – 2

Garlic cloves – 2 to 3

Scraped Coconut – 4 to 5 tablespoons

Green chillies – 4 to 5

Cumin seeds – ½ tablespoon

Turmeric – a pinch

Curry leaves – a sprig

Salt to taste

Oil to drizzle

Water

METHOD:

Clean and cut the unripe bananas into slightly thin pieces. I have sliced the banana into half and then again cut them horizontally. Then cut each slice into smaller dice.

 Take a pan and pour little water. Add the cut bananas and salt. Cover the pan and cook till the bananas are well cooked.

 In the meantime grind scraped coconut, garlic cloves, cumin seeds, turmeric, green chillies and curry leaves with no or little water. Just get these ingredients mixed, do not form a paste.

 Once the bananas are cooked, add this mixture and mix well. Wait till all the water is absorbed or cook for a minute on low heat.

 Drizzle oil and serve. 

TENDLI STIR FRY or KOVEKA MEZHUKUVARATY or KOVEKA UPPERI and KOVEKA THORAN

 TENDLI: My memory with this vegetable goes back to my childhood. We had this plant at my father’s house. We used to pluck it and eat it raw. It tastes good when it is ripe. Tendli is referred to as kovekka in kerala.

Tendli or koveka has a wide range of minerals and vitamins like A, C, iron, phosphorous, etc. It also seems to have blood sugar lowering capacity.

I have made two dishes with it. Both the recipes are being penned down here. This is a side dish and can be used along with rice.this will provide a variety to your everyday veggie list.


TENDLI STIR FRY or KOVEKA MEZHUKUVARATY or KOVEKA UPPERI

INGREDIENTS:

Tendli – 150 gms

Red onion – 1 small (optional)

Chilli powder – ½ teaspoon

Turmeric powder – a pinch

Salt to taste

Oil – 1 tablespoon

METHOD:

Clean and cut the tendli and onions. Heat oil in a pan and add the tendli and onions. Add salt and mix. Add turmeric powder and chilli powder and mix. Place a lid over the pan and cook on low flame. Once, the tendli is cooked, the colour changes to dull green.  Serve!

TENDLI THORAN

INGREDIENTS:

TENDLI – 150gm

Mustard seeds – ½ tablespoon

Cumin seeds – ½ tablespoon

Scraped coconut – 4 to 5 tablespoons

Turmeric powder – a pinch

Chilli powder – ¼ tablespoon

Curry leaves – a sprig

Salt to taste

Oil -1 tablespoon

METHOD:

Clean and cut tendli. Heat oil in a pan and splutter the mustard seeds. Add cumin seeds, scraped coconut, tendli , curry leaves and salt. Mix well. Add turmeric powder and chilli powder. Cover the pan with a lid and cook over low heat. Serve!

SPRING ONION THORAN OR UPPERI

SPRING ONION THORAN OR UPPERI: This is a very simple thoran. This recipe does not use the traditional thoran mix. It can be had with rice and can substitute for any other thoran.

For those who do not know what thoran is – “it is a keralite dish made with vegetables mainly and coconut mix. The mixture is cooked on low heat for a small amount of time. Hence a very healthy option”.

Spring onion has 45% vitamin C and has potassium also. It also has vitamin A and K. It helps in digestion and improves blood flow. It should take less than 5 minutes to prepare it.

INGREDIENTS:

Spring onions – a small bunch (around 5 or 6)

Mustard seeds – a pinch

Fennel seeds – a pinch

Coconut scraped – 2 to 3 table spoons

Turmeric powder – a pinch

Chilli powder - ½ teaspoon

Garam masala powder – a pinch

Salt to taste

Oil - ¼ tablespoon

METHOD:

Clean and chop the spring onions. Heat oil in a pan. Splutter the mustard seeds and add fennel seeds. Add the chopped spring onions. Sauté and immediately add salt, scraped coconut, turmeric powder, chilli powder, garam masala powder. Sauté for about one minutes and serve!!!!!

NB: Do not overcook the spring onions.