Beans Mezhukkupuratti / Kerala Style Stir-fried Beans

"Beans Mezhukkupuratti" is yet another authentic side dish from central Kerala. I am not very sure whether the recipe belongs to the Catholics or the Syrian Christians of the state, but all I know is that I grew up having this simple stir fry at least once a week!
This simple side dish has a wonderful flavour of garlic and shallots combined with the goodness of coconut oil and curry leaves and is flavourful and addictive. I can have this with a bowl of hot steamed rice without any accompaniments such as curries!

Straight to the recipe...

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Simple Lentil and Vegetable Soup

The Hot Summer days are back with the fierce merciless sun spitting out 'Fire!'

I dare to stay a longer time in the kitchen with elaborate meals and it's definitely not a good time to whip up soups.

Invariably my family prefers a comforting bowl of any vegetarian soup for dinner after a heavy Sunday lunch, irrespective of the season.

And now with my Blog which has just turned 3, I surprisingly realize I’d never posted a single ‘Soup recipe’ till date!!
So, here’s a 'Simple', 'Nourishing Bowl' of Soup with 'no butter', 'white sauce' or any 'thickening agent'.
This 'low calorie comfort soup' recipe serves 4 large bowls.

To Start -

Get ready with 1/3 cup of red or green lentils, rinse and soak in luke warm water for an hour or so and pressure cook till soft with water at least twice the depth of the lentils.

You need 2 cups of Vegetables in all.

So,

Mince Finely, a few leaves of Spinach, a small piece of Cabbage, Carrot, 1 or 2 Beans, 1/4th of a Capsicum,a Cauli flowerette(Sorry! if there isn’t such a term in the English Dictionary :)) a button mushroom, half tomato(I avoided this), a few fresh coriander leaves, a small onion,a large clove of garlic and half a green chilly(optional).

Feel free to throw in a tbsp of fresh peas and corn kernels each….and yeah!..if you are lucky enough to find a cube of paneer smiling at you in the freezer, cut it into tiny bits(after immersing in a bowl of hot water for a few minutes) and let her join the above ;)

Transfer the above chopped veggies to the cooked gram. The water level should at least be an inch above them. Add enough salt and pressure cook till one whistle. Remove from fire and let the steam vent out by itself.
Open, check salt and serve hot with freshly crushed black pepper.

This is one of the most comforting and easiest soups which you can never stop with just one-soup-bowl-serving :).



Let the soup be watery. If you prefer Broth, simply strain, and Slurp on with pieces of bread or bun, dunked in.

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Vegetable-Rava Khichdi:an anytime,quick balanced meal in a bowl.

As you might have noticed, most of my recipes and cooking methods are a little elaborate.

Thus cooking up a meal in 30 minutes, had been a little challenging for me, with a timer clock, a delightful challenge I ventured for Mallugirl's Summer Express Cooking Event.

Well,..coming to the main ingredients of this recipe, I would suggest you to Grab a pack of pre-roasted Rava/Sooji and another one of Frozen,cut Vegetables of your choice, if you sincerely would try this out.This would of course save you a clean 10-15 minutes and the cooking part will definitely take, not more than 15 minutes!.

Serves-4 portions.Total time needed-30 minutes.

Cutting the veggies-10 minutes

Cooking time-12 minutes

Making the Chutney-8 minutes

Ingredients:

Sooji(Rava) - 2 cups

A cup of diced Vegetables like potatoes, carrots,beans and peas

A tbsp of Oil

½ tsp Mustard seeds and Urad dhal each

2-3 Green chillies slit lenghtwise

A Medium sized Onion sliced lenghthwise

A Medium sized Tomato,sliced to 8 pieces

A tsp of Ginger paste or 1/2 tsp of finely chopped ginger

3 pinches of turmeric powder

Chopped cilantro-to garnish

Method:

1. Roast the rava in 2 tsps of oil in a deep kadai with medium heat till rava turns to very light brown in colour. Remove and keep aside.

2. Heat the remaining oil in the same kadai.Splutter mustards and brown the urad dal.Sauté the sliced onions till translucent. Now add the ginger and saute for a few seconds. Add in, the chopped tomatoes and chillies sauting for a minute in a medium flame.

3. Add the Vegetables and pour in 5 cups of water.Let the vegetables get half cooked by keeping the vessel closed.

4. Open and mix in the fried rava, little by little, stirring with a spatula, continuously.(Addition of rava and stirring are to be done simultaneously.Care should be taken to avoid lumps with the boiling water; reduce the heat to medium).

5. Keep on stirring the rava to get to thicker,cooked and the right consistency.

6. Remove from fire and serve hot with chopped cilantro.

Nutritional facts:

If you are a fast cook you should be through by 20 minutes.As you know, the sooji/rava is the cereal part of the dish which is rich in carbohydrates.Potatoes too contribute the same.The 'Vitamins and Minerals' part is handled by the carrot and the tomato and the vegetable(leguminal) proteins by the peas and beans.

Advantages of the dish:

1. The raw materials needed and to be shopped are minimum.

2. Easy to make.

3. Preliminary planning or preparatories like soaking and grinding are not required.

4. A simple, balanced, healthy and filling meal, suitable for breakfast, brunch or dinner!.

Vegetable Rava Khichdi goes well with coconut chutney.Go for it if you are left with a few more minutes :).. if not; simply enjoy the meal with a tsp of sugar..:)...

Time needed-10 minutes

To Make the Quick Chutney; You need to grind together:

1/2 cup Frozen Grated Coconut

1/2 cup Roasted gram/Pottukkadalai

4 Green chillies

Salt-to taste

Water-3/4 cup or as needed

and temper the ground chuntney with

A tsp of refined oil,1/4 each of mustards and urad dal each,2 pinches of hing powder and a few curry leaves.Do not boil or heat the chutney.Tempering should be done separately and poured over the chutney.

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