Green Beans and Coconut

Green beans is a regularly featured vegetable on my menu and I am always thinking of different ways to cook them. I have a few different preparations on this space already. But the urge to try something different is always there. While I was trying to come up with something, I remembered bookmarking this recipe from Sandhya's blog. She blogs at My Cooking Journey and has a lot of traditional recipes.

I bookmarked this recipe as it showcases a very different method of cooking beans from the one I normally use. I then forgot all about the bookmark until today. I followed the original recipe and the end result was great. The beans were tender and flavorful.

You will need
1 cup beans, diced finely
3 tbsp. mung dal
1 tsp. olive oil
1 tsp. mustard seeds
1 tsp urad dal / split black gram
1 dried red chili pepper
1/4 tsp. asafoetida
3-4 curry leaves
1 tsp. sugar
4 tbsp. shredded coconut
salt to taste

Place the beans and mung dal in a pan. Fill the pan with water until the beans are submerged. Bring the water to a boil and then let it simmer on medium low heat until the beans are tender but do not lose their crunch. During the last couple minutes add salt. Turn off the heat and drain the water.

Heat oil on a pan and add the mustard, urad dal/black gram, red chili pepper, curry leaves (I omitted these as I did not have any) and asafoetida. When the mustard seeds crackle add the drained beans and mung dal. Mix well and let it cook. Add the sugar and continue to cook until the beans dry out. Add the coconut. Mix well and turn off the heat.

Enjoy as a side with either poli/chapati or rice and dal.