Kerala Tuna thoran

Tuna thoran (serves 4 as part of a main meal)

A staple in most of the Kerala households, a thoran is nothing but a vegtable of choice cooked with basic ingredients like turmeric and chilli and finished off wwith freshly grated coconut that takes this dish to its delicious level. Mostlly had as a side to rice.
PS: Made in a Le Creuset shallow casserole.

Coconut oil- 2 tbsp

Mustard seeds- 1/2 tsp

Dried red chillies- 2

Curry leaves- a sprig

Shallots- 1/2 cup

Ginger- 1 tsp, grated

Garlic- 1 tsp, grated

Green chilli- 1, slit

Red chilli powder- 1/2 tsp

Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp

Meat masala- 1 tsp

Ground pepper- 1/2 tsp

Garam masala- 1/4 tsp

Salt- to taste

Canned tuna- around 250 gms (2 cans), drained

Grated coconut- 1/4 cup

Heat oil in you frying pan and add the mustard seeds.

Once they splutter add the red chillies and curry leaves, stir for a second and then throw in the shallots.

As soon as the shallots become slightly brown, add the green chilli, grated ginger and garlic and continue to cook till it no longer tastes raw. 

Add all the masala powders and salt to taste and stir it all together and cook till no longer raw.
Stir in the tuna and cook on medium heat for about 5 to 6 minutes.
If it becomes too dry, mix in a spoon or two of water.
Finally add the grated coconut and cook for a further 3 to 4 minutes, just to get the flavors in.
Turn off the heat, close with a lid and keep aside for 5 minutes.
Serve as a side to rice, roti or even as a sandwich filling (its great with mayo).

French beans with mung dal

If I don't use up all that bounty we picked up at the PYO farm, I'm gonna be in deep shit. While I was going berserk picking this and that from the farm, Ro kept asking me "are you sure you know what to do with this?" "Do you need so much beans?" and then a threatening one "If I see these rotting in the fridge or being thrown out..." I didn't let him complete the sentence as usual :)

So I'm in a frenzy trying to finish off all that stuff I picked up, and must admit that I'm loving it so far. These beans for instance were so darn fresh even when I snapped it in half yesterday. Crunchy and so green, not to mention how cheap that whole packet was compared to the mere 250 grams packet I usually pick up at the grocery store.

I didn't want to make my usual stir fry and so with a bit of googling I chanced upon this beautiful blog Akshayapaatram and a beans' recipe that looked so damn pretty. Yes, I totally decide how good a dish is based on the pictures. So I went about making it and I think hence forth I shall make my beans only this way. We totally loved it.

Recipe adapted from here

French beans- 3 cups, chopped

Mung dal- 1/4 cup, washed

Mustard seeds- 1/2 tsp

Cumin seeds- 1/2 tsp

Dried red chillies- 2

Curry leaves- a sprig

Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp

Green chillies- 2, slit

Salt- to taste

Oil- 1 tbsp

Rows and rows of beans waiting to be harvested

Cook the mung dal in a sauce pan with just enough boiling water. The dal should still be firm and not mashed.

Heat oil in a large wok and throw in the mustard and cumin seeds. 

Wait for it to splutter and add the dried red chillies and curry leaves. Stir for a few seconds.

Throw in the chopped beans followed by cooked mung beans, green chillies, turmeric powder and salt. Stir well to combine it together.

Cover and cook, stirring in between to prevent the beans from sticking to the pan.

If you feel there isn't enough water, then add about a tea spoon of water and continue to cook.

Once the beans have been cooked through, do a taste check, add enough salt if required, give a final stir and take it off the heat.

Serve hot with some roti or rice.

Notes: I over cooked the mung dal a wee bit and so it got a bit mashed in the process. 

I wanted to add some shredded coconut as well towards the end, but completely forgot. Thoroughly optional though

Adding green chillies is optional, i kinda like a bit of heat. The husband complained though