Thoran
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon canola, vegetable, or coconut oil ⓘ
- 1 teaspoon black mustard seeds ⓘ
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds ⓘ
- 2 Indian green chilies, slit lengthwise ⓘ
- 7 whole curry leaves
- 1/4 teaspoon turmeric ⓘ
- 2 shallots, sliced ⓘ
- 4 cups chopped green beans (aim for 1/4-inch pieces) ⓘ
- 1 cup shredded coconut (fresh shredded coconut is ideal, but frozen will work also; desiccated coconut is your last choice-and under no circumstances should the coconut be sweetened) ⓘ
- 1 dash Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 dash White sugar to taste ⓘ
- 1/2 cup cilantro, roughly chopped ⓘ
Instructions
- Heat the oil over medium heat in a wok, allowing it to pool at the bottom. Once the oil is hot but not smoking, add mustard seeds and cumin seeds. As they begin to sizzle, add the chilies, and once the seeds have begun spluttering, add curry leaves. These will spit like crazy, so you may want to take a step back. When the curry leaves are crisp, stir in the turmeric. This process is called 'tempering' the oil.
- Add shallots, stirring constantly until they begin to caramelize (you want these to get nice and sweet but not burn). Once they're caramelized, throw in the beans and toss them to coat in the tempered oil. Cook time will depend on how done you want the beans, but continue tossing them as they become glossy and bright green.
- As the beans near completion, stir in the coconut to distribute evenly, then sprinkle in salt, pepper, and, if you like, a touch of sugar to bring out the sweetness in the coconut. Finally, stir in the cilantro and remove the thoran from the heat. Serve at whatever temperature you like. It's good hot, but, as part of a mixed thali-type meal, a thoran will often be served at room temperature. It's good that way, too.
- You can make a thoran in any number of variations. It's great with shredded cabbage, shredded beets, or chopped purple amaranth leaves. Kohlrabi is delicious, as well, cut into 1/4" cubes (to use Kolhrabi you'll need to splash in 1/4 cup of water in step two and cover to cook until the Kohlrabi is tender, stirring frequently to keep it from burning). For a completely different flavor profile, try using karela (Indian bitter gourd, which is very bitter, indeed). Halve it, scoop out the seeds and pith, slice it into 1/4-inch thick crescent moon pieces, soak them in salt water for 20 minutes, then rinse and squeeze them out before cooking them in the same way as the green beans. Traditional Indian vegetables like unripe jackfruit and drumstick leaves-recently on the American health scene as 'super foods'-are also common vegetables used to make a thoran.
Nutrition & Diet Analysis (per serving)
667
kcal
33% DV
Protein
Fat
Carbs
* % Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet (FDA 2020).