This simple and tasty Beans and Carrots stir fry has been visiting our dining table since years now.
We both are food lovers, so the highlight of our day is always the meals that we indulge in. Though my husband is an avid food lover, he has a special inclination toward non-vegetarian dishes and I light up to vegetarian food. I blame his native place (Goa, a coastal place in India) for his exceptional taste in food. He grew up eating the freshest of seafood and in abundance! No wonder he felt at home enjoying the fresh seafood at restaurants in Lagos and Sagres, during our trip to Portugal. So seeing a plate of fried mackerel or prawn curry was equal to a vegetarian dish on my family’s table. This way seafood replaced vegetables to a large extent and to make their food special they had a meat variety served along. As a child when my husband remembers having a good meal, it had to have a meat dish in the spread. Then with time, his palate developed for non-vegetarian dishes and he started marking complete vegetarian meal as ‘something’s-missing-here-meal’. Well, I can feel him. His exposure to seafood heaven and his mum’s fish delicacies have spoilt him.
I grew up in central India surrounded by seasonal yet newly-harvested vegetables and crisp leaves. Our dining table hosted a non-veg maximum twice in a week. Seafood was a rare sight because you can’t source good and fresh fish very easily there. Now you can imagine, our craving for non-veg was so much more! But we could happily survive a vegetarian lunch or dinner.
Then my husband and I grew up, met each other in a city mid-way to our home towns. It was too late when we understood our home-food choices in detail, for we had fallen in love already! We mostly ate out together until we were married. Newly marrieds have numerous areas to adjust or fight it out – for us kitchen was the room of concern. Initially, when I cooked a full veggie meal, he struggled to gulp it down. To the same meal if I added one piece of tandoori chicken he beams from ear to ear and soon all dishes are empty.
Like all problems, this too had a solution. My mother’s cooking came to my rescue. It took one meal at my mother’s place, all cooked by her, to make him like a vegetarian meal. Now I knew where to start! My mother kindly jotted down all her recipes for me. That’s my favourite go-to recipe book. And not to be brutal to my husband, I kept our kitchen frequented by meat and seafood. This made us a happy couple with happy tummies (very important!).
You won’t believe now how my husband appreciates a simple meal! He too has a few favourites there, with the green beans and carrots stir fry fairly up on that list. When we make this veggie, it is usually enjoyed with steamed rice and dal (lentil soup). A simple combination of rice with yoghurt, a pinch of salt to it and a big serving of fried bean and carrot (definitely topped with grated coconut!) is a very comforting meal. Do try and tell me if it suited your palate!
Beans and Carrots Stir Fry Recipe
Equipment
- Medium Frying Pan
Ingredients
- 250 gm green beans
- 2 medium-sized carrots
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
- 1 small green chilli, slit across and deseeded (or red chilly, depending on your spice preference)
- 2 tbsp grated coconut (Fresh or Desiccated)
- salt
Also, add the following if available (noting that it’s an Indian recipe, you might not find all ingredients available in your city outside of India)
- 1 tsp chana dal (split dried chickpeas)
- 1/2 tsp urad dal (split black gram)
- curry leaves, a few, dried or fresh
Instructions
- In a medium pan, heat the oil and add mustard seeds, chana dal, urad dal, curry leaves and chilly.
- As you see mustard seeds splutter, add the chopped beans and carrots. Placing the pan on medium heat, keep stirring the vegetables every few minutes. After about 5 minutes, add a splash of water to moisten the vegetables but don’t cover the pan.
- Add salt at this stage and slow down the heat.
- Once you see the carrots and beans are cooked retaining a bit of its crunch, turn off the stove.
- Sprinkle the vegetables with coconut. Serve it hot and enjoy!
