Give your Green Beans a twist with ‘Palya Pudi’
Guest post by Big Apple Curry inspiration Geetha who lives in Canada, is my mom, and makes what we consider the best South Indian dishes!
Some of the best vegetable dishes have layers of flavor and textures. Green beans almondine (fresh green beans with almonds) grace many Thanksgiving tables because it’s a perfectly crunchy side dish of freshly picked string beans sautéed in olive oil, sea salt, and browned almonds. As Ina has mentioned before, when most people think of Indian food, images of thick, spicy sauces often come to mind. However, there are many simple vegetable dishes that are on the dry side, thanks to a quick sauté with tempered spices and dry roasted herbs, which bring out different layers of flavors and textures, giving any fresh vegetable a creative twist. Tempering fresh vegetables this way results in a dish we call “palya” (pronounced ‘puh-l-ya’) in the southern Indian state of Karnataka. Palya is one of our favorite ways of preparing vegetables…whole spices like black mustard seeds and dry lentils like uncooked yellow split peas are heated in a bit of hot oil or ghee, which release smoky, earthy flavors, to which fresh vegetables are added and sautéed until al dente. I created this “palya pudi” recipe with ingredients you can find in most supermarkets, no matter where you live. What exactly is a pudi? “Pudis” are common in South Indian cooking; a pudi is a coarse powder mix of dry roasted ingredients — in the recipe below, fresh green beans are sautéed with crushed red chilli pepper, coconut, and cornmeal. Give it a try and let me know what you think!
Green beans with Palya Pudi
Ingredients
- 1 tsp red chilli flakes
- 2 tsp dried, shredded coconut
- 1.5 tsp ground cornmeal
- 1 tbsp canola oil
- 1/2 lb fresh green beans
Preparation
- Gently dry roast red chilli flakes on medium heat, until you start to smell the chillies. Set aside in a small bowl.
- Gently dry roast shredded coconut on medium heat for less than 1 minute (watch it as it can burn quickly). Add to small bowl.
- Gently dry roast ground cornmeal on medium heat. Add to small bowl.
- Coarsely grind all three ingredients in a food processor OR grind in a mortar and pestle until it is a coarse powder-like consistency.
- Heat oil on medium high heat.
- When the oil has warmed, add the green beans and stir fry until they are evenly coated with the oil.
- Add 2 tablespoons of water. Cover tightly with a lid and reduce heat to medium-low to steam the green beans, stirring occasionally until water evaporates and beans are almost cooked (this will take about 3-5 minutes).
- Add 2 teaspoons of spice mixture and stir fry until evenly coated and the moisture has evaporated.
