Green beans masala is a stir-fry of sorts and a south indian staple. In our house, we grew up with a simple dish that used green beans, onions and just a spoon of cooked dal if you happened to be making dal that day. And we always did end up making dal because sambhar, a dal based dish, is the perfect accompaniment to green beans masala.
Similar to eggplant masala, this dish focuses on green beans as the hero vegetable. In this case, it needs to be cooked with water in order to soften the green beans. I’m particular about not pressure cooking or boiling the green beans separately because I think a lot of the flavor ends up going into the water the green beans are boiled in. If you boil it separately and throw away the water, you’ll be throwing away a lot of the richness of flavor and nutrients as well.
I use onions as a base, and then add the green beans along with a few simple spices. If you do happen to have some cooked dal, I’d recommend adding a spoon or two along with the spices. It heightens the flavor of the green beans and makes it quite lip-smackingly good. Figuring out how much water to add is the tricky part. If you add too much water, the beans will get mushy and if you add too little, they won’t fully cook and soften. I prefer adding two cups of water to begin with, and adding another cup towards the end if I want the beans to be softer. Remember that this dish does make soft beans, but they shouldn’t be too mushy. You’ll want to sauté the beans until the raw taste of beans goes away.
This can make for a quick and healthy weeknight dinner, along with dal, sambhar or even grilled fish. Green beans are a rich source of vitamins A, C and K and can be a healthy accompaniment to your meals.
Green Beans Masala
Ingredients
- 680 grams Green beans
- 1/4 Large red onion
- 1 tsp Turmeric powder
- 1 tsp Red chili powder
- 1 tsp Coriander powder
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Urad dal This is optional. If you don't have it in your pantry, don't worry about it!
- 2 cups water
- 1.5 tbsp Olive oil or vegetable oil
Instructions
- Cut the beans into half inch pieces and dice the
onions. - In a large pan, heat the oil.
- When the oil is hot, bring the pan to medium-high heat and add the urad dal.
- It will take about 30 seconds for the urad dal to brown. After that, add the diced onions.
- Sauté the onions until they are translucent.
- Then add the green beans.
- Immediately after, add the turmeric powder, red chili powder, coriander powder and salt and stir well to ensure the beans are coated with the spices.
- Let it fry for 2-3 minutes and then add 2 cups water
- Close the pan with a lid and let it cook together for about 10-15 minutes until the beans are a little soft. Stir occasionally to ensure the beans don't stick to the bottom. If the beans don't feel soft enough, you can add more water.
- Open the lid and let the remaining water cook off. Your beans are ready!
Wow
Yay! I love this dish!
Sounds yummy.
My favorite dish !!
Amazing vegetarian recipe with green beans. The spices are not too overpowering and it’s comfort food!
Really happy with the recipe . Thanks !
This recipe is one of my favorites. It’s incredibly easy to make by a newbie and very tasty. It’s a perfect accompaniment to dal or sambhar. In addition to the above ingredients I added some mustard seeds along with urad dal.
Oh that’s a nice addition, I’ll try the mustard seeds next time 🙂