Comfort Food – A Simple South Indian meal

After 10 days of vacationing and a lot of eating out, its time for comfort food at home. My kids wanted to eat some simple home cooked comfort food (which rarely happens!!) much like how my little 1 year old and 3.5 year old nephews eat. So on the menu today is Rice with plain dal, instant garlic rasam and green beans curry (Beans Poriyal in Tamil, Beans Kobbari Koora in Telugu, Beans Palya in Kannada).

Comfort Food – Rice, Dal, Garlic Rasam and Green Beans Curry

For the dal:

1 cup Toor Dal

Pressure cook the dal with some turmeric, salt and 2 small pods of garlic (optional) in a pressure cooker for 4 or 5 whistles with enough water. After done mash and serve hot with rice.

For the Garlic Rasam:

2 medium Tomatoes – Wash and chop roughly
2 green chillies
a few sprigs cilantro
3 pods garlic
a few curry leaves
1 tsp cumin seeds (Jeera)
1 tsp Black Pepper
1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder
1 tsp Rasam powder
Salt to taste

Ingredients for Garlic Rasam

1. Combine all of the above, except the powder and grind coarsely by adding a little water.

2. Add the turmeric, rasam powder and salt. Add some water from the above cooked dal (if you have some water saved or just use plain water). Mix well. And simmer on stove top for about 5 minutes. Serve hot with rice. Trust me this rasam is so simple yet so addictive you will end up drinking it instead of eating it  :- )

 

For the Beans Curry:

2 cups Fresh Green Beans – String, wash and chop fine
2 Green chillies – Wash and slit lengthwise
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
a few curry leaves
Seasoning ingredients: 1 tsp mustard seeds, 1 tsp urad dal, hing (asafoetida)
1 tsp Fresh grated coconut(or frozen coconut thawed) for garnishing
Salt to taste
2 tsp Oil

Ingredients for Green Beans Curry

1. In a pan, heat the oil. Add the seasoning ingredients and allow the mustard seeds to splutter. Add the curry leaves and hing.

 

2. Add the chopped green beans, turmeric powder and salt to taste. Add about 1/2 cup water and mix well.Cover with a lid and cook for 10 minutes or until all the water is evaporated and the curry is dry.

3. Garnish with grated coconut and serve hot.

Green Beans Curry

Note: Many of my friends have asked me how my green vegetable (beans, broccoli, asparagus, gavar etc.) remain so green after cooking. I have seen when several people cook green beans it looses its fresh green look and looks a pale dull green which is not veyr apealing to the palate. I cant remember where I read this but many years back, I read that adding some turmeric powder along with green vegeable helps it retain its color. Also ensure that you do not add too much water.

Simple Comfort Food