Beans palya step-by-step recipe with video and photos.
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What is Palya / Poriyal
Palya is a side dish that is a part of Karnataka cuisine and loosely means to sauté vegetables. Palya is a very common preparation across south India. It is called poriyal in Tamil, thoran in Malayalam, and vepudu in Telugu.
A palya usually comprises a single vegetable that is cut into bite-sized pieces and is stir-fried in oil with a simple seasoning called 'oggarane' (tempering/tadka). It is the South Indian version of sabzi. It is garnished with freshly grated coconut, coriander leaves, and lemon juice.
About this recipe
Beans palya is a simple, quick dish where green beans are sauteed with minimal spices and finished off with coconut, coriander leaves, and lemon juice. In India, green beans are almost always called just 'beans' and refer to fresh beans (and not legumes).
This healthy dish is ready in less than 20 minutes and goes very well with roti, chapati, and rice, and even tastes great just by itself. This is one of my favorite side dishes and I make it very often. Perfect combination with rice and sambar/rasam.
This simple yet delicious dish is an easy way to include green beans in your diet. Green beans, which are one of the oldest cultivated vegetables, are a rich source of vitamins, folate, and fiber. This versatile vegetable is a healthy source of micronutrients too.
Try this simple healthy stir fry to complete your weekday meal. Or skip your regular salad and give this dish a go. I am sure you will love it!
Ingredients
Green beans: Use tender green beans and string them. Cut them into small bite-sized pieces.
Coconut Oil: I make this dish with coconut oil; however, it can be replaced with any regular cooking oil.
Tempering: A simple south Indian tempering (or seasoning) is used for this dish. It has mustard seeds, cumin seeds, chana dal, urad dal, dried red chili, curry leaves, ginger, and green chili.
Garnish: Like most palya, the garnish I use is freshly grated coconut, coriander leaves, and lemon/lime juice.
Step-by-step instructions
1. Heat coconut oil in a frying pan or kadhai. Add mustard seeds and let them splutter.
2. Add cumin seeds, urad dal, chana dal, and dry red chili.
3. Add curry leaves, ginger, and green chili. Sauté for a few seconds.
4. Add the chopped beans and salt. Cover and cook on a low flame until the beans are almost done, but still have some crunch.
5. Turn off the heat, and add coconut, lemon juice, and coriander leaves. Mix well.
Beans palya or beans poriyal is ready to be served.
Useful tips
Use tender green beans to make this dish. Make sure you string them before chopping.
Cut the green beans into uniform size pieces. This way, they will cook evenly.
Do not add any water to make this dish. The oil used for the tadka and the moisture in the green beans are sufficient to cook the beans. If you add water, the beans will overcook and ruin the taste and texture of the dish.
Make sure the green beans have some crunch in them and are not completely cooked.
Some versions call for adding a small amount of jaggery to this palya but I prefer to skip it as I feel it overpowers the dish and makes the palya taste sweet. The mild sweetness in the coconut is sufficient to balance the chili and lemon juice.
Adjust the amount of chili as per your preference.
You can cook any variety of fresh beans using this recipe. Not just green beans, this dish can be made using Chinese long beans, purple string beans, etc. Keep in mind that the cooking time may vary depending on the variety.
You can also add carrots or peas to beans poriyal.
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Bonus
This South Indian beans sabzi is:
- vegan and gluten-free,
- very easy to make,
- great as a side dish as well as salad,
- ready in less than 20 minutes.
Recipe card
Beans Palya / Beans Poriyal
Ingredients
- 1 lb green beans (approximately 3½-4 cups)
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 2 dried red chili
- 2 teaspoon urad dal (skinned black gram)
- 2 teaspoon chana dal (Bengal gram)
- 1 sprig curry leaves
- ½ inch ginger grated
- 1-2 green chili (or serrano pepper) slit
- ½ teaspoon salt (adjust as per taste)
- ¼ cup coconut fresh, grated
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice or lime juice
- 2 tablespoon cilantro
Instructions
- Wash and string the beans. Chop them into small bite-sized pieces.
- Heat coconut oil in a frying pan or kadhai. Add mustard seeds and let them splutter.
- Add cumin seeds, urad dal, chana dal, dried red chilli, curry leaves, ginger, and green chili. Saute for a few seconds.
- Add the chopped beans and salt. Cover and cook on low heat until the beans are almost done, but still have some crunch.
- Turn off the heat. Add fresh coconut, lemon juice, and cilantro. Mix well.
- Serve hot with rice or roti.
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