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Achinga Payar Thoran / Long Bean and Coconut Saute

Vijitha Mammen
Achinga payar thoran is a South Indian mildly spiced saute of finely chopped long beans with grated coconut. Served with rice, it is a regular in Kerala cuisine and also a typical Onasadhya dish. This recipe includes stove-top and microwave-oven methods for cooking.
5 from 6 votes
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Course Side Dish
Cuisine Indian, Kerala, Keralan, South Indian
Servings 4

Ingredients
  

  • 500 g Achinga Payar / Long Beans
  • ¾ cup Grated Coconut
  • 4 or 5 nos Garlic Cloves
  • 2 nos Green Chillies
  • ½ tsp Cumin powder
  • ¼ tsp Turmeric powder
  • 1 tsp Salt adjust to taste
  • ¼ tsp Mustard seeds
  • 1 tbsp Oil (canola / vegetable / coconut)
  • 1 sprig Curry leaves

Instructions
 

Preparation

  • Cut or snap off the ends of the long beans / achinga payar. Then, chop the beans fine.
  • Crush the garlic cloves and green chillies in a mortar. Or, if the coconut is not grated fine, put the coconut, garlic cloves and green chillies together and crush roughly in a mixie / small blender. Don't grind to a smooth paste. Keep aside.

Method - 1 : Stove-top cooking

  • Heat oil in a wok / pan and add mustard seeds. When the mustard seeds splutter, add curry leaves. Sauté for around 30 seconds.
  • Add the crushed garlic, green chillies, coconut. Quickly add cumin powder and turmeric powder. Stir to mix.
  • Add the chopped green beans and salt. Mix everything together well with a spoon.
  • Close and cook on medium heat for around 12 - 15 minutes. You generally don't need to add water to long beans as their natural water content is enough for them to get cooked. (See notes for exception.) Stir in between so that it doesn't burn.
  • Stop cooking when they are tender, don't let it get mushy. Serve warm with rice.

Method - 2 : Microwave oven cooking

  • Mix the chopped long beans, crushed garlic, green chillies, coconut, cumin powder, turmeric powder and salt together in a microwave-safe dish.
  • Pop the dish into the the microwave oven and heat it for 10 minutes.
  • Add oil to a wok / pan and heat it on the stove. Splutter mustard seeds and add curry leaves. Sauté for around 30 seconds.
  • Add the cooked mixture from the microwave oven to the wok, and mix well.
  • Leave it on the stove for 3-5 minutes on medium-high heat, stirring in between. The thoran is ready. Serve warm with rice.

Notes

Observe the long beans when you open to stir the mixture while cooking. If the mixture is drying up and starting to brown at the bottom but the beans are not yet tender, it means the variety of long beans you are using doesn't have enough water content. In this case, take some water in your palm and splash it into the the long bean-coconut mixture and mix well. In most cases, you'll need only 1 or 2 splashes of water.
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