AchingaPayar Mezhukuperatty ( YardLong beans Stir Fry)

Snow Snow go away ,
    Little M wants to go out and play ,
        Snow snow go away!!
Its been a boring day today. Due to a snow storm here we've been sitting at home and watching TV all day long. Though we have a mall just opposite our apartment we din't want to take a risk by going out with the baby. He wants to play all the time now and simply loves to go out. He knows we are taking him out when we place him in his car seat. The moment he sits in his car seat he starts banging on the seat , indicating us to keep moving. :-)
I wasn't in the mood to cook anything elaborate either. I simply wanted to get done with my cooking and other household chores and sit and be lazy. I made this quick stir fry today for lunch and thought its an interesting recipe to share. Its one of my favorite and a very commonly made item at home.

AchingaPayar or YardLong beans is a very commonly used veggie in various Keralite cuisines. Its made as a stirfry , or is used as one of the veggies added to sambar or avial . Honestly speaking it very recently that I came to know that its even called as YardLong beans :-)
YardLong beans is also known as Asparagus bean or Chinese long beans. It has a lot of health benefits, like being a rich source of Vit A, C , magnesium, manganese, proteins, folate etc, to name a few. You can get more details from here.

I often prepare mezhukuperatty ( pronounced : Me-rhu-ku-peratty) , which is an authentic stir fry preparation in Kerala where the veggies are simply stir fried in few spoons of oil without any tempering. Any veggies like French beans, Carrots, Beetroot, Bittergourd etc can be used . Onions and green chillies can be added for extra flavor and spice. At home we sometimes add few thin slices of fresh coconut or dried coconut (copra) for an added crunch and flavor.
Like I've mentioned in my post on Beetroot thoran , no meal in Kerala is complete without some thoran or mezhukuperatty as a side dish.

This stir fry is really easy to prepare and I love the crunchy texture of these beans even after its cooked.

AchingaPayar Mezhukuperatty (YardLong beans stirfry)
Recipe source: My own
You'll need 
Yardlong beans - 1 lb
Red Onions - 1 large or 2 medium (thinly sliced)
Green chillies - 2-3 (slit lengthwise)
Coconut slices or Copra slices - 1 tblsp (optional)
Oil ( Canola or any Veg oil) - 2-3tbsp
Salt - to taste

Directions:
1. Wash the yardlong beans and cut each bean into 1 inch long pieces.
2. In a non-stick pan, heat the oil and add the cut beans, onions and green chillies and salt and saute for a minute . Cover and cook, stirring occasionally in between.
3. When the beans are almost cooked add the coconut slices and cover and cook for another 2-3 mins.
4. The Onions should get carmelised and the beans cooked well.

The carmelised onions , mild spice from the green chillies , the coconut slices and the mildly crunchy beans makes this an awesome side dish to be served with rice. Give this recipe a try for a healthy and tasty dish that can be enjoyed with any curry and rice or even with rotis.

- Manju