Steamed and sauteed Green beans

A wonderful tasty, yet very simple vegetable to make. Is a good combination with mashed potatoes and gravy. Makes a very good low fat, low carb and low calorie appetizer as well. Jazz it up with the flavours you like, this is just one way of making it. Here goes the recipe.

Prep time: 10 Mins
Cook time: 4 to 10 Mins
Servings: 4 approx

Ingredients:

Green beans - 1 pound
oil - 1 tsp
Parsley - 1/2 tsp dry or fresh
Garlic - 1 clove minced or grated
Salt - to taste
Ground pepper - to taste
Adobo - 1 tsp (Optional)

Method:

1. Wash and take out the fiber from the sides of the beans. If you think the beans is not very stringy you can use them straight after washing. Steam then in the microwave for 4 minutes, let them stay inside the box for a minute longer before you open the lid. If you do not want to microwave beans, you can blanch them. This may take a little longer than microwaving. To blanch the beans, Boil water in a large wok or pot. Drop the beans into it and let it stay in there for 5 minutes. In the mean while, in another big vessel, fill cold water and drop in a few ice cubes to make the water chilly. After 5 minutes of hot water bath, drain the hot water from these beans and drop them in cold water. This will shock them, make their colour brighter and stop them form cooking further. Let them stay there for 3 minutes, drain the cold water and set the beans aside.

2. In a pan which can hold all the beans, Heat oil saute garlic and dry parsley. If you use fresh parsley, sprinkle the finely chopped parsley after sauteing beans.

3. Drop the beans in to the pan, add salt and pepper. This would be the time to sprinkle fresh parsley, toss everything together till well mixed. If you are using adobo, add that before tossing. Keep in mind, adodbo has salt too, so you may want to first taste the beans if they need more salt if you are adding adobo. Steamed and sauteed green beans are ready to be served.

Tips:
1. These steamed beans can be made many different ways. This is just one of the low fat versions. If you want it slightly tart, squeeze some lime juice. You can add 1 tbsp of finely chopped scallions to it, give a mild onion flavour.
2. Use less oil to saute beans, more oil makes the beans extremely greasy and wont be pretty to eat.

Steamed spicy lentil balls, (Nuchhina Unde/ Pidiche)

The snack I bet is most nourishing and healthy. High on protein and low in fat, one tasty mix of lentils which can make a good snack or a side. Good for growing kids, who need a lot of protein. We make it on a festival "Vinayaka Chowti", the birthday of lord Ganesha as this is his favorite snack. Give it a taste and you will realize why? Try it and find out for yourself. Every household has a different way of making them. we like them this way.. Enjoy.

Perp Time : 30 Mins

Cook time : 30 Mins

Pieces: upto 25

Ingredients:

1. Split Yellow lentils (Toor dal) - 1 cup

2. Spilt Moong (Moong dal) - 1/2 cup

3. Split chickpeas (Chana dal) - 1/2 cup 

4. Coconut scrapings fresh or frozen - 1/2 cup

5. Green chillies/dry chillies - 7 to 8 (more or less according to your taste)

6. Ginger root - 1 to 1 1/2" piece roughly chopped.

7. Cilantro/coriander leaves - a handful

8. Dill weed - a handful (optional)

9. Salt - to taste

For tempering:

1. Oil - 1 tbsp

2. Curry leaves - 1 string, finely chopped

3. Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

4. Asfoetida - 3 pinches

5. Turmeric - 2 pinches

Method:

1. Soak all the three dals/lentlis overnight or 5 hours minimum.

2. Make a coarse batter of all the ingredients excluding salt. The batter must be made without water or adding very little water, it has to hold the solid shape of the fist. Add salt just before you are ready to make the ball and mix well.

3. take some batter into your fist and press gently till it holds a oval shape. like wise make all the batter into such balls and steam them in a pressure cooker without the whistle on or in any other steamer for 20 mins or till well done. Let it cool in the cooker/steamer for about 10 minutes before you take it out. Cool further till you can handle them. 

3. Heat oil in a big wok and make the tempering by adding mustard seeds first after the splutter, add asfoetida, turmeric and curry leaves and turn the stove off. Break the balls you steamed into the wok. Make sure you have not left any big chunks.

4. Turn the stove back on and mix the tempering and the steamed mixture well. Do not over heat as it will make the balls dry and they wont hold the shape.

5. Once the mixture is cool enough to handle, make the ball again like the previous time and eat them up.

Serving Suggestions:

It tastes good as it is, however, can be served with coconut/Sweet tamarind chutney or both. Or it can be served with a broth called "majjige huli", for which I have uploaded a recipe. Just click on the name to navigate.

Tips:

1. If you have a idly stand, just press the mixture into the idly trays and steam them in the shape of idlys. 

2. If you want, you can mix the tempering to the raw mixture and steam them, you will not have to recook anything again. This save some time.

3. If you want you can resteam the balls after you mix the already steamed balls to the tempering. This is very time consuming though... you may give it a try.

4. You may use onions, if you do, please do not use coconut. Finely chop onions and saute it in the tempering and continue with same method. 

5. You may just use chana dal (split chickpeas) or Split yellow lentils (Toor dal)... I use all three to include different kinds of protein and this particular mixture gives a wonderful taste. 

6. You can grind curry leaves with batter, this will make sure the flavour is mixed evenly through the mixture. If you add it in tempering, it might not be the case.

7. If you have food processor attachment which cops veggies, this will give the perfect consistency for the batter... a blender attachment may make a very smooth paste as opposed to the needed coarse batter.