Thengai-poo poriyal
This is a simple side dish or snack stir-fry made of the sprouted coconut—which is easily just eaten on its own, but when eaters are picky or the sprout is a little on the more-mature side, this dish comes to the rescue. It is quite literally a 5 minute almost-raw preparation, as the coconut sprout needs barely any cooking at all. With the crunch of sweet onions, the soft-sponge of the sprout and the multiple layers of coconut and spice flavor, it’s a little delight in a bowl.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- ½ teaspoon urad dal
- ½ teaspoon mustard seeds
- 1 broken dry red chilli
- 1 sprig fresh curry leaves
- 1 green chilli, minced
- 1 teaspoon minced ginger
- 2 small shallots
- 2-3 coconut sprouts
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
- Salt to taste
- A squeeze of lime juice
- Fresh coriander leaves to garnish
Instructions
- Chop the shallots and coconut sprouts. Set aside.
- Heat the oil in a small pan. Once it’s smoking hot, add the urad dal, mustard seeds, and dry red chilli. Let the spices crackle and pop.
- Follow with the curry leaves and then the ginger and green chilli. Fry for a few seconds (do not allow these to burn) and add the chopped shallots.
- Fry the shallots until translucent, then add the coconut sprout bits. Add turmeric powder and salt and toss gently to mix. Sprinkle a little water if the poriyal looks like it might burn easily. Reduce heat and cover for just a minute or so.
- Turn off the heat, squeeze the lime juice over top and add the coriander leaves.
- Mix well and serve hot.