Thursday, April 5, 2012

Pumpkin - Sweet Potato Thoran/ Stir Fry



Today, my niece was clearing her book shelf to make way for her new set of school books. While clearing I happened to see a copy of Tinkle. On spotting it I was very excited. I immediately grabbed the book and read it then and there.

Tinkle, Champak and Amar Chitra Katha are comics I grew up with. Every time we made a journey by train, my father would get a copy of Tinkle from the book stall in the railway station. All through the long journey (from Jabalpur to Chennai) my brother and I would munch on the goodies that mom would’ve packed and read the books. I vividly remember the characters in it. Who can forget Shikari Shambu, Tantri the Mantri, Kalia the Crow and the Silly but hilarious Suppandi. I used to love solving the Tinkle Quiz.

Over the years, many changes have come over the book, but the overall element of learning the fun way is still intact. It felt great to read it after a gap of more than 20 years. I would love to know your favourite childhood comics.

Today’s recipe is one such, which I am made and had after a very long time. I love the combo of pumpkin, sweet potato and broad beans. Unfortunately, I did not have stock of broad beans and decided to prepare the thoran with the remaining two veggies. The slight sweet from the veggies and the heat from the chillies with hint of curry leaves and coconut makes this stir fry really yummy.



What you’ll need 

  1. Sweet Potato – 3 cups, diced into 2” cubes 
  2. Pumpkin – 2 cups, diced into 2”cubes 
  3. Scraped Coconut – ½ cup 
  4. Green Chilly – 2 
  5. Turmeric Powder – ¼ tsp 
  6. Salt to taste

 For tempering

  1.  Coconut Oil – 1 tbsp
  2.  Mustard Seeds – ½ tsp 
  3. Urad Dal – 1 tsp
  4. Curry Leaves – few leaves   

Method


  1. Heat a kadai with oil. 
  2. Add the mustard seeds, once it splutters, add urad dal. Fry till the dal turns golden brown. Also add curry leaves. 
  3. Now add the diced sweet potato and pumpkin. Add turmeric powder and salt to taste. 
  4. Cover and cook until on low flame until the vegetables are done. 
  5. Sprinkle little water if required. Keep stirring once in a while to avoid burning the vegetables. 
  6. Grind coconut and green chillies into a coarse paste without adding any water.
  7. Add this to the vegetables and mix well. 


Sweet potato – Pumpkin thoran is ready.
Serve as an accompaniment with Sambar or Rasam.
Linking this to the Kerala Kitchen hosted by Ramya and to Healthy Diet - Side Dishes hosted by Vardhini

59 comments:

Indian Khana said...

Nice recipe ..looks yum

Priya Suresh said...

Excellent thoran, truly tempts me a lot..awesome combo..

chef and her kitchen said...

Delicious curry.yummmm

Jeyashris Kitchen said...

even i love tinkle, chandamama and even i remember reading the tamil version of that. Yummy curry and nice combo

Kanan said...

ahha. delicious looking subzi. yumm

The Yogi Vegetarian said...

Fantastic combo of ingredients.. made my mouth water...:) Definitely one to try!
Being born in the UK, my favourite comics of early childhood were "Look and Learn", "Twinkle" and "The Beano". The only one with any educational purpose was "Look and Learn". "Twinkle " centred on a little girl of that name, and "The Beano", I presume, needs no introduction, still being successful today. I think I liked it so much because characters like "Dennis the Menace","Roger the Dodger" and "Minnie the Minx" made me laugh. I guess they got away with all the naughty things I would like to have done! Later on, I liked reading the photo love-stories and problem pages in "Jackie", but as my parents had banned me from reading it, I had to wait until my cousin passed it on to me... it is my daughter Radha who got to read "Amar Chitra Katha"- I used to get it for her whenever I saw it in the shops, which wasn't very often. She still has "Arjuna", "Krishna and Rukmini", "Guru Gobind Singh" and "The Rani of Jhansi" somewhere in her room today!

Suja Manoj said...

Love this thoran,will surely try this combo..

cookbookjaleela said...

super combo

Rasi said...

i loved reading Gokulam.. tinkle was more of a treat coz it was expensive way back then too :).. I have read almost all mythological tales & as i grew up i am stuck on calvin & hobbes.. love them! I love this thorn.. was thinking i should make it but didn't know the recipe.. now i do thanks to u :)

Ongoing Event : WTML

Vimitha Durai said...

Tinkle has always been my favorite... Nice flavor combo in the stir fry

Sravs said...

Tasty combo and delicious fry !!!!

Soundspicy said...

Nice combo..lovely curry..

hotpotcooking said...

Delicious stir fry

Nalini's Kitchen said...

Delicious curry,looks tempting,never made this combo...will try it for sure.

Amina Creations said...

innovative recipe and nice combination of sweet potatoes and pumpkin.... looks delicious..

Ramya said...

nice and healthy thoran. thanks for sending to Kerala Kitchen

Archana said...

Lovely thoran. I have some sweet potatoes and pumpkin so wll make this for tomorrow. Thanks.
My favourite books were Champak and Chandamama

Faseela said...

yummy thoran with lovely combo....

Vardhini said...

Thoran with sweet potato is new and looks yummy Kaveri. Thx for linking to the event.

Vardhini
Event: Legumes
Event: Side Dishes

Reshmi said...

lovely combination and looks so yum.. thank you so much for the nice comments at my space :)

halal foodie said...

looks very delicious Kaveri, love the preparation

Julie said...

Very healthy n delicious thoran!!

Rush in your "Mint & Coriander seeds" entries(EP Series-Apr)
Erivum Puliyum

Jayanthy Kumaran said...

makes a lipsmacking combo with karakuzhambu..love your version

Tasty Appetite

Hema said...

Looks so inviting, have never tried this combo..

Roshni said...

Nice recipe.. never tried it... as far as comins/books - I love tinkle. like you, i also used to get it once in a while during train travels. expensive I guess. once on a holiday at my grandma's house, she got me a membership at a local library (read - a small room full of comics). Books used to be some 10 paise. I read a lot of tinkle at that time. Also finished all the chacha choudry they had..

Nisha said...

never tried this thoran. good one

Prema said...

wow very healthy recipe,luks so tempting...

Priya dharshini said...

Luv this sweet potato as thoran..Absolutely yum

Kanchan said...

Nice dish ... and even I love tinkle or champak .. you just made me nostalgic :)

Ganga Sreekanth said...

looks so yummy..

Unknown said...

Love this curry, Kaveri - I don;t get pumpkin here but I make a lot of dishes with sweet potatoes - they are increasingly being called the best carbs :) and thank god the kids LOVE it too !

Shanthi Krishnakumar said...

Superb!!! Looks awesome.

Divya A said...

Sounds delicious :) Happy to be your new follower..
http://youtoocancookindianfood.blogspot.in/

Ganga Sreekanth said...

My fav one..Looks delicious.

anjana said...

very healthy and different combo...looks tempting..

Reshmi said...

Tinkle and Champak were my favorites. Honestly, I still love them. Delicious recipe.

Around the World

Reshmi

Hayley said...

Thoran looks so tasty..never had, but thinking trying one day !! Thank you for visiting me and for lovely comment..you too have lovely space !! happy to follow you

Jagruti's Cooking Odyssey
Know Your Flours-Whole Wheat Flour

Vidhya said...

Thoran looks delicious sounds like a wonderful combination.I make a thoran similar to this using pupmkin and potatoes.My favorite comics growing up were Tinkle,Amar chithra katha and Archie.Still buy them for Aishwarya,so get to read them still:)

Anisha said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anisha said...

I did my Schooling from Christ Church Girls SSS Jabalpur. I too had those train journeys from Jabalpur to Kerala, now since I got married it's from Kerala to Jabalpur. I don't remember tinkle much but I've spent those train journeys reading Chacha Choudhry, Archies and Laural and Hardy. I do read Tinkle now, my husband and sis in law are big Tinkle fans, though we have no kids at home we still subscribe to it. Grown up kids ;)

I just harvested sweet potatoes and have been thinking what should I make with them and this seems to be a quick and easy recipe...

Shylaja said...

Interesting combination.Looks delicious

Beena said...

Thoran looks delicious will try www.cookingatmayflower pls visit and join my space in your free time

Unknown said...

simple and easy dish... inviting clicks too.. first time here and happy to follow you. Do visit me http://cooklikepriya.blogspot.co.uk/

Indian Khana said...

Looks yum ...one of my fav

Unknown said...

New Recipe Looks Yummy..happy to follow you..:)

Unknown said...

Interesting combo.. Yum..

vandana rajesh said...

Looks so yumm..an anytime dish with some curd rice. Yumm!!

LifeScoops said...

wow..the thoran looks very good..nice combo..will try this soon

Unknown said...

Wow very well made. Looks divine!!

First at your space, following you.

latha
forknfolks.blogspot.com

Babitha said...

First time here,happy to follow u.

babitha

http://babiscooking.blogspot.in/

Unknown said...

Simple & Delicious dish

gayathri said...

lovely recipe..looks delicious..
http://foody-buddy.blogspot.com/
new follower to ur blog...
If you get a chance, visit my blog...

hotpotcooking said...

Nice thoran, love this combo

Unknown said...

Thoran looks so comforting.I am a book worm.Even I used to read these kind of books,except school (he he )

aipi said...

Definitely a new way to cook sweet potatoes for me which I love and can't wait to try this recipe :)

Puja

Ruxana Gafoor said...

wow innovative and an interesting combo...

Unknown said...

Looks so delicious,Kaveri!! You have a lovely space! Do visit/follow mine when you have time. :)
http://www.rita-bose-cooking.com/

Unknown said...

Looks so delicious

Janani said...

Lovely thoran just out of this world.Can have any time.

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