Better green beans

Shawn · Joined: 28 Sep 2007 Posts: 1

To add some more flavor to green beans try adding a little onion when you
cook them. It adds a very good flavor to them.

Archived from group: rec>food>veg>cooking

Regina Schmid · Joined: 17 Aug 2007 Posts: 23

Even better, IMHO, is to prepare green beans completely "Greek style": saute
the onions in olive oil and add tinned or fresh, peeled tomatoes (both
chopped) to boil the beans instead of water. This applies to many
vegetables, such as courgettes, white beans, (after having soaked them in
water first), lentils, lady fingers, eggplants, even cauliflower... The only
spices you have to add is a little bit salt and pepper, but adding instant
vegetable broth is fine too.

Btw., this was how I started to like vegetables which I literally hated
before, and finally helped me a lot to become a vegetarian.

Regina
--
www.archenoah-kreta.com
.... always a warm heart for cold noses!

signman · Joined: 17 Aug 2007 Posts: 8

"Shawn" wrote in message
>To add some more flavor to green beans try adding a >little onion when you
cook them. It adds a very good flavor to them.

My preferred method is to add soy sauce or tamari to the water in which the
green beans are simmered...I also add sliced mushrooms during the last 2
minutes or so of cooking.
signman

Natarajan Krishnaswami · Joined: 17 Aug 2007 Posts: 41

On 2007-09-22, Shawn wrote:
> To add some more flavor to green beans try adding a little onion when you
> cook them. It adds a very good flavor to them.

Also, some sliced/slivered almonds, or a little grated coconut and
some fried mustard seeds.

N.

signman · Joined: 17 Aug 2007 Posts: 8

I'm apparently vegetably-challenged.....what kind of vegetable are lady
fingers?
signman

[quoting trimmed by moderator - Natarajan]
"Regina Schmid" wrote in message@mid.individual.net...
> This applies to many vegetables, such as courgettes, white
> beans, (after having soaked them in water first), lentils, lady
> fingers, eggplants, even cauliflower...

Regina Schmid · Joined: 17 Aug 2007 Posts: 23

Lady fingers are also called okra or - in Greece - bamies. Google shows a
lot of pictures when checking these two other names. Lady fingers seems to
be a less common name, sorry, but there are pictures under this name too.

In short: They are green and healthy and delicious!

Regina
--
www.archenoah-kreta.com
.... always a warm heart for cold noses!

Vicky Conlan · Joined: 17 Aug 2007 Posts: 139

According to :
>I'm apparently vegetably-challenged.....what kind of vegetable are lady
>fingers?

Otherwise known as okra, I think. I've not tried it, as far as I'm aware.
I got the impression it went a bit slimey when cooked, which has put me off
so far.
--

axlq · Joined: 17 Aug 2007 Posts: 2

In article ,
Vicky Conlan wrote:
>According to :
>>I'm apparently vegetably-challenged.....what kind of vegetable are lady
>>fingers?
>
>Otherwise known as okra, I think. I've not tried it, as far as I'm aware.
>I got the impression it went a bit slimey when cooked, which has put me off
>so far.

Me too. Boiled okra creates unbelievable quantities of mucus that
dribbles off like the stringy slime in a Hollywood alien creature
film. I get nauseous just looking at it.

*Fried* okra, on the other hand, is palatable.
-A

Regina Schmid · Joined: 17 Aug 2007 Posts: 23

You don't get slimy okra if you dry them well after washing, add them to the
glassy fried onions and fry them shortly before adding the tomatoes to cook
them. You also have to be careful not to "injure" the okra when cleaning
them.

Another way to avoid the slime is to blanch the ocra shortly in boiling
water with some vinegar added.

Regina
--
www.archenoah-kreta.com
.... always a warm heart for cold noses!

Natarajan Krishnaswami · Joined: 17 Aug 2007 Posts: 41

On 2007-09-27, axlq wrote:
> In article ,
> Vicky Conlan wrote:
>>I got the impression it went a bit slimey when cooked, which has put me off
>>so far.
>
> Me too. Boiled okra creates unbelievable quantities of mucus that
> dribbles off like the stringy slime in a Hollywood alien creature
> film. I get nauseous just looking at it.

Guess you don't like natto much, then. Smile

Lady's finger is the usual term for this veggie in India, and it's one
of my favorite curry vegetables. This preparation is vastly less
slimy than boiled:

In a saucepan/wok, heat a couple Tbsp oil and fry mustard seeds.
When the start to pop, add hing.
After frying it for a moment, add okra (sliced into 1/4" rings),
salt, and red chili.
Reduce the heat to medium, and stir gently to mix the salt, then
stir periodically to let it roast evenly.

I like it roasted to slight crispness, but my parents like it a little
softer (still fairly green, rather than starting to brown). There's a
wide range of palatable doneness, with the only caveat being that it
smells markedly like vulcanized rubber if overcooked. (As usual,
great with rasam, or yogurt rice.)

Another of my favorite accompaniments is okra pachadi: after deep
frying pieces of okra (1/2" or so; not breaded), mix it with yogurt, a
little raw asafoetida (powder), and salt.

My mother makes this a lot when I visit -- she likes it too, but
considers it too much work to make "just" for herself. Last time I
convinced her to try using very thinly sliced bitter melon. She
dipped the slices in jaggery (unrefined sugar) dissolved in water
before frying, which caramelized during the quick fry. (Wow, that was
good. I could've just eaten the bitter melon chips by themselves...)

(Also, howdy axlq! Good to see another ba.foodie here. Bring your
friends! Smile

)

N.

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