Cheera Thoran ( Spinach stir fry)- Onam Sadya Recipes series number 4

A traditional onam sadya has 26 recipes including chips, papadam,desserts and rice. A thoran is one of the dishes prepared for this sadya.Thoran is a simple stir fry with grated coconut. Any vegetable can be prepared for a thoran but the usual ones are cabbage, combos of cababge and carrot, carrot and beans. I have clues why these vegetables get this role every year. Maybe its easier and all the other vegetables get their parts in other curries so these humble veggies find their glory in the form of a thoran, When you have a larger gathering it makes sense to make a cabbage thoran because it saves time and effort. But in small families I think we could try different thorans. So I plan on trying  cheera thoran this time. I love this red spinach and I am in mood to  try something different from the normal curries for onam this time. And I love the change in colour on my banana leaf . The steps  for any thoran would be the same except for the change in vegetables you choose. So hope you have started your preps. Stay tuned for more recipes.

Ingredients for Cheera Thoran

Red Spinach ( or green) - 6 bunches

Grated coconut- 1 coconut

Onion- 1 large

Green chilies- 4-5

Mustard seeds- 1 tsp

Curry leaves- 7-8

Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp

Oil- 2 tbsp

Salt- to taste

Directions

Clean the spinach and chop it roughly.Heat oil in a pan. Add the mustard seeds and let it splutter now add the curry leaves and fry it for  a minute. Add chopped onions and green chilies saute till the begin to brown. Add turmeric powder and salt and saute for another minute.

 Now add the spinach and let it wilt. Once they wilt they are half done so add the grated coconut and stir for five minutes taking breaks. Water content from the spinach would have evaporated by now and so its ready to be served. For other vegetables the cooking time might vary.

Another off beat thoran not often made for onam is the green tomato thoran. My garden is full of green tomatoes these days so I guess its the right time to try these too.
 For those interested here's the recipe http://ooonuready.blogspot.in/2012/12/pacha-thakali-thoran-green-tomato-stir.html