Beans Poriyal Recipe (Green Beans with Coconut)

Beans poriyal is a quick and tasty South Indian recipe made with tender french beans, savory spices and fresh coconut. This is a dry steamed dish whether the green beans are beautifully cooked until tender with some herbs and spices like mustard seeds, curry leaves, red chilies and later finished with some freshly grated coconut. A healthy side dish that pairs greatly with most South Indian meals.

Poriyal is a South Indian dry vegetable preparation where the veggies are sauteed or steamed with spices and later mixed with fresh grated coconut. You can make poriyal with veggies like cabbage, carrot, beetroot, okra, potato etc.

I make poriyal recipes often as a side dish with sambar or rasam along with rice. Poriyals are easy and quick to make and are healthy vegan side dishes that comes together quickly.

I have already shared few poriyal recipes like:

1. Carrot poriyal
2. Cabbage poriyal
3. Beetroot poriyal 
4. Vendakkai poriyal

Beans are a healthy vegetable and I try to include them in various ways. This poriyal recipe is one of those recipes I make often with beans along with Beans thoran, Beans foogath and Aloo beans sabzi.

I suggest to use fresh tender green beans. The beans should snap easily when you break them. This means that they are crisp, fresh and tender.

You can serve beans poriyal with roti, chappati or as a side dish with sambar-rice or rasam-rice combo. It will also go well with dal and rice combo.

How to make Beans Poriyal Recipe

Preparing Green Beans

1. Rinse 225 to 250 grams of french beans for a few times in water very well using a colander. Later drain all the water.

2. Take some beans on the chopping board. Remove the side strings from the beans if you are able to. In some beans the side strings comes of easily and in some they don’t.

3. Then chop them diagonally or straight in ¼ inch pieces. Collect 6 to 7 beans together and chop them. This works faster, than chopping each french bean separately.

You can also use a food chopper or a food processor to chop beans. But ensure that you don’t chop too finely.

4. Keep the chopped french beans aside.

5. Measure and keep all the ingredients ready for making french beans poriyal.

Making Beans Poriyal

6. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a kadai or pan. Keep the heat to a low. Add ¾ teaspoon mustard seeds and ¾ teaspoon urad dal (split husked black gram).

You can use any neutral flavored oil or coconut oil. I like to use coconut oil in this dish.

7. On low heat fry the mustard seeds and urad dal, till the mustard seeds splutter and crackle.

8. When the mustard seeds begin to crackle, you will also see the urad dal changing color. Fry the lentils till they turn into a maroonish red color. Remember not to burn the dal.

9. Add 2 dry red chilies which are broken and deseeded. Also, add 1 sprig of curry leaves (about 10 to 12 curry leaves).

if you don’t have dry red chillies then you can add about ½ teaspoon of chopped green chilies or serrano pepper.

10. Next add ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder and 1 pinch of asafoetida (hing). Mix well.

11. Now add the chopped french beans.

12. Mix very well.

13. Saute for a minute and then add ½ cup water.

14. Also add salt as required. Mix well again.

Cooking Beans

15. Cover the pan with a tight lid. On a low heat simmer the french beans till they are cooked and tender.

16. Check beans poriyal in between whilst cooking. If the water dries up, you can add some more water.

17. Simmer till the french beans have become tender. There should be no water in the pan. If there is water, then cook without the lid till all the water evaporates.

Once the beans are cooked till tender and there is no water in the pan, then add 2 to 3 tablespoon fresh grated coconut.

You can also use frozen coconut or desiccated coconut.

18. Stir and mix very well and then switch off the heat.

21. Serve Beans poriyal hot or warm with sambar and steamed rice or as a side with any South Indian meal. They also taste good with roti or paratha or you can pair it with dal and rice.

Since coconut is added to the recipe, I recommend not to store it as the coconut can become rancid. So eat the poriyal as soon as you make it or within an hour or two depending the temperature and climate in your city.

Please be sure to rate the recipe in the recipe card or leave a comment below if you have made it. For more vegetarian inspirations, Sign Up for my emails or follow me on Instagram, Youtube, Facebook, Pinterest or Twitter.

This Beans Poriyal recipe post from the blog archives (first published in December 2013) has been updated and republished on 29 June 2021.