How to Make Vegetable Stir-Fry
I like to cook and eat natural, healthy, and tasty foods, and I enjoy sharing recipes from my native Indian cuisine.
Stir-Fried Vegetables
Stir-Fried Veggies Are Vibrant and Tasty
Stir-frying is one of the quickest ways of cooking. When you are in a hurry, this method will surely save you time. This is a Chinese method of cooking vegetables that a been around for a long time.
For stir-frying, you use high temperature, less oil, and less cooking time. This way, stir-fried veggies retain their color and nutrients. Here, you can make vegetable stir-fry in bulk using less oil.
All types of veggies can be cooked by stir-frying. Here, I have stir-fried flat beans (chapparada avarekai). They took about 10-12 minutes to cook. These stir-fried beans were colorful and delicious. I served them with hot steamed rice.
Let us learn now in detail how to make a vegetable stir-fry.
Cook Time
Prep time | Cook time | Ready in | Yields |
---|---|---|---|
10 min | 12 min | 22 min | Serves four people |
Ingredients
- 1 heaped bowl flat green beans (chapparada avarekai), wash, remove the fiber on the sides, roughly chop them
- 1/4 cup grated coconut, optional, Indians use it, it gives nice flavor and taste
- 1 green chili, optional, I didn't use, for extra hotness
- 1 dry red chili, hot variety, broken
- 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
- 6-8 curry leaves
- 1 tbsp oil, I used coconut oil, you can use any oil of your choice
- 1/2 tsp jaggery powder or sugar, optional, to balance the taste, I used
- 1/3 tsp salt, or as per taste
Step-By-Step Instructions and Images for Making Vegetable Stir-Fry
- Wash the vegetables. You can use any type of veggie to make a stir-fry. I used flat green beans.
- Chop them finely or roughly, according to your preference.
- Finely chopped veggies cook faster. I chopped them lengthwise into small pieces. You can use a vegetable chopper here. Keep the chopped veggies aside.
- Heat oil in a deep-bottomed pan. Add mustard seeds. Let them crackle.
- Throw in slit green chilies (optional), broken dry red chilies, and curry leaves. Saute on low heat for about 10 seconds.
- Now, add chopped vegetables. Add some salt. Mix them. Increase the heat to the maximum.
- Stir-cook the veggies for 3-4 minutes. Now, reduce the heat a little. Add 2 cups of water. Add jaggery powder or sugar. Mix well. Cover the pan. Stir it occasionally to ensure the veggies not burning in the bottom.
- Once the entire water evaporates, add remaining salt. Mix well. By now, the veggies would have cooked properly.
- Turn off the heat. Add grated coconut. Mix well.
- Your favorite vegetable stir-fry is ready! Serve it as a side dish with cooked rice. Enjoy eating this simple, nutrient-rich side dish.

Step two: Heat oil in a deep-bottomed pan. Add mustard seeds. Let them crackle. Throw in broken red chilies and green chilies(optional). Also add curry leaves. Saute for 10 seconds on low heat.

Step three: Add chopped veggies and some salt. Mix well. Increase the heat. Stir-cook them for 3-4 minutes. Next, reduce the heat a little.

Step four: Add sugar or jaggery powder and two cups of water. Mix well. Cover the pan. Cook while stirring occasionally.

Step five: After some time, the water evaporates completely and the veggies get cooked. Add remaining salt. Mix well. Turn off the heat.
Comments
ShailaSheshadri (author) from Bengaluru on March 23, 2018:
Thanks for reading my hub. It is a normal method here to add grated coconut to the stir-fried vegetables. It tastes really good. Try it once.
Margie's Southern Kitchen from the USA on March 23, 2018:
We love stir-fry but have never put coconut in it. Your dish looks delicious. Thanks for sharing.