Asparagus Poriyal (or Asparagus Thoran) recipe is a quick and easy South Indian style stir fry prepared with fresh asparagus, fresh coconut, and tempered with few spices.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 10 minutes
  • Cook time: 10 minutes
  • Total time: 20 minutes
  • Yield: 4
  • Category: Main Course
  • Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients

  • 1 pound asparagus (chopped, (about 2.5 cups))
  • 1 tablespoon coconut oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
  • 1/2 teaspoon urad dal
  • 2 dry red chillies
  • 1 stalk curry leaves
  • 1 pinch hing (asafoetida)
  • 1 small onion (finely chopped)
  • 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
  • salt (to taste)
  • 2-3 tablespoons fresh coconut
  • 2 tablespoons coriander (finely chopped)

Method

  1. Wash the asparagus thoroughly, dry them. Trim woody ends of the asparagus (~1 inch from the bottom). Then cut the asparagus into ¼ inch pieces.
  2. Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds and let them crackle for few seconds. Then add in the urad dal, dry red chilies, curry leaves, hing and saute till the dal turns light brown.
  3. Add the chopped onion and saute till the onions are translucent and light brown. Takes appx 2 minutes.
  4. Next add the asparagus, turmeric, salt and stir-fry on medium low flame till they are tender and cooked. Turn off the gas and sprinkle shredded coconut and combine well.
  5. Serve the Asparagus Poriyal(Asparagus Stir Fry) along with Rice and rasam.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.