Collection of Poriyal & Thoran - South Indian Vegetable Side Dishes for Lunch

Every day we prepare two varieties of vegetable side dishes for our lunch. Among those two varieties there must be a poriyal dish and the other one is kootu, aviyal or varuval. Varieties of poriyal dishes are countless with our seasonal vegetables. As I said in my poriyal or thuvaram dishes, we add the ground coconut mixture prepared with coconut, small onions, garlic cloves and red chilly or green chilly. This unique coconut paste is often used in our poriyal or thuvaram dishes. Some prefer to add grated coconut or desiccated coconut powder for poriyal dishes. I actually don't like poriyal dishes made without any flavours. For me, poriyal must have a mix of flavours with perfect textures. We usually precook the vegetables in a vessel (except for keerai poriyal) and then we saute it with the tempering ingredients and finished with our coconut mixture. If you find it difficult to precook the vegetables, you can prepare as you like. But actually pre cooking the vegetables saves us our time and it also retains the vegetable colour too. Now we will see different varieties of poriyal dishes. Click on the recipe here or on the images to view the recipe in detail with step by step instructions and pictures.

Collection of Poriyal & Thuvaram - South Indian Vegetable Side Dishes for Lunch

CABBAGE CARROT BEANS STIR FRY - KADAMBA THUVARAM

A very simple and tasty recipe with a great taste and flavour is this cabbage carrot beans thuvaram. This is a very good side dish for all types of South Indian dishes. This is the first side dish served on the plantain leaf during special occasions or festivals. RECIPE HERE.

https://www.virundhombal.com/2017/04/cabbage-carrot-and-beans-stir-fry.html

BEETROOT AND GREEN PEAS PORIYAL

This is a quick and healthy side dish for your lunch. You can also use black eyed peas instead of green peas. You have to add lots of chopped onions and coconut. This dish is colourful with the dark green peas, red beets and white coconut gratings. RECIPE HERE.

SIRU KEERAI THUVARAM

This siru keerai thuvaram is a very popular, healthy and of course tasty side dish too. In Tirunelveli, people used to say as kothikeerai for this dish.In this recipe the ground paste adds a lot of flavour to the thuvaram and cooked toor dal enhances the taste. RECIPE HERE.

SNAKE GOURD PORIYAL

Snake gourd is a wonderful vegetable with many health benefits.Snake gourd includes a large amount of water as well as fiber, only a number of calories. It makes the cooling effect within the body. Cooking the snake gourd with little techniques will give you a tasty dish. RECIPE HERE.

BEANS CARROT THUVARAM

The combination of diced beans, diced carrots, cooked toor dal and coconut small onion paste makes a colourful side dish for Sambar, rasam and for all South Indian meals.This is an easy recipe that could work best for a busy weekday mornings for your lunch boxes because there is no much preparation after chopping the veggies. RECIPE HERE.

https://www.virundhombal.com/2017/08/beans-carrot-stir-frythuvaram.html

LADIES FINGER PORIYAL

Ladies finger/okra is a high fibre vegetable and are easy to cook. When it comes to preparing a side dish for rice with ladies finger there are many interesting dishes that tastes good. This ladies finger poriyal is prepared with lots of chopped onions and coconuts. You can eat this poriyal simply as a salad. RECIPE HERE.

https://www.virundhombal.com/2017/12/ladies-fingerokra-poriyalstir-fry.html

SWEET POTATO PORIYAL

Sweet potato is a wonderful vegetable which can be cooked within 3 to 5 minutes. The natural sweetness in the potato is a nature's gift. You can simply eat this cooked sweet potatoes without any tempering or flavouring. This is such a great vegetable which can be enjoyed without much work. RECIPE HERE.

https://www.virundhombal.com/2018/03/sweet-potato-stir-fry-seenikizhangu.html

CABBAGE PORIYAL

This Cabbage poriyal is a simple and healthy side dish for your lunch. This poriyal is an easy way to use cabbage. It's best to use fresh cabbage for this poriyal because the chopped leaves were slightly tender with medium crunch. RECIPE HERE.

BRINJAL PORIYAL

Brinjal poriyal is a spicy and tasty side dish for many South Indian dishes. And also, for those who want to eat brinjals simply as a starter with less oil, this brinjal poriyal is the best one. RECIPE HERE.

https://www.virundhombal.com/2018/07/brinjal-egg-plant-stir-fry-kathirikkai.html

CARROT PORIYAL

Carrot poriyal is also similar to my other thuvaram/poriyal varieties. It includes simple ingredients like coconut, small onions, green chillies, cumins and other tempering ingredients. For this poriyal, you can add cooked green peas or black eyed peas. RECIPE HERE.

VAZHAIKKAI PORIYAL

Vazhaikkai (Plantain) Poriyal can be prepared in many different methods. It is a vegetable that can be used for most of us during fasting. It is included in our diet after the fasting is over. It is helpful in boosting the immune system and regulate digestion. RECIPE HERE.

VAZHAI THANDU THUVARAM

Vazhai thandu thuvaram is one of my all time favourite side dish for meals. Vazhai thandu has a good source of fiber, pottasium, phosphorus, B6 and calcium. Having banana stem in our food will prevent constipation and ulcer problems as it contains lots of fiber. RECIPE HERE.

https://www.virundhombal.com/2017/06/vazhai-thanduplantain-pith-thuvaramstir.html

DRUMSTICK LEAVES THUVARAM

This drumstick leaves thuvaram is a unique side dish in South Indian cuisine. They're made with little cooked toor dal and ground coconut, jeera paste. Finally 1 tbsp of coconut oil is added to enhance the taste and it prevents the leaves to stick each other. RECIPE HERE.

BITTER GOURD THUVARAM

Bitter gourd is cooked in a variety of ways. It is sometimes fried, steamed or roasted. But in this recipe , the bitter gourd is pre cooked and sauted with equal amount of onions and in addition we have to add cooked toor dal & coconut paste. RECIPE HERE.

https://www.virundhombal.com/2017/07/bitter-gourd-stir-fry.html

YELLOW PUMPKIN PORIYAL

Yellow pumpkin Poriyal is a super soft, tasty side dish for your lunch. The yellow pumpkins are perfect for a poriyal because they have a soft texture with quite hardness. That is why they are a great vegetable for a poriyal. RECIPE HERE.

https://www.virundhombal.com/2018/06/yellow-pumpkin-stir-fry-poosanikai.html

AGATHI KEERAI PORIYAL

For agathi keerai poriyal, we have to cook the leaves well because the leaves are thick and it takes more time to cook when compared to other greens. RECIPE HERE.

SENAIKIZHANGU PORIYAL

Senaikizhangu poriyal is a simple and tasty side dish for any rice or kuzhambu dishes. These fries are crispy with garlic and cumin flavours. RECIPE HERE.

https://www.virundhombal.com/2018/04/elephant-foot-yam-fry-senaikizhangu.html

MANATHAKKALI KEERAI PORIYAL

Manathakkali keerai has thin leaves which are best suitable for poriyal. In fact, removing the manathakkali leaves from the stem is very easy too. This manathakkali keerai is same as my other keerai poriyal recipes. RECIPE HERE.

POTATO PORIYAL

A classic potato poriyal served for lemon rice or tamarind rice or rasam makes a delicious and unforgettable lunch experience for many of us. This potato poriyal is so easy to make but it is not quick. RECIPE HERE.

PONNANGANI KEERAI THUVARAM

Red Ponnangani keerai thuvaram is prepared with onions, coconut small onions paste and with cooked moong dal or toor dal. This red ponnangani keerai has so many medicinal benefits.RECIPE HERE.

VENDHAYA KEERAI PORIYAL

Methi (Fenugreek) leaves Poriyal - simple and healthy side dish for your lunch with 5 basic ingredients. For methi leaves poriyal, there is no need to chop the greens. RECIPE HERE.

https://www.virundhombal.com/2018/11/methi-fenugreek-leaves-stir-fry.html

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