French beans Foogath

french beans foogath
Explore Goan cuisine through this vibrant green, mild, sidedish beans foogath. This French beans foogath is a wonderful gluten-free vegan addition to your platter. Pair it with the spicy vindaloo and some rice to enjoy the flavours of the Anglo Indian cuisine.
Among the cuisines of India,  there are far too many that I have not deep-dived into. One such is the coastal Goan cuisine. Though the similarity of the ingredients to Kerala cuisine pulls me in, there is a certain bit of mastery required to perfect the amalgamation of cultures that the dishes present. However, two dishes that have been approved as close to authentic by my Goan friends are the foogath and the vindaloo. Trust me it took multiple tries to get them convinced on the vindaloo, yet the foogath was a better quicker success. So here is the recipe for beans foogath.

Understanding Goan cuisine

Though one of the smallest states In India, Goa holds a sizable portion of tourist income in India. The delightful endless Arabian Sea beaches, the vibrant nightlife and the cuisine to match keep Goa one of the most sought destinations in the world. Coconuts, spices, kokum and fish dominated the gaon food world. With the Portuguese colonisation, wine, vinegar and alliums came in. This complicated matters and transformed into a unique fusion cuisine that had fiery and sweet notes at the same time and is fondly referred to as Anglo-Indian cuisine.  The Portuguese colony grew potatoes, cashews, pineapples etc that added the necessary twist to the vegetable and fruit zones of the cuisine. with the introduction of baking the cuisine developed its uniqueness and always wowed its visitors.

What is a foogath?

A delightful, sidedish of stirfried vegetables with coconut is foogath or Fugad. Pretty much a beginner recipe, this is a fusion Anglo- Indian dish. Foogath originated from the word “Refogado” which is to saute in butter with seasoning. In Goan cuisine, this seasoning includes coconut and some Indian spices. the vegetables that are easily cooked are the ones that make a flavourful foogath, like beans, cabbage, breadfruit, pumpkin, radish etc. Cooked on low heat these vegetables release enough moisture to steam themselves and they form a dry yet soft side dish. The recipe for foogath is a great way o add a variety of vegetables to your diet. 

Thoran vs foogath

There are plenty of similarities between the beans thoran and the French beans foogath though the differences are just a few. Unlike what Google throws up, both thoran and foogath are made with mixed vegetables too. The key difference in flavour in find in both these recipes comes down to what is seasoned with the masala. there are no dals ( urad or channa dal)added to the seasoning along with the spluttering mustard seeds. These are seen in the thoran preparation. Instead, there are garlic, chillies and shallots that are sauteed. We do find shallots and chillies in thoran too, but not commonly. This flavours the oil differently in each case. along with the freshly grated coconut and the crunchy beans, both recipes are just slightly different from each other. Here is the bean thoran recipe for you to compare – Click here.

Ingredients for the beans foogath

French beans: French beans or Haricot verts are my choice for making foogath. longer and skinner these beans have a lot lower cooking time. These are a lot more easily available in the coastal states and are grown and harvested much faster than regular green beans. For the flavour, these are a bit sweeter and crunchier among the varieties. Pick up the firm ones that snap when bend o ensure freshness and tender vegetables. Instead, it is ok to swap to yard-long beans or regular green beans by adjusting the cooking time. 
Shallots and garlic: Shallots and garlic flavour the oil that the beans are sauteed in adding that essential flavour classic to the foogath. Thinly sliced shallots fry up to a sweet flavour too. The garlic is just pounded to add to the recipe. 
Chilli: Though a mild side dish, the foogath is incomplete without adding the heat of the chillies. When fried along with the shallots and garlic, the chilli oil adds so much flavour to the beans foogath. 
Mustard: Since it is a fusion dish, the recipe starts with spluttering mustard seeds in coconut oil. This is a classic coastal cuisine aroma that rules the Konkan Kerala belt. the classic black little mustard seeds are used. 
Salt: Salt adds flavour to the dish. It also helps to draw out the water needed for cooking these beans. Any salt that you regularly use for cooking is fine in this recipe.
Oil: You can use oil or butter to make this recipe. With those swaying coconut trees in the background, coconut oil is the choice for the goan cuisine, so I prefer the same.
Curry leaves: anything on the southern belt gets a few curry leaves thrown in. So does this recipe. I have not added any as it is not an essential ingredient. 
Grated coconut: the entire dish comes together with freshly grated, sweet milky flecks of coconut. Try and use the fresh one and it makes a world of difference in flavour. However, frozen coconut will work too. I am not fond of adding desiccated coconut to this recipe as it makes it a bit dry. 

Let’s make beans foogath

The recipe card below carries the details of making this French beans foogath recipe. We have added an easier step-by-step microwave foogath method to cook this recipe as well. 

French beans foogath from goan cuisine

French beans Foogath

Explore Goan cuisine through this vibrant green, mild, sidedish beans foogath. This French beans foogath is a wonderful gluten-free vegan addition to your platter. Pair it with the spicy vindaloo and some rice to enjoy the flavours of the Anglo Indian cuisine.
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes
Total Time 32 minutes
Course Side Dish, Soups and salad, Traditional
Cuisine Baby toddler food, diabetic friendly, gluten free, Goan, Indian, Microwave, One pot, Vegan, Vegetarian, Winter
Servings 4 people

Equipment

  • frying pan
  • chopping board
  • Knife

Ingredients
  

for the vegetable mix

  • 250 grams french beans or green beans
  • 2 small shallots
  • 1 green chilli chopped , remove seeds.
  • 3 cloves garlic

for temering

  • 1 tbsp coconut oil
  • 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
  • salt to taste

for finishing the dish

  • 3 tbsp grated coconut

Instructions
 

  • Wash the beans clean. String the beans to remove the fibrous thread which runs along the sides.
  • Cut the beans slanting to create diagonal cuts. Set it aside till needed.
    french beans
  • Clean the shallot and slice thin. Set aside.
  • Chop the green chilli small after removing the seed. Add along with the sliced shallots.
  • Pound the garlic and keep it aside.
  • Into the frying pan add the coconut oil and the mustard seed.
    flavoring the oil
  • As the mustard seed crackle, add the shallot, garlic and chillies chopped. Saute for a minute till the oil turns aromatic.
  • Add the cut beans and saute well.
  • Sprinkle salt.
  • Stir well for a minute
  • Cover and cook for 5 minutes on low heat flame.
  • Open the lid , sprinkle the coconut and toss well.
  • There will be a bit of water, keep tossing till the water evaporates on a open flame.
  • Serve hot with steaming rice and kokum flavoured curry or vindaloo for a complete meal.

Microwave method

  • Use microwave cooking safe bowl with lid.
  • Add the oil into the bowl and the mustard seeds. cover with the lid Set on high for 2 minutes, to allow the mustard seeds to crackle.
  • Next, add the shallots, chillies and garlic , cover with a lid and set on high for 3 minutes.
  • Add the beans, and toss in to coat with the oil. Sprinkle the salt toss again,
  • Sprinkle a handful of water, cover with a lid and set on 5 minutes on a high.
  • Open the lid carefully as the steam may scald. be careful. Add in the coconut and stir in well.
  • Its ready to serve.
    french beans foogath

Notes

You can add curry leaves along with the shallots.
Use green chillies based on your spice levels, you can avoid it if you dont like them.
You can squeeze in a bit of lemon to just brighten up the flavours
Keyword bean salad, beans and legumes, Indian vegetarian dinner, warm salad
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Meal prep and lunch boxes

As fresh as it looks, the beans foogath recipe stays well for three to four days in the refrigerator. Cool and transfer to a fridge-safe container to store. The recipe freezes well for up to two months, however, the coconut loses its aroma. since the microwave foogath recipe just takes a few minutes, I try to make this as fresh as possible. however, I cut the veggies over the weekend to dd so they are ready for me.  In the lunch box, you can easily add some rice, this foogath and vindaloo to make an Indian lunchbox. 

Stay connected

This fresh green foogath recipe is so easy to make yet add vibrancy to the meal platter. Share with us what you think of this recipe when you make it. let us know whether you prefer the microwave foogath over the stove top version.  Remember to use the star rating to share how effective were our explanations too. Stay in touch with us via Instagram or Facebook to see what new ideas we are exploring. Please subscribe so you get the newly uploaded content directly to your inbox.

Collaborations

Published in May 2017, this recipe for French beans foogath has always been one that I get a lot of visits. while making the recipe recently, I couldn’t help wondering if I actually value added to my reader in any way. While rereading, I realised that I may not have added everything I know about this recipe. So here we are updating the same content, with a prompt from the Foodies redoing the old post group.

See you in the next post.

Pin for later

French beans foogath

5 1 vote
Rating

Subscribe & Follow

You Might Also Like

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

1 Comment
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Priya Vj
9 months ago
Rating :
     

I loved this foogath with very simple flavoring. You have cut the beans so evenly ..it is a treat to the eyes .

1
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x