Thursday, July 16, 2015

Paruppu keerai / Spinach dal

'Spinach of any variety cooked with Thoor dal and tempered' is the one line recipe for today's post. I would like to share this for my readers who are in the beginning stages of cooking.
Here are some ways to make this recipe more simple.
1. South Indians always cook dal for sambar. So while pressure-cooking the dal for sambar , add a handful of more lentils (thuvaram paruppu) and save that cooked dal for this spinach.
2. Cooked dal can be kept in fridge upto 24 hours.
3. Thoor dal can be replaced with green gram lentil (pasi paruppu)

Paruppu keerai

Ingredients:
Thoor dal (thuvaram paruppu) - 1/4 cup
(or) cooked dal - 1 cup
spinach - 1 bunch
oil / ghee - 1 tsp
mustard seed -  1/2 tsp
urid dal - 1/2 tsp
dry red chilly - 1
curry leaves - few
salt - as per taste.
shallot - 2 
cumin - 1/2 tsp

Method:
Pressure cook the dal with 1 cup water, 1/4 tsp turmeric powder and hing a pinch.
(To cook the dal : Soak the dal in warm water for 10 minutes. In a pressure cooker , add these and wait for 1 whistle. After that reduce flame to minimum and cook for 8 minutes).
Clean the spinach and rinse well. Chop finely.
Heat oil / ghee in a wok. Add mustard, urid dal and let the mustard pop. Then add the finely chopped shallot, red chilly pieces, curry leaf and saute for a few seconds. Then add the chopped spinach.
Cook without closing. Add few tsp of water and add salt after the spinach has cooked completely.
Then add the cooked dal,  cumin and bring to a boil.
Switch off.
Spinach dal is ready!


Serving suggestion:
serve as side dish with any rice, chapati or as curry over rice with some ghee.

Menu suggestion:
If you have planned a menu on making paruppu rasam, ketti paruppu and this paruppu keerai along with rice, then  just pressure cook the thuvar dal and use the dal to make ketti paruppu and this spinach. While we can use the excess water in cooked dal to make rasam. By this way we can plan a simple and delicious quick meal. Try preparing potato fry along with this and make your family happier :)

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