This Kerala style moong dal is so simple to make and has got a lovely texture of coconut in it. This is great with some rice. The dal is called Cherupayar in Malayalam and is very popular in the south of India. Hope you will give this a go.
Serves 4 people.
Ingredients
300g green moong, washed and drained
4 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 green chillies, slit
1 tsp salt
½ tsp turmeric powder
1 small fresh coconut
fresh curry leaves (skip if unavailable)
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 shallots, thinly sliced
coconut oil
2 dried red chillies
Method
– Place the dal in a pressure cooker with 1litre of water, 2 garlic cloves, 1 green chilli, turmeric powder, and salt. Cook for 15 minutes. If using a regular pan, soak the dal for 1 hour and cook for 40-45 minutes. Let it sit for 10-15 minutes.
– Crack open the coconut (I like to throw it onto the ground outside). Remove the coconut flesh. Place 150g of the flesh in a blender along with 10 fresh curry leaves, 1 green chilli, and the cumin seeds. Blitz to a pulp.
– Add 2 tbsp of oil to a hot pan. Add the mustard seeds and a few fresh curry leaves, and let them sizzle.
– Add the shallots. Cook for 5 minutes.
– Add the red chillies, and garlic. Cook for 5 minutes.
– Add the coconut mixture to the dal and transfer to the shallot pan. Mix well.
– To serve, add a portion of basmati rice to the centre of a plate and pour the dal around it.