Parippu – Kerala Style moong dal with coconut in it! A delicious dal to have with some piping hot rice and a dollop of ghee! An integral part of the Onam Sadya!
Dal has always been comfort food for me, whether it is the simple toor dal with a hing tadka Or the kickass methi & palak dal my MIL makes with tamarind o r the Punjabi dhabha walli dal. So it wasn’t a surprise that I fell in love with parippu, the kerala style roasted moong dal with coconut. The roasted moong dal gives it a nutty flavour which is enhanced by coconut and the spiciness of chillies and shallots.
Isn’t is amazing how every part of India has its own special dal recipe. And there is really no standard recipe to this. I think the taste and the ingredients vary from household to household. And yet there is dal which binds us together in an amazing way. I have had dal in many places and I must admit, there has been a variation in taste even if it the same dal and the same ingredients. In fact, my dal tastes different from my mom, and yet I use her recipes a lot 🙂 Guess, this is what they call as ‘haath-haath ka farak’.
One of the key reasons why we have dal as an integral part of the Indian diet is to ensure proper protein supply to the body. Since many Indians are vegetarians, getting that right amount of protein into the body is important and dal does contributes significantly to that. In fact, I am a big fan of having dal at least one meal a day. Whether you eat it with rice or rotis or just as it is, definitely include one kind of dal in your daily diet. It is very good for the health, provides proteins and aids in digestion.
This parippu is a part of the Onam Sadya and is often eaten with hot rice and a dollop of ghee!
Onam Recipes : Parippu (moong dal with coconut)
Ingredients
- 1 cup moong dal yellow
- to taste salt
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
For the seasoning
- 1 tsp oil
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- Handful curry leaves of
- 2 chillies broken red (deseeded)
To be Ground to Paste
- 1/3 cup coconut fresh
- 2 -3 green chillies
- 4 - 5 shallots
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
Instructions
- In a pan, dry roast the moong dal till slightly brown and fragrant. Let it cool and give it a nice wash.
- In a pressure cooker, add two cups of water, salt and turmeric to the dal and boil till completely done. About 4 minutes after the first whistle. Let the steam escape on its own.
- While the dal is boiling grind together coconut, chillies, shallots and cumin seeds to a fine paste. Add a little water if needed.
- Using a whisk, lightly mash the dal. Add the coconut paste to the mashed dal and return to heat. Boil for about 6-8 minutes till the coconut is fully cooked.
- In a small pan heat oil and add mustard seeds. Saute till they crackle, add the broken red chillies and saute for another two minutes. Add the curry leaves and turn off the heat. Pour this over the cooked dal and serve with hot steaming rice and a dollop of ghee.
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