Parippu Curry and Kalan for Onasadhya

Over 600 varieties of rice are grown in the extensive paddy fields that dot the state of Kerala. Not surprisingly, rice is the staple food of the malayali. It finds its way onto breakfast plates in the form of puttu, idli, dosa and appam; forms the main course for lunch and dinner with some curries on the side; and rice forms a main ingredient of several savory snacks and sweets.

A meal without rice in some form feels incomplete to the malayali. In a sadhya, he has several small (or large) helpings of rice and each helping is accompanied by a different chaaru curry (ozhichu kootan) - a curry that has a loose gravy or sauce. The first of these is a simple parippu/lentil curry. A little parippu, some ghee(clarified butter) and a pappadam mixed in with some piping hot rice make such a good combination that all the other vegetarian curries on the top half of the banana leaf may as well be forgotten.

Parippu Curry
(Recipe Source: My parents)

Ingredients:

1 cup toor dal/tuvara parippu/yellow pigeon peas

3 green chilies, slit lengthwise

1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder

3 cups water

1/2 teaspoons sugar

To taste, salt

To grind:

1/4 cup grated coconut

1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds

Seasoning:

3 dried red chilies

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

1 teaspoon fenugreek

2 sprigs curry leaves

4-5 shallots chopped

2 tablespoons coconut oil

Method:

Pressure cook the dal along with water, green chilies and turmeric powder will done.

Grind together the coconut and cumin seeds. Add this paste to the cooked dal. Add sugar and salt and boil for a few minutes.

In a small pan, heat coconut oil. Fry mustard seeds, red chilies, fenugreek, curry leaves and shallots. Add the seasoning to the dal, and mix together.

Serve with hot rice along with ghee and Kerala pappadam/papad. But don't overstuff yourselves because I have one more chaaru curry for you, the kalan. Kalan is banana and yam cooked in coconut and curd, seasoned with mustard seeds, curry leaves and dried red chilies.

Kalan
(Recipe Source:Vanitha)

Ingredients:

2 cups curd

A. ¼ cup raw banana skinned and cubed + ¼ cup yam cubed

                                             or
½ cup raw banana skinned and cubed
1 sprig curry leaves
¼ cup green chili, slit open lengthwise
¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
¼ teaspoon red chili powder
1 teaspoon black pepper powder
About ½ cup water
To taste, salt

B.
½ a coconut shredded
¼ teaspoon small cumin seeds

C.
2 tablespoons coconut oil
3 dried red chilies
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 sprig curry leaves

D.
1 teaspoon fenugreek powder (Dry roasted and powdered) 

Method:

Grind ingredients labeled B to a smooth paste.

Combine all ingredients labeled A, and pressure cook till the yam and banana are just cooked. One whistle would be enough. Open the cooker and boil off most of the water on a high heat because the Kalan should be thick.

Beat curd in a mixi or processor. On a low heat, add curd to the pressure cooker. Keep stirring for a few minutes, taking care the curd does not curdle.

Add the coconut paste to the kalan. Take off fire when it just starts boiling. Add more salt if required. 

For seasoning, fry all ingredients labeled C in hot coconut oil in a small pan. Add the seasoning to the kalan and mix well. When it has cooled down, add powdered fenugreek to it and mix well.

Enjoy!

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