Today's recipe is part of the Kerala Onam Sadya Feast that I had prepared for Buffet On Table. All South Indian Thali or Banana leaf serving makes it mandatory that Dal is first served on the rice with ghee. I adapted this recipe from Rajani, who prepared it with Moong dal and the omnipresent Coconut paste. Though this was not part of my menu, seeing how delicious it sounded, I had to make it.

So here's another way of making a simple day, in Kerala style Paruppu Curry.

As Rajani says, in different parts of Kerala, different dals are served. While some use toor, some use moong dal as well. While some keep it simple by serving plain dal with ghee, without tempering, some temper it with mustard and red chilies.

Some even add ground coconut with green chilies. I naturally wanted to go with the different one from what I am used to. We too have Mudda Pappu, which is plain boiled toor dal, seasoned with salt, and served with ghee. Sometimes we temper, sometimes leave it as such. I welcome the similarities and wanted to make it different too.

The dal was very delicious and one can make this for a regular meal as well

This is part of my Onam Sadya I prepared for Mega BM for the Indian States

To read about how I went ahead preparing the Onam Sadya, read the preparation post.

Planning the Onam Sadya Menu helps you cooking up the dishes quickly. Since all are simple vegetarian dishes, you can cook many within a short time frame.

Kerala Paruppu Curry

Ingredients Needed:

Moong dal - 1/2 cup
Turmeric powder - a pinch

To grind:

Coconut - 1/4 cup
Green Chillies - 1-2
Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp
A pod of garlic or two are ground as well, some people skip it when making for Sadya.

For tempering

Ghee - 1 tsp
Curry leaves
Mustard Seeds

How to make the Parippu

MW Moong dal for 10 mins with twice the amount of water along with turmeric.

Grind the coconut with chilies, cumin, and garlic (if using) to a fine paste, adding water as required.

Once the dal is cooked, transfer it to a kadai and bring it to a boil. Add the coconut paste, salt and let it cook for 4-5 minutes. You can add more water if the parippu is thick.

Heat a small pan for tempering, add a spoon or two of ghee, and temper with mustard seeds, curry leaves, and red chilies as well.