PARIPPU CURRY

My mother used to make  this for a Saturday lunch ,when we were kids. Saturday was oil bath day for all three of us and after bath we would sit for lunch which was red matta  rice, parippu curry , beans carrot thoren, ulli kachiya neyyi( ghee seasoned with thinly sliced button onions) and pappadam. The aroma of kacchiya neyyi and pariipu curry and pappadam takes me back to those Saturday lunches , we used to have when we where kids.


RECIPE

1. 1/2 cup tuar or channa dal
2. 1 cup water for cooking the dal

For the arappu

1. 1/2 cup coconut(I have used frozen coconut)
2. 1/2 tsp turmeric
3. 1/2 tsp cumin powder
4. 1/2 tsp chili powder (it augments the yellow color of the turmeric)
5. 1 green chili (deseed it if you need less spicy)
6. 6 curry leaves
7. 2 Tbsp. onion chopped
8. 1 small clove of garlic
9. salt to taste (3/4 tsp)

Seasoning

1. 2 tsp chopped onion
2.  2 tsp oil 
3. 1/2 tsp mustard seeds 
4. dry red chilies and curry leaves.

METHOD

1. Soak the dal for atleast 1/2 an hour. Wash and drain the dal and put in the pressure cooker along with 1 cup of water and pressure cook for 3 whistles on high.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
2. In a mixie ,put in the coconut along with the rest of the ingredients for the arrappu. 
   
   
   
   
3. Pour the ground coconut mixture into the cooked dal.
   
   
   
   
   
   
4. Bring the dal mixture to a boil, salt sufficiently, dilute if necessary and turn off the stove.
   
5. For the seasoning, in a pan heat 2 tsp chopped onion, 2 tsp oil ,1/2 tsp mustard seeds ,dry red chillies and curry leaves. The onions should turn slightly brown 1/2 of them if not all. I don't follow the usual order of seasoning, I prefer to throw in the onions in the heated pan and then pour the oil and then the mustard seeds. The mustard seeds should be thrown in when the pan is hot ,otherwise it won't splutter and will remain hard .(I leant that the hard way!!)
   
    
6. Pour the seasoning into the dal mixture.
7. Parippu curry ready.Tastes good with steaming hot rice and a little seasoned ghee and don't forget the pappadams!!!!!!

NOTES

• The curry will condense a little bit as sits for a while ,if so dilute the curry with boiling hot water just before serving.
• Tuar dal and channa dal tastes equally good.
• The traditional recipe calls for button onion but I substitute an equivalent amount of the ordinary onion .