Hearty and delicious pigeon pea lentils cooked with coconut ground with garlic, cumin and chillies to make this Sadya Parippu Curry that is a staple in all Kerala Sadyas – a traditional feast.
I love all lentil preparations, commonly called as dal in the northern part of India and parippu curry / saaru in the southern part of the country. If it is something from Kerala, it has to have coconut, not just some of it, but preferably in more than one form. This parippu curry has some grated coconut ground with spices and the seasoning is tempered in coconut oil. So so good for the soul! (at least for me!) This curry is usually made for Kerala Sadya (the traditional feast for festivals, weddings etc) but that doesn’t mean it has to stop you from making it any other day. What with the kind of rainy gloomy weather we have here in Seattle, I can easily settle down with a warm bowl of this and watch some TV (now, that totally depends on lil V).
If you are interested in checking out other Sadya recipes, here is our collection of over 40 Kerala Sadya Recipes.
Split yellow moong dal or toor dal (pigeon peas) is used for this curry. Cook the dal well with some turmeric ( a pressure cooker can make this an easy job for you). Grind grated coconut with cumin seeds, garlic, pearl onions and green and dried red chilis. Add this to your cooked dal mixture, add salt. Cook well and temper the seasonings and pour on top. Voila! Your soul mate for the cold season is here!
Parippu Curry – The Recipe
Ingredients:
Moong Dal (yellow split dal) or Toor Dal (pigeon peas) – 1 cup
Water – 2 to 3 cups
Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
Salt – to taste
To grind to a paste:
Grated coconut (you can use frozen) – ¼ cup
Cumin seeds – ¼ tsp
Thai green chilli – 1
Dried red chilli – 1
Pearl onions – 2, peeled
Garlic – 1 clove (optional)
For seasoning:
Coconut oil – 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds – ½ tsp
Pearl onions – 3, peeled and thinly sliced
Curry leaves – 10
Dried red chilli – 1
Method:
Wash the dal well with water a few times. Cook the dal with the water and turmeric powder in a sauce pan or in a pressure cooker.
Once done, add salt, mix well and keep on low heat.
Grind the ingredients under “to grind to a paste” to a very fine paste, adding a little water if needed (as little as a tbsp or two)
Add this to the dal mix, increase the heat to medium high and let it cook for a few minutes until the dal and the ground paste is mixed well.
Now heat the coconut oil for the seasoning and add the mustard seeds to it. Once they splutter, add the onions. Once the onions turn light brown and a little crispy, add the curry leaves and the chilli. Pour this onto the dal mixture and mix well.
Serve with rice, rotis or just as it is as a soup.
Kerala Style Parippu Curry for Sadya ~ Lentil Curry with Coconut for the Traditional Feast (Sadya)
Ingredients
- 1 cup Moong Dal or Toor Dal (Pigeon pea lentils)
- 3 cups Water
- ½ tsp Turmeric powder
- Salt to taste
To grind to a paste:
- ½ cup Grated coconut (I use freshly frozen)
- ¼ tsp Cumin seeds
- 1 Thai green chillie
- 1 Dried red chillie
- 2 Pearl onions peeled
- 1 clove Garlic optional
For seasoning:
- 1 tbsp Coconut oil
- ½ tsp Mustard seeds
- 3 Pearl onions peeled and thinly sliced
- 10 Curry leaves
- 1 Dried red chilli
Instructions
- Wash the dal well with water a few times. Cook the dal with the water and turmeric powder in a sauce pan or in a pressure cooker.
- Once done, add salt, mix well and keep on low heat.
- Grind the ingredients under "to grind to a paste" to a very fine paste, adding a little water if needed (as little as a tbsp or two)
- Add this to the dal mix, increase the heat to medium high and let it cook for a few minutes until the dal and the ground paste is mixed well.
- Now heat the coconut oil for the seasoning and add the mustard seeds to it. Once they splutter, add the onions. Once the onions turn light brown and a little crispy, add the curry leaves and the chilli. Pour this onto the dal mixture and mix well.
- Serve with rice, rotis or just as it is as a soup.
Nutrition
Nirmala says
This turned out so good…this traditional recipe went straight into my recipe book…have already made it
few times now…and is slowly becoming a staple at home…
Manju says
Thank you so very much for letting me know, Nirmala! So glad everyone loved it! 🙂