Kerala meal sample

Rice with parippu-cheera thenga aracha koottaan( yellow split pea and spinach in a mildly spicy ground coconut-cumin sauce), varutharacha kozhiyum swiss chard um broccoliyum (chicken in a spicy roasted coconut base with swiss chard and broccoli), zucchini mezhukkupuratti ( zucchini stirfry tempered with mustard seeds, split channa, and split urad), kondaattam(yogurt chili pepper) and tomato pickle.

Yellow split pea soup - sample Kerala meal

My favorite combo. Forgot to add yogurt to the plate. Yellow lentil soup, spicy, fried fish, and a little lime pickle with rice.

Yellow split pea curry -- parippukoottaan

One of my favorite dishes is parippu curry, a lentil soup, actually. Each state in India has its own versions of daal. Each home has its own favorite version. Some add cumin, others mustard, yet others cilantro, or all of those.
This, here, is my favorite.




parippu

 Ingredients:

yellow split pea/ toor daal -- 1 cup
onion, sliced - 1 cup
garlic, crushed -- 4 cloves
4 green chillies, split
turmeric powder -- 1/2 tsp
crushed red pepper -- 4 tsp
tomatoes, diced -- 1/2 cup (optional)
curry leaves
Oil - 3- 4 tbsp
Salt

Cook the lentils with a pinch of turmeric powder.
Heat oil. Saute onion, garlic, green chillies, curry leaves, till onions are soft and the garlic gives out its aroma.
Add the turmeric, crushed red pepper. Fry for a minute. Add the tomatoes. Saute for a couple of minutes, till they wilt. Add the cooked parippu with enough water to get to your preferred consistency.  Stir well. Bring to a boil. Add salt to taste.

Note: If you like, you may add a couple of pearl onions, a crushed clove of garlic, and a couple of green chillies to the lentils, when you cook it. I soak the parippu overnight in water,(kind of an overkill) and use a pressure cooker to cook it.Instaed of oil, you could use ghee, which is heavenly, but not as healthy. :)

red chori(dried red beans) or payaru -- top left/ parippu or yellow split pea--bottom right

The same recipe can be used to make other lentil curries/soups, like payarucurry, which is a variety of tiny dried red beans, called red chori in Hindi. And this one takes a lot of soaking.

payarucurry



Very good with rice, and Kerala fried fish, and mango pickle.

parippu curry, kerala fried tilapia, dried shrimp fry