Pachai Payaru Kadayal – Recipe for everyday dal made with green moong lentil. A traditional recipe from the Kongunadu region. Recipe with video.
Pachai Payaru is whole green moong and kadayal means mash. I have already shared a simple version of green moong mash here. https://www.kannammacooks.com/pachai-payaru-masiyal-moong-dal-green-gram-curry-recipe/
This is another version that’s made with the addition of tomatoes. Pachai Payaru / Green Moong is very popular and a regular lentil that is used for cooking everyday in the Kongunadu region. Green Moong along with Cowpea and Horsegram is a mainstay.
Country Tomatoes are preferred for this recipe as it’s slightly tangier than the regular tomatoes. If you can’t get hold of country tomatoes, heirloom tomatoes work very well. Regular ripe tomatoes can also be used.
During my childhood days, a little drop of Castor Oil was added while cooking hard lentils like horse gram, green gram and cowpea. Castor oil kind of tenderizes the lentils. But these days, the lentils cook well as they are usually made in the pressure cooker. So I do not add any castor oil while cooking lentils.
Green chillies are the only spice used in this recipe. We do add a little bit of black pepper but that is very little. So adjust the green chillies according to your taste.
To finish the dal, traditionally, the milk cream (paal eadu) was mixed at the end. If you do not have paal eadu, you can finish it with a small piece of butter. I prefer butter to paal eadu. It’s a personal preference. You can use whatever you have on hand.
Here are some of the things you can buy online to make this recipe
3 Liter Stainless Steel Cooker https://amzn.to/3Gh6jIl Stainless Kadhai https://amzn.to/3qeabEl Tri Ply Saute Pan https://amzn.to/3qgeaQZ Heavy Duty Indian Mixie https://amzn.to/3eZUdYo Indian Sesame Oil https://amzn.to/33dpSTd Wooden Chopping Board https://amzn.to/31Ad
Here is the video of how to do Pachai Payaru Kadayal Recipe
For cooking the lentil
1/2 cup green moong lentil 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder 1/4 teaspoon Indian sesame oil 2 cups water
For the Green moong dal masala
2 teaspoon Indian sesame oil 1/2 cumin seeds 1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds 1/4 teaspoon black peppercorn 1 green chilli 2 sprig curry leaves 5 cloves garlic 10 Indian small onion (shallots), chopped 2 country tomatoes, chopped 1 teaspoon salt
For tempering the dal
1 teaspoon Indian sesame oil 1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds 1 sprig curry leaves, chopped 2 green chillies, chopped 1 cup water 1 teaspoon unsalted butter 2 sprigs coriander leaves, chopped
For cooking the lentil
Wash and soak the green moong for about 15 minutes. Add it to a pressure cooker along with the turmeric powder, the oil and the water. Cook for 15 minutes on low flame. Ignore the number of whistles. After the said time, allow the pressure from the cooker to release naturally. Open the cooker and mash the dal with a potato masher. Set aside.
For the Green moong dal masala
Heat a couple of teaspoons of oil in a pan and add in the cumin, coriander, black pepper, green chilli, curry leaves and the garlic. Saute for a minute. Add in the chopped Indian small onions and saute for a couple of minutes more. Add in the tomatoes and the salt. Mix well. Cover the pan with a lid and cook on a low flame for five minutes until the tomatoes are mushy. Remove the pan from heat. Let it cool a bit. Grind this mixture to a smooth paste. Set aside.
For tempering the dal
Heat a teaspoon of oil in a pan and add in the cumin seeds, curry leaves and green chillies. Saute on a low flame for a minute. Add in the ground masala to the pan. Wash the mixie with a cup of water and add it back to the pan. Mix well. Add in the cooked and mashed green moong dal. Mix well to combine. If the dal is very thick, use a potato masher to mash. Also add little hot water if the dal looks very thick.
Taste and add more salt if necessary. Add in a teaspoon of butter and the coriander leaves. Let the dal simmer for a minute. Green moong mash / pachai payaru kadayal is ready. Serve with hot rice and a dollop of ghee (the ghee is mandatory 🙂 )
- Author: Suguna Vinodh
- Prep Time: 10m
- Cook Time: 20m
For cooking the lentil
1/2 cup green moong lentil 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder 1/4 teaspoon Indian sesame oil 2 cups water
For the Green moong dal masala
2 teaspoon Indian sesame oil 1/2 cumin seeds 1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds 1/4 teaspoon black peppercorn 1 green chilli 2 sprig curry leaves 5 cloves garlic 10 Indian small onion (shallots), chopped 2 country tomatoes, chopped 1 teaspoon salt
For tempering the dal
1 teaspoon Indian sesame oil 1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds 1 sprig curry leaves, chopped 2 green chillies, chopped 1 cup water 1 teaspoon unsalted butter 2 sprigs coriander leaves, chopped
For cooking the lentil
Wash and soak the green moong for about 15 minutes. Add it to a pressure cooker along with the turmeric powder, the oil and the water. Cook for 15 minutes on low flame. Ignore the number of whistles. After the said time, allow the pressure from the cooker to release naturally. Open the cooker and mash the dal with a potato masher. Set aside.
For the Green moong dal masala
Heat a couple of teaspoons of oil in a pan and add in the cumin, coriander, black pepper, green chilli, curry leaves and the garlic. Saute for a minute. Add in the chopped Indian small onions and saute for a couple of minutes more. Add in the tomatoes and the salt. Mix well. Cover the pan with a lid and cook on a low flame for five minutes until the tomatoes are mushy. Remove the pan from heat. Let it cool a bit. Grind this mixture to a smooth paste. Set aside.
For tempering the dal
Heat a teaspoon of oil in a pan and add in the cumin seeds, curry leaves and green chillies. Saute on a low flame for a minute. Add in the ground masala to the pan. Wash the mixie with a cup of water and add it back to the pan. Mix well. Add in the cooked and mashed green moong dal. Mix well to combine. If the dal is very thick, use a potato masher to mash. Also add little hot water if the dal looks very thick.
Taste and add more salt if necessary. Add in a teaspoon of butter and the coriander leaves. Let the dal simmer for a minute. Green moong mash / pachai payaru kadayal is ready. Serve with hot rice and a dollop of ghee (the ghee is mandatory 🙂 )
- Author: Suguna Vinodh
- Prep Time: 10m
- Cook Time: 20m
Find it online : https://www.kannammacooks.com/pachai-payaru-kadayal/
Recipe for paniyaram made with sigappu solam / red sorghum / jowar. Fermented batter made into delicious paniyarams. Recipe with video.
Red sorghum is a whole grain and a healthy millet that works so wonderfully in this paniyaram recipe. Sorghum has a decent amount of iron and the bio availability of the grain is increased when fermented.
I have made the recipe with sorghum as the main grain. Other grains like hand pounded rice can be added along with sorghum to make the batter. You can do a 50:50 batter.
I grind the paniyaram batter along with a little cooked rice. Cooked rice helps in better fermentation. The resulting paniyarams fluff up well when cooked and is very lite.
I have used Indian sesame oil for making the paniyarams. Peanut oil can also be used.
Here are some of the things you can buy online to make this recipe
Red Sorghum / Sigappu Solam https://amzn.to/3GlCeaE Heavy Duty Mixie https://amzn.to/3GlCeaE Paniyaram pan / Appe Pan https://amzn.to/3zRqF8M Stainless Steel Kadai https://amzn.to/3ffycET
Here is a video of how to make Sigappu Sola Kuzhi Paniyaram | Red Sorghum Paniyaram
Ingredients for the batter
1 cup red sorghum 1/2 cup unpolished whole white urad dal 1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds 2 tablespoon cooked rice 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 cups water (to grind)
For tempering the paniyaram batter
1 teaspoon Indian sesame oil 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds 1/2 teaspoon split white urad dal 1 sprig curry leaves, finely chopped 1/4 teaspoon red chilli flakes 1/2 cup finely chopped onions 1/4 teaspoon salt 2 green chilli, finely chopped 1 tablespoon fresh shredded coconut 2 tablespoon coriander leaves, chopped
Wash all the grains well and drain. Soak the red sorghum along with urad dal, fenugreek seeds, cooked rice in two cups of water.
Soak for about 4 hours.
Grind everything (use soaked water for grinding ) to a smooth paste.
Add in the salt and mix well to combine.
Set the ground batter to ferment in a draft free place overnite.
Before making the paniyaram, we will temper the batter with spices and sauteed onions. Here is how to do it.
Heat oil in a pan and add in the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, split urad dal, curry leaves and red chilli flakes. Let the mustard seeds crackle. Add in the finely chopped onions and sauté for a couple of minutes till the onions are soft. No need to brown the onions. Add in the salt, coconut and the coriander leaves. Saute for a few seconds. Remove this mixture from the stove.
Add it to the fermented batter and mix well to combine.
To make Paniyaram
Heat the paniyaram pan / paniyarakkal until hot. Add 1/4 teaspoon of vegetable oil into each mold. Drop the batter to fill the mold. Cook for a minute. Then turn and cook on the other side. Turn again if necessary to make sure the paniyaram is evenly cooked on both sides and its nicely golden in colour.
The paniyaram is ready if it has become crispy and golden on both sides. Have the paniyarams hot.
- Author: Suguna Vinodh
