Grandparents have always been my “rescue board”in almost every situation during my childhood. I just loved it when my grandparents visited us and they always came bearing gifts :D. They were natural storytellers and we were so immersed in their stories that sometimes we did not even realize we had finished eating our food which we hated. During Karthika masam my Thathamma( my grandfather’s mother) came to visit us once and she usually had this light-on-the-stomach dal all the time. At the look of it, I never wanted to taste it and so she started to tell me the story of how a kind girl named Poli attained swargam (heaven) through sheer bhakti(prayer) and purity of heart. By the time the story was over, i finished a bowl of rice with this pesarakattu and Chamadumpala fry and was left with wanting more. She had prepared this in jiffy for me and I still remember that day.
Pesarakattu(Moong dal with ghee tempering) makes a good pair with rice and my favorite chamadumpala fry or potato fry. Its a dish that is fasting-friendly and its easy to digest. Its usually made in summers to cool the body.
Cooking Time : 10 minutes
Preparation Time: 5 Minutes
For Pesarakattu :
- Pesara Pappu/Split yellow moong dal
- A pinch of turmeric
- Salt(as per your taste)
For Tempering/Tadka :
- Ghee – 1 tbsp
- Curry leaves
- Green chillies – 3 to 4
- Dry Red chillies- 2 to 3
- Aavalu/Mustard Seeds
- Jeelakarra/ Cumin Seeds
For Pesarakattu :
- Cook Pesara pappu/ Moong dal with a pinch of turmeric powder in pressure cooker till you get 3 whistles.
- Once the pappu/dal is boiled , add half split green chillies and small pieces of ginger in it .
- On a medium flame, heat a ladle and add a tablespoon of ghee or a little more as per your taste, to this add aavalu/mustard seeds, jeelakarra/cumin seeds, Curry leaves and dry red chillies.
- Once the tadka sizzles, add this to the dal .
- Add salt as per your requirement.
MaIntiVindhu 