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Roasted vanpayar / red gram curry makes a delicious curry to have along with rice. In conversation with my father, he recollected a vanpayar curry that his mother used to make. Along with my father i cooked this vanpayar curry and we enjoyed a good meal.
Ingredients
1 cup - Brown vanpayar
To grind
1/2 shell - Coconut, grated
6 - Shallots / small onion
1/2 tsp - Jeera / Cumin seeds
5 - Dry red chilli Or 1 tsp - Red chilli powder
1/2 tsp - Turmeric powder
Seasoning
1 tsp - Mustard seeds
4 - shallots, sliced
4 - Dry red chili
2 tbsp - Grated coconut
2 to 4 sprigs - Curry leaves
Method
1 ) Wash the vanpayar well and drain off the water. In a big pan dry roast the payar, on low flame, till you get the roasted smell. Cool the payar. Then transfer the payar into a blender and pulse, two to three times to crush it. Do not powder it, just have to get it crushed and split.
2 ) In a pressure cooker, add two cups of water and make it warm. When warm, add the crushed payar to it. Close the lid and pressure cook. After the first whistle, simmer and cook for 3 more whistles. Turn off the cooker.
3 ) Grind in a blender the ingredients listed to be ground with enough water. Open the cooker and add ground paste. Add enough water to get a thick gravy. Add salt to taste and bring to a boil. Simmer for two to three minutes and turn off the stove.
4 ) In a pan heat 2 to 3 tbsp coconut oil. Add mustard, then dry chili, then shallots and fry it to light brown color. Then add the grated coconut and fry it to a light brown color. Add curry leaves and pour this seasoning on top of the payar curry. Cover with lid.
Serve along with rice to make a delicious meal.
Pradhaman made with brown kadala, with it's skin peeled off, is a delicious combination of jaggery and coconut milk. A good add to the onasadhya.
Ingredients
3 cup - Brown kadala / brown chickpea
400 gm - Jaggery
1 big - Coconut, grated
3 - Clove
5 - Cardamom, powdered
5 - Cashewnuts, slit in half
5 - Dry white raisins / Kishmish
1/4 cup - Thinly sliced coconut bits / Thengakothu
2 tsp - Rice powder Or Corn flour
2 to 3 tbsp - Ghee
Method
1 ) Soak kadala overnight. Then peel off it's skin.
2 ) In a pressure cooker, cook the peeled kadala along with clove and enough water to cook it. After the first whistle, simmer and cook for 1/2 an hour. Cool and open Pressure cooker. Mash the kadala partially.
3 ) Meanwhile, place jaggery in a pan with little water, simmer and boil to dissolve the jaggery. Strain to remove any impurities and set aside. Extract coconut milk from coconut. First extracted thick milk - 1/2 cup, second extracted - 1 cup, third extracted milk -1.5 cup
4 ) Into the pressure cooker, pour the jaggery syrup, a pinch of salt and cook on medium flame till the kadala absorbs the jaggery taste and jaggery thickens. Taste test the kadala in between to check. Pour the third extracted coconut milk and cook till the contents thickens.
5 ) Mix and stir 2 tsp of rice powder or corn flour to the second extracted coconut milk.Add second extracted coconut milk, simmer and cook for five minutes. Add powdered cardamom powder. Then the first extracted thick coconut milk. Before the pradhaman comes to a boil, turn off the stove.
6 ) In another pan heat ghee, add coconut bits and lightly brown it. To this add cashew nuts and lightly brown it. Then add the raisins and fry it till it puffs. Pour this on top of the pradhaman and cover it.
Serve the kadala prahaman hot or cold.
