The parippu or dal, short for parippu curry, is an inalienable part of the Indian diet. In India, whatever class or caste you belong to, dal will be a part of your weekly menu. It's simple to make and goes well with white rice, brown rice and rotis.

Let us now go into the making of the coconut-based Keralite version of dal.

Ingredients

• ½ cup split green gram
• 1 cup grated coconut
• 3 pods of garlic
• 3 tsp coconut oil
• 2 tsp ghee
• ½ tsp cumin seeds
• ¼ tsp turmeric powder
• Curry leaves

Method of preparation
Heat the ghee in a thick-bottomed pan or kadai. Now roast green gram, till it turns light brown.

Boil two cups of water in a vessel. To this, add the fried green gram and cook, till it's done. If it is too thick, thin it with a little more water. Mash the cooked dal well and add salt and turmeric powder.

Mix well. Grind together the grated coconut, cumin seeds and garlic. Mix the ground mixture with the mashed dal with a little water.

Put this on the fire and let it simmer for a few minutes until the ground mixture blends into the dal. Once that is done, remove the dal from the fire and add coconut oil and curry leaves. Mix well.

Recipe by Ms Lyla Venu Kumar
Tel: +919895534383
Email: devoo_07@yahoo.co.in