Keerai Molaguttal is an uber traditional dish from the Palakaddu district of Kerala. Its not so much Tamilian as it is Malayali. You won't see this in ANY Indian restaurant - north or south, even if they are in India. It's very unglamorous and very practical but worth dying for. Some days, I just crave it so much I can even smell its fragrance before I start cooking. Its got this addictive potential. Some people hate it and some like me, just can't live without it.
Its not spicy or hot, so strong hot south Indian lemon pickles (that I bought yesterday) go wonderfully well with it. Its comfort food taken to the Malayali extreme. :)
The really simple recipe:
1. Cook rice in the rice cooker - Any rice will do, but Basmati is awesome. Don't smash the rice.
2. Wash and chop a good amount of spinach - blend the spinach in the blender to a smooth paste, add generous water to make it a smooth flowing paste but don't make it too watery.
3. Cook orange lentils (masoor dal) or toor dal
OR
in the rice cooker. Toor dal needs around 5-6 hours of pre-soaking if you are not using a pressure cooker. Masoor doesn't need any and is readily cooked. The objective is to cook the lentils really well so that you can smash them to a paste with a ladle.4. In a wide-bottomed pan, take a teaspoon (or 1.5 tsp) of peanut oil, heat the oil till it flows freely. Add a pinch of black mustard seeds,
, a pinch of urad dal (while lentils), pinch of channe ki dal (split yellow lentils), whole black peppercorns and several dried red chillies.
5. When the mustard seeds just start to pop, invert the whole blended spinach paste into the pan and stir well. Add a pinch of turmeric powder and a pinch of red chillie powder.
6. Fresh-grind around 2 tablespoons of cumin in a mortar and pestle and add to the spinach. Next, add around 4 tablespoons of coconut powder or coconut shreds to the spinach.
7. When the spinach paste starts bubbling a bit (around 2 minutes) add the cooked lentils (masoor or toor) and some more water to take it a to a hearty thick soupy consistency.
8. Bring to a rolling boil. Turn off heat. Its VERY important not to overcook the spinach. Unlike North Indians who murder their spinach in that insane dish called palak paneer, South Indians value the art of just-enough cooking to preserve that fresh awesome taste of veggies. If your keerai molaguttal has turned a dark green tinted with yellow (the colour of palak paneer, btw), you have got it all wrong. It needs to be a bright dark green and when you taste it, the raw spinach smell is gone but the fresh spinach fragrance remains accented by the coconut, cumin, lentils and red-chllies.
9. Serve over cooked rice.
10. Garnish with a nice big scoop of south Indian lemon pickle!
PS: Keerai: Spinach in Tamil. Molaguttal: I really don't know what this means. Molagu means peppercorns. I guess it could mean seasoned with peppercorns. Its a word that is neither Tamil nor Malayalam but somewhere in between - very typical of the border-district of Palakkadu.
oh boy. I have to try this. I usually invent recipes based on what's lying around. This looks tasty!
ya, I was also out of cumin.... BUT! it was delicious. I licked my bowl.
And if their is an Indian cooking party I would be giddy, GIDDY to be invited.
Yea! Indian cooking party @ (e:heidi)'s apartment!
The not-so-ideal but closer substitute for mustard seeds are cumin seeds - especially for this particular dish.
YIKES! You did WHAT?! The "Mustard" paste and mustard seeds are like several solar systems apart. LOL. You know what, I am planning to get together with (e:heidi) to cook some south Indian food as soon as my grant craziness simmers off a bit, maybe you and (e:jim) should come along!
Well, I only had green French lentils instead of the festive blend you listed. I didn't have any mustard seed so I just gave a squirt of mustard into the oil while I toasted the other spices. Also, I did not have any lemon pickle. Which I am now fiending for.
Just curious... What substitutions did you make?! :)
There is a golden ditch-rule of south-Indian cooking that I didn't talk about - go north-Indian. If things don't go as planned and things are off-colour, take some peanut oil, add a generous heap of garam-masala in the oil and fry a nice juicy tomato in it till its almost pureed. Invert this on your off-the-mark effort. You will like the outcome whatever the disaster (short of charring). ;) Add some salt.
I think I typed this recipe for the life-saver garam-masala earlier. Here it is again.
Dry toast:
5 parts coriander seeds
2 parts cumin seeds
2 parts cloves
2 parts whole black peppers
Dry red chillies to taste (A LOT! :)
in a cast iron skillet till the coriander seeds are a lightish brown and aromatic. DO NOT CHAR.
Pour everything in a blender. Add
1 part dried mango powder (Amchur)
3/4 part cardamom pods (shelled)
Dash of cinnamon.
Grind to a fine-coarse powder. Store in the fridge to retain freshness (around 6 months).
I tried making this today for lunch. Of course, I didn't have a few ingredients so I had to make substitutions. It is pretty yummy but I will make it better next time. Thanks for the post.
Unfortunately not :(.
But hey, it *really* easy to make! Try it out! :)
mmmmmmmmmm.... got any leftovers?
You and the amazing food porn!